Reich #1 by Elijah Brubaker
Reich is a biographical account of psychoanalyst and sex researcher Dr. Wilhelm Reich, a protégé of Freud. He courted scandal throughout Europe where he became known mostly for his controversial and radical ideas. Reich claimed to discover a palpable sexual energy, which he called “Orgone.” The political climate of WWII was not encouraging for a leftist, sexually progressive, Jewish activist with heterodox scientific theories. Reich was forced to move to America in 1939.
In America Reich founded Orgonon, a commune/laboratory located in Rangely Maine. There he continued his research into Orgone energy. Reich Claimed the energy was a panacea and was determined to prove it to the world. Later Reich began to exhibit signs of paranoia but as the saying goes “just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get me.”
Reich was abruptly persecuted by the United States government.
Reich tells the story of a man who lived with unwavering conviction in his beliefs and it shows the potential danger of that conviction.
The comic is both beautifully written and drawn by Elijah Brubaker. We've planned it as a quarterly series from Sparkplug.
"This is the start of a non fiction biography of Wilhelm Reich, an Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. For those that don't know about him, he lived between 1897 and 1957. To escape the Nazi's he left Europe for the United States. He then threw away his credibility with some wonky ideas about an energy called "orgone" and contraptions designed to capture it and use it to cure people's health problems. The US Government put him in prison and burned much of his books.
I like the writing of the book, both the flow of the story and dialogue is just fine. The creator does take some liberties with the facts but he mentions which ones in the back of the book. Also in the back he says he's inspired by Chester Brown's Louis Riel and that influence is pretty obvious. The ending of the issue is weird as it ends on a cliff hanger but you get the feel this is a full fledge graphic novel that just got chopped into an issue at this point.
If your an independent reader this artwork should fit with your tastes. It's unique as the creator draws everybody with over sized heads. A variety of perspectives are used to liven up the story and they work. I should say quite a few pages there are little to no backgrounds. Some of the shading, identifying a light source is a little wonky on a page here and there.
When this is put together into a graphic novel I'm sure it will sell to some of those that enjoyed Louis Riel. As it is, I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars."
Jamie Coville on Collector Times
$3.00 and postage (24 interior pgs, 6" x 9", color cover with black and white interiors)
To read a sample from the book click on the cover or here, please.