Review by C.J. Bunce
Roma by the Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón was nominated for 10 Oscars in 2019, winning three–for Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Cinematography. Easily the best movie of that year (reviewed here), it told a personal story of Mexico from a native perspective in a visually spectacular way. Only three years earlier, 26-year Spy vs. Spy veteran Peter Kuper created his own personal story of Mexico, a graphic novel called Ruins, but that story was from a visitor’s perspective. Both are dramas, but Ruins’ themes can be summed up in bullet points, where Roma is the kind of story that will never leave you. Ruins’ real win is in its packed, detailed artwork–a travelogue of the good and bad of a snippet in time of Oaxaca, Mexico. The 2016 Eisner selection for Best Graphic Album returns this month in its first paperback edition, available now here at Amazon. If you missed it, take a look inside below.
Ruins follows a husband and wife on sabbatical in Oaxaca. She is writing a book, pulling from memories of being in Oaxaca years ago, but distracted by wanting to get pregnant, and he is an awkward former entomologist and illustrator, currently lost and grasping for purpose. They have rented a house with a housekeeper who doesn’t speak English. The wife becomes intrigued by a handsome local artist, while the man meets a former journalist turned drinking buddy who the husband inspires to get back into the profession. A teachers strike and political upheaval results in the journalist’s death, leaving the husband feeling responsible.
At a very simple level, the best features of the story are the side bits, like recounting familiar details of taking a family trip that is fraught with problems and unforeseen, unwanted events–especially with the dangers of being in a foreign country and not knowing the language or culture fully. But it also seems like the story would have been better if told from the vantage of the housekeeper–as Cuaron told the story in his movie. Not much happens in the main through line–the plot– of Ruins. A man and woman drift apart on a long trip to Mexico.
That said, Ruins is one of the best illustrated winners this century of Eisner’s coveted graphic novel trophy. More interesting than the main narrative is the interspersed journey of a monarch butterfly from Canada to Mexico. The husband loves to identify his insects, almost as Darwin did on his South American exploration, and this gives Kuper the opportunity to show his skill at re-creating several insects along the journey.
Ruins looks good, but the story could have incorporated more than simply showing interesting happenings for the reader to interpret in the corners of the page, something like Paul Guinan was able to accomplish in his Aztec Empire series. Ruins was not so ambitious.
Take a look inside:
Ruins is a notable work, but I’m not sure it’s as impactful as other Eisner winners in its category. Still, you’ll want to see it for Kuper’s unique visual accomplishment. Pick up the new paperback edition of Ruins from publisher Self Made Hero now at Elite Comics, your local comic shop, or here at Amazon.
