Starred review from May 8, 2023
This fast-paced story of love and intrigue from Eisner finalist Ayuyang (Blame This on the Boogie) immerses readers in a noirish take on the Manong Generation, mostly male Filipino immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1920s and ’30s. Bobot, trained as a lawyer in the Philippines, lives in communal farm laborers’ housing in Watsonville, Calif. The other Filipino men love going out dancing in their impeccable bespoke “McIntosh” suits, but the assiduous Bobot spends his evenings writing letters to his wife Elysia back home, though he’s never received a reply. When word arrives from his cousin in San Francisco that Elysia’s been spotted in the city, Bobot becomes a reluctant gumshoe. His investigation takes him to San Francisco’s Manilatown, where he uncovers dark truths beneath the glitz of underworld nightclubs. Revelations come with the coincidences and cases of mistaken identity classic to pulp fiction, and Ayuyang’s Chagall-esque art gracefully captures both the antics of Bobot’s friends and family, which punctuate the narrative with levity like sunshine breaking through the San Francisco fog, and more quiet moments: the sinuous lines of a nightclub performance, the romantic swoon of a stolen kiss, a solitary walk in the city. Throughout, the undercurrents of loneliness and racial prejudice add depth. This melancholic yet glimmering story brings to life a generation of immigrants often overlooked by histories of the period.
May 15, 2023
In 1929, Angel, Sal, Edison, and Bobot are Filipino immigrants who share a migrant shack, working in brutal conditions in Watsonville, California, for a dollar a day. Their single enjoyment is paying for Friday night dances, but Bobot stays away, dreaming of his beloved Elysia back home. And then Bobot discovers a month-old letter from cousin Benny--hidden in Angel's locker!--claiming Benny has seen Elysia in San Francisco. Bobot heads north to where Benny is missing, but two of Benny's friends are ready to help. Bobot searches through Manilatown, landing at the exclusive Barangay Club, where the mesmerizing headliner seems all too familiar. Just as award-winning Ayuyang infused Blame This on the Boogie (2018) with music and musicals, she also overlays these pages with a soundtrack of roaring '20s tunes and noirish film inspiration. Darker blues predominantly wash over borderless panels, with more vibrant oranges and pinks reserved for happier memories. Suit fabrics make especially fitting backgrounds. Set against a historically accurate anti-Asian backdrop (some things never change), Ayuyang's comic deftly intertwines a heart-thumping mystery with didn't-see-that-happening love stories (yes, plural!).
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June 1, 2023
A migrant Filipino farmworker searches for his estranged wife in Depression-era San Francisco. This graphic narrative is several things at once--a noirish mystery, a vibrant work of historical fiction, and a tale of immigrant dreams and adversity. The year is 1929, and although he was trained as a lawyer back in Manila, Bobot now picks fruit in the fields of Watsonville, California, living in a crowded shack with other homesick Filipinos and pining for the wife who hasn't replied to his letters in months. But a tip from his cousin Benny brings him to San Francisco in search of Elysia, whom Benny says he has spotted there. To the background strains of popular songs like "Blue Skies" and "Ain't Misbehavin' " (whose lyrics snake their way through the comic's panels), Bobot prowls the diners, pool halls, and nightclubs of Manilatown. A special invitation--plus the well-tailored suit of the book's title--gain him entree to the high-end Barangay Club, where he first lays eyes on La Estrella, a glamorous chanteuse...who just might be his wife? Ayuyang spins a captivating tale that is both an homage to starry-eyed Hollywood movies of the period and a corrective that highlights the anti-Asian racism faced by immigrants as well as the thriving communities they formed. The expressionistic artwork is washed in blue, green, red, or amber hues signaling a scene's setting and mood. The narrative ends with a series of surprising plot twists and a coda that hints at a sequel to come. A colorful and richly textured graphic novel.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
June 1, 2023
Though Bobot has a law degree, the only work he is able to find upon emigrating to the U.S. in 1929 is picking fruit in rural California. He's estranged from his wife, Elysia, whom he left behind in the Philippines, so it's a shock when he receives a letter from his cousin saying that Elysia is now living in San Francisco's Manilatown. Determined to reconnect with his wife, Bobot swipes a fellow worker's prized McIntosh suit and heads to the city. His search for Elysia leads him through a succession of cafes, pool halls, seedy dive bars, luxurious speakeasies, and finally to La Estrella, a glamorous nightclub performer known as the Pearl of the Philippines. She and Bobot form an unexpected bond, and she claims to have information as to his wife's whereabouts, but he's not sure if he can trust her. Might she be luring Bobot into a scheme concocted by the vicious gangster who owns the nightclub where she performs? VERDICT Ayuyang (Blame This on the Boogie) presents a gripping and romantic Depression-era noir about a fledgling community struggling to achieve the American dream without sacrificing who they are.
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