Synopses & Reviews
Cartoonist
Sarah Glidden accompanies her two friends—reporters and founders of a
journalism non-profit—as they research potential stories on the effects
of the Iraq War on the Middle East and, specifically, the war’s
refugees. Joining the trio is a childhood friend and former Marine whose
past service in Iraq adds an unexpected and sometimes unwelcome
viewpoint, both to the people they come across and perhaps even
themselves.
As the crew works their way through Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, Glidden
observes the reporters as they ask civilians, refugees, and officials,
“Who are you?” Everyone has a story to tell: the Iranian blogger, the
United Nations refugee administrator, a taxi driver, the Iraqi refugee
deported from the US, the Iraqis seeking refuge in Syria, and even the
American Marine.
Glidden (How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less)
records all that she encounters with a sympathetic and searching eye.
Painted in her trademark soft, muted watercolors and written with a
self-effacing humor, Rolling Blackouts cements Glidden’s place as one of today’s most original nonfiction voices.
Review
"Glidden’s understated, face-focused illustration style gets under your skin…[It] sucks readers in so deeply that you really feel present, seeing her journey through her eyes." Library Journal
Review
"With a journalist’s eye, Glidden paints a powerful portrait of war-torn communities based on her own travels." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Sarah Glidden's remarkable Rolling Blackouts adds a new twist to the graphic journalism] form. Glidden accompanies a team of journalists through Syria and Iraq and her muted watercolours record not only the lives of people in war zones but the way the media interacts with them. Highly recommended.--The Guardian
Cartoonist Sarah Glidden accompanies her two friends--reporters and founders of a journalism non-profit--as they research potential stories on the effects of the Iraq War on the Middle East and, specifically, the war's refugees. Joining the trio is a childhood friend and former Marine whose past service in Iraq adds an unexpected and sometimes unwelcome viewpoint, both to the people they come across and perhaps even themselves.
As the crew works their way through Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, Glidden observes the reporters as they ask civilians, refugees, and officials, "Who are you?" Everyone has a story to tell: the Iranian blogger, the United Nations refugee administrator, a taxi driver, the Iraqi refugee deported from the US, the Iraqis seeking refuge in Syria, and even the American Marine.
Glidden (How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less) records all that she encounters with a sympathetic and searching eye. Painted in her trademark soft, muted watercolors and written with a self-effacing humor, Rolling Blackouts cements Glidden's place as one of today's most original nonfiction voices.
About the Author
Sarah Glidden was born in 1980 in Massachusetts and studied painting at Boston University. She started making comics in 2006 when she was living at the Flux Factory artists collective in Queens, New York, and soon began working on her first book, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less. The first chapters of this were self-published as minicomics, earning her the Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent in 2008. The complete book was published by Vertigo Comics in 2010 and was translated into five languages. Glidden's work has appeared in various newspapers and magazines, as well as in the Best American Comics anthology. She spent a year as an artist in residence at the Maison des Auteurs in Angoulême, France. Her second book, Rolling Blackouts, will be published by Drawn and Quarterly in October 2016. Glidden lives in Seattle, Washington.