There are few things as timeless as Johnny Cash, the man and his music. Never dated, always relevant and consistently innovative Cash is to Country music what Bird was to Jazz. Cash is not only a musical legend but also a man who was bigger than life, the man in black who spoke for all of the down trodden and forgotten members of society. With that kind of pedigree it was only a matter of time before somebody put the man into a comic book. To answer this call German artist Reinhard Kleist unleashes “Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness” a hyper-reality black and white look at the story of a country hero.
Originally released in 2006 the book became an enormous hit around the world until finally getting an English language translation this year. The book won Max And Muritz Award for Best Graphic Novel in 2008 as well as a Sundermann Award for Best National Production in 2007. Such accolades combined with a European artist covering such an American icon and my rabid love of Johnny Cash I was really excited to pick this hefty graphic novel up.
Thankfully my excitement wasn’t in vein because I See A Darkness is one of the best graphic novels I have ever come across and easily the best involving musical biography. It’s obvious from the book that Kleist is not just a fan of Johnny Cash but also reveres the man and has taken painful steps to be respectful through out his book.
Unlike the film Walk The Line that gave a very surface look at Cash’s life I See A Darkness delves into a lot more detail and combines that with a heightened comic book reality. Kleist starts the book in 1935 when Cash was a young man and takes us all the way to the infamous recording sessions with Rick Rubin.
In between we watch Cash get married, record with Elvis at Sun Records, develop a drug addiction, meet June Carter Cash, play Folsom Prison and make a glorious come back. Kleist not only shows us these events but really manages to pull some great detail out as well. He manages to endear us to all the characters surrounding Cash and nails Cash’s other worldly enigmatic personality.
Art wise I See A Darkness is a lush and beautiful piece of work Kleist does more with black and white shading than most do with a full color palette. He has a tremendous sense of motion as well dramatic construct. The book moves likes a motion picture and has the same sense of pacing and style.
Kleist is also outstanding at drawing out emotions from the faces he creates. The lines that develop slowly in Cash’s face show how hard his life has been and some of the best sections of the book have little or no words involved at all. Anybody out there looking to create a graphic novel should study I See A Darkness to get an idea oh how complex and rich a comic book can be.
