Repeating Islands

Brief review of Wilfred Santiago’s graphic bio of Roberto Clemente from avclub.com.

Wilfred Santiago’s book “21”: The Story of Roberto Clemente (Fantagraphics) couldn’t be more different from Paying For It, even though it’s also non-fiction. Exuberantly expressive where Chester Brown is doggedly minimalist, Santiago imbues his biography of famed Puerto Rican baseballer Roberto Clemente with the furious energy of a Clemente triple. After a brief intro, set on the day that Clemente got his 3,000th major league hit, “21” moves chronologically—but that’s about its only concession to conventional biography. Santiago deals mainly in moods and moments, dwelling on Clemente’s early life in a Puerto Rico divided over its allegiances to the United States, and how he went on to deal with racism, segregation, and the negative perceptions of the press.

Baseball fans may be disappointed that “21” isn’t as comprehensive as it could be about Clemente’s career as a Pittsburgh Pirate, or about what he meant to Latin Americans then and now. But what the book lacks in hard information, it makes up for in style. Santiago evokes the world Clemente lived in, from the dusty Puerto Rican streets where he played baseball with bottle caps and tree branches to his years as a perennial All-Star. The art is scratchy and abstract when it’s dealing with home and homesickness, and then hardens into the stuff of superhero comics whenever Clemente steps to the plate.

For the original review go to http://www.avclub.com/articles/graphic-novels-artcomicslate-april-2011,55038/