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The callous realities of life often sweep in and leave you emotionally paralyzed. Post 9/11 in America, I often encountered people who were combating depression before the terrorist attacks and after that dreadful day, they fell deeper into their own abyss. Something as senseless as a terrorist attack may forever blemish someone. Their faith may disappear into the ether and nothing short of a miracle may ever allow it to flourish again. In July of 2005, another act of madness occurred in London. Events like the ones of 7/7/05 and 9/11/01 are severe enough to everlastingly alter one’s viewpoint. Often overlooked in the wake of calamity are the long term effects on one’s psyche.
Once someone is violated, it has a long term effect. Said person looks upon the world and most of its inhabitants with a glaring inquiring eye. Once you surrender to a life of fear, your life may as well be over. People let headlines and media blips form their opinions and often prejudices are exasperated as a result. The irony of all of this is that the victim falls into a trap of their own that will imprison them forever. Artist Jag Lall has created a graphic comic inspired by the events of 7/7/05 and the forty-page comic leaves you questioning your own fears, doubts and prejudices. Encased inside this mere comic are intense lessons that anyone could learn from.
Death’s Door: Ignorance Likes Company is more than a mere comic but a tool that could be used in schools and youth centers to assist the fragile minded work through fury and belligerence. The eye-catching and visceral images help bring the issue of racism and prejudice to the forefront in a manner that will leave you breathless. Fear is something that can be more violent and deadlier than any bomb as it’s not something that can ignite once, but multiple times throughout one’s life. Lall’s story is one that hits right at the heart of paranoia. The opening pages are tense and put the reader right in the midst of the chaos. Despite knowing what the comic moral was, I was still engrossed and carefully turned each page to see how his story would unwind. Needless to say, lashing and uninformed comments can be life altering and even worse, they instill fear in others. The characters of the story face situations that aren’t easy on the eyes but are necessary to drive the point home.
Jag Lall’s comic is filled with engrossing images that compliment its text. By providing striking images that stick with you they may just shock someone into a new philosophy. It’s a learning tool of sorts that forced people to reconcile inner prejudices without hurting anyone in the process. The world is filled with history texts and films focusing on prejudice, but the form with which Lall uses to tell his story, a comic, is more tangible. It can help enlighten one and younger people may be more accepting and open to it. In a world that heralds gore and sound bytes of information I am thrilled to see an art form I love be something more than mere entertainment, but a moral tale we can all take something from.
Buy the book at this link.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
