Union Station

    (Oni, 2003)

There is no finer line that a writer can walk than the one that separates fiction from history in a story that combines both. But it’s a line that Parks walks with delicate literary grace, never forgetting the difference between taking a few liberties with the truth and taking a few bites out of it.

In 1930s Kansas City, Union Station was the city’s central train depot. Here, it’s also the site of a routine prisoner transfer gone horribly awry, a mishap that results from the clashing agendas of local police, the feds, and the mob — one that’s witnessed by a local reporter blessed with the coincidental fortune of good timing.

From this point on, feds and mobsters, and fact and fiction, blend into a seamless story. This graphic novel is the sequentially illustrated equivalent of James Cameron’s oft-criticized but beautifully filmed Titanic: a gorgeous period piece extracting fictional accounts based on real-life events. Like Cameron, Parks has clearly done his research, and all but avid historians will likely be unable to discern what came from Parks’ mind and what came from the library.

Of course, a period piece would never have been this convincing without Barreto’s own well-researched take on ’30s-era fashions and architecture. Barreto walks a fine line of his own, as well: the line between illustrations that are complex enough to make for easy differentiation between characters but simple enough to carry along the story without overpowering it. On all points, this is a fascinating crime story that will especially impress Road to Perdition fans.

— Jim Johnson
Jump to issue:
  NotesWriterArtist
#1

October, 2003
Cover Price: $11.95
1 copy available for $3.99 		Ande ParksEduardo Barreto