NEW! A review on Der
Spiegel Online brought some welcome attention to the German edition
of Mom's Cancer, titled Mutter Hat Krebs. At least I think it's
a positive review....
Giskin Day teaches a course on medical
humanities at Imperial College London and contributes to the blog"Medical Humanities," for which she wrote a great review
of Mom's Cancer that concludes, "
Mom’s Cancer is an inspirational
work of great love and care. In spite of its serious subject matter,
this is not a pathos-saturated book. Fies’s ability to universalise
his particular and personal situation affords an authentic, original
insight into the realities of coping with serious illness."
MSNBC.com book
reviewer Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
read Mom's Cancer and wrote, "Many
readers won't be able to get past the title, and even if the book
rings true, it's not exactly a cheery gift--although it should become
required reading in medical schools. But those who do pick it up will
find it a brave and honest tale. Meeting 'Mom' and her family will
help you appreciate and understand your own."
Rebecca Buchanan
reviewed
Mom's Cancer for
Sequential Tart, an Internet Webzine
about the comics industry with a focus on women's themes and contributions
to the industry. Rebecca gave the book a score of 9/10 and wrote
that "Fies' story is a great example of what comics can be."
San
Francisco Chronicle book editor Oscar Villalon recently recorded an
audio review of Mom's Cancer for the
KQED radio magazine program
"The California Report." Among his comments: "Fies's intentions with
these strips were humble. As he writes in the preface, he simply told
his story in hope that others may somehow benefit from it. But Mom's
Cancer is more than just a consoling hug. It's a collection of brief
dispatches from a quiet war being waged on fronts found on just about
any block."
Mom's Cancer also got a nice review on the
"Nonfiction
(Readers) Anonymous" blog. "Nonanon" is an opinionated, sardonic online
critic who, I gather, doesn't shy away from scorching earth when necessary,
which makes her "Wows" that much sweeter.
The Wall Street Journal recently
ran a nice review by Laura Landro (not available online). An excerpt:
"...Mom's Cancer works on several levels: The stark black-and-white
drawings, with the occasional burst of color, convey the drama of
a family battling the fear and uncertainty of cancer treatment, and
the illustrations help explain technical matters--such as how chemotherapy
and radiation work against a tumor--that might make readers' eyes
glaze over in traditional text-only format."
Laurel Maury wrote
an extraordinary review of Mom's Cancer for the Los Angeles Times in
May (no longer available online). Two excerpts, the first and last
passages of the review: "In Mom's Cancer, Eisner-Award winning
artist Brian Fies does a simple reality face-off with his mother's
illness. Fies' excellent graphic novel, which started as a weekly
Web comic, describes his mother's cancer treatment with neither sentiment
nor hysterics, and the effect is quietly devastating.... What may
earn this book a spot in oncology offices, self-help groups and, probably,
medical school curricula, is how carefully Fies tells the truth about
what happens to people. Mom's Cancer doesn't soften any blows. It
gives us a woman getting through the most horrible episode in her
life. She could easily be one of us."
The Library Journal published
a starred review of Mom's Cancer in mid-May (not available online),
writing in part: "With insight, compassion, and honesty, Fies captures
important moments of the ordeal, delves into some remarkable family
history, and tells a story of heartbreak and hope with depth and universality.
His black-and-white cartooning is simple but sophisticated, starkly
depicting the awful pain that Mom undergoes; the result, when combined
with his sparing use of color and his exploration of metaphor and
memory, creates images that would never be as effective or memorable
in text alone.... Highly recommended." The opinions of the Library
Journal and reviewer Steve Raiteri are very influential among people
who acquire books for libraries.
Entertainment Weekly magazine
reviewed Mom's Cancer in its issue of April 7, 2006:
The Onion's A.V. Club reviewed
Mom's Cancer in its March 28 "Comics of Note," saying: "Creator Brian
Fies began it as an online comic addressing his mother's lung cancer,
and he writes and draws in a newspaper-comics-friendly style that's
inviting to look at and easy to read, but does nothing to soft-sell
his family's difficulties. He began it not knowing how it would end,
but in collected form, it coheres nicely into a moving story about
saying 'no' to death even when the odds appear impossible…"
My
Internet friend
Mike Peterson is a journalist in Glens Falls, N.Y.
and one of
Mom's Cancer's earliest champions. Mike runs the "Newspapers
in Education" program for the Glens Falls Post-Star and does a wonderful
job of incorporating comics into his projects aimed at young readers.
In a recent "Honor Roll" supplement of his newspaper, Mike dedicated
a page to
Mom's Cancer that I think provides a very insightful analysis
of my story.
Click HERE to download a PDF (2.3 MB) of that page
(used with permission).
David LeBlanc is the editor of the
Comic
Book Network Electronic Magazine, a text e-zine sent to more than
1,400 subscribers. David reviewed
Mom's Cancer in his March 10, 2006
issue, calling it one of a few graphic novels "that stand out by how
they affect your thinking or just your enjoyment of the reading."
He concluded, "Anything that affects you emotionally like that is
well worth your time and money. This one's a keeper." With David's
permission, I reprinted his review
HERE.
Dr. Philip Berman
started the Internet cancer community
RedToeNail.org after he
was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer. The site's name comes from
Dr. Berman's resolution to paint one toe nail red for every year he
survives; so far he's up to two. He and I have corresponded occasionally
over the months, and in March 2006 he published
a review of Mom's
Cancer in his blog. I recommend his site as an excellent way of connecting
to people sharing the experience of living with cancer.
Publishers
Weekly, the Bible of the book industry, published
the first review
of the book version of
Mom's Cancer in its issue of January
30, 2006 (if that link doesn't work, the review is also appended to
my
Amazon.com listing). Their starred review was very favorable, advising
readers that "this story is more about how a life-altering event affects
an entire family than another Lifetime disease-of-the-week story."
It concluded: "The clean, simple comic-strip quality of Fies's art
fits the story perfectly, highlighting the gravity of the situation
while cutting away undue sentimentality."
Comics pro
Gary Sassaman was
kind enough to review
Mom's Cancer on his
"Innocent Bystander" blog. An
excerpt: "[The story is] told simply, but incredibly eloquently, and
Fies is as gifted a writer as he is a cartoonist. His web version
of
Mom's Cancer won the first ever Eisner Award for digital comics
last year. But like everything else, it means so much more in book
form, having it to read and hold, away from the harsh, bright light
of a computer screen. The book gives it permanence and meaning and
is a fit tribute to a courageous woman and her family. Lord knows
I wouldn't have been so dignified in such a battle. And
Mom's
Cancer is nothing if not a dignified, sincere account of a horrible
time in the life of a family."