The Beats – A Graphic History (2009)

By Harvey Pekar, Ed Piskor, and Paul Buhle

Apr 11, 2009 Andrea Beca

The new graphic novel chronicling the Beat Generation is unique, but written with a strong slant that may upset many fans of the Beats.

In the introduction to their graphic history of the Beats, Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle state that they do not claim that their ‘treatment [of the history] is definitive.” It’s an honest proclamation – after all, to cover the history of a single person in 100 pages is a challenge, never mind discussing the lives of multiple people in 100 pages of a graphic novel. The fact of the matter is, though, that far less than being short of definitive, any fan or follower of the Beat Generation will see that The Beats: A Graphic History is highly selective in what history it chooses to tell.

Selective History and Graphics Skew Audiences’ Views of the Beats

Within the first few pages of The Beats, it becomes evident that the authors are putting their personal spin on the history they are working with. The section on Jack Kerouac, for example, uses very short sentences and very frank statements to turn him into a villain of sorts. The graphics portray him mostly as an angry alcoholic – which was certainly a part of who he was – but leave out his long-lived love with Edie Parker (which here is shortened to seem as though it lasted a day), and the fact that in truth, Kerouac was a very shy and quiet person. His reserved personality was one of the reasons he admired Neal Cassady so much – Cassady was out going and spontaneous, traits Kerouac only wished he could embody.

Overall, the graphic novel offers a history of the Beats that remains very much on the surface. Because there is little space to expand upon the facts they are presenting (which, at times, are very skewed themselves), they are often misleading and are not always representative of what actually happened.

The Beats Amplifies the Misogyny of the Generation by Down Playing Women

Another interesting – and troubling – element of The Beats: A Graphic History, is that the women who are portrayed in the history are nearly invisible. Their roles in the lives of Beat writers like Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs are severely down played – Joan Vollmer, for example, who was married to Burroughs, is described merely as “a journalism student,” and her one piece of dialogue is, “he’s as good as a pimp in bed” (describing Burroughs). The truth is, though, that Vollmer was an educated, intelligent woman who could match any of the Beats in a battle of wits, and considered a nightlong discussion of philosophy to be a fun time.

In the same vein, Edie Parker, Jack Kerouac’s first wife, is portrayed as a fling – a woman who practically forces Kerouac into marriage. In reality, however, Kerouac expressed his love for Parker in letters, and although their actual marriage was short lived, Kerouac often returned to Parker and lived with her when he was having a hard time. She remained an important part of his life for many years.

Even more interesting than the poor representation of the females in The Beats is the fact that they are the only characters in the graphic novel that are not drawn to accurately represent the real historical figures. While it is clear that Kerouac was drawn to look like Kerouac, Ginsberg to look like Ginsberg, and so on, Joan Vollmer is drawn as a depressed looking blonde, when in reality she was a sultry brunette, with a Greta Garbo/Joan Crawford look about her. It is disappointing that more thought and research were not put into the women of the Beat Generation, since they did a lot to shape the era.

The Beats May Intrigue, But Won’t Educate

In the end, The Beats: A Graphic History, will serve more as a source of intrigue than as a source of information, and hopefully its readers will go one step further and seek out a biography of the Beats to learn the real history behind this fascinating generation of writers.

The Beats: A Graphic History

Fsg Adult, 2009

ISBN: 0809094967

The copyright of the article The Beats – A Graphic History (2009) in Graphic Novels/Comics is owned by Andrea Beca. Permission to republish The Beats – A Graphic History (2009) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Review of The Beats: A Graphic History	Jack Kerouac, Writer of The Beat Generation	William S. Burroughs, Beat Generation Writer
Allen Ginsberg, Member of The Beat Generation	Joan Vollmer, Misrepresented in The Beats