Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara was a man both revered and reviled, whose legendary feats have since fueled the imagination and attracted many admirers. Che: A Revolutionary Life, José Hernández's graphic adaptation of Jon Lee Anderson's 1997 biography, shows Che in light of these stories and myths. Hernández paints a portrait of Che as an idealistic leader whose dogmatic faith in socialism created a flawed vision of class warfare, put Fidel Castro in power and led to Che's own tragic downfall.
Letters, journals, interviews and personal writings show how a young medical doctor transformed into one of the most charismatic and feared leaders of the 20th century. Che's writings provide the evolutionary context behind his all-or-nothing, win-or-lose philosophy that left little room for diplomacy. The snippets of dialogue that Hernández chooses to connect panels feel disconnected and jumpy, but the artwork stuns with cinematic precision and photographic detail. This book puts readers in the thick of the South American and Caribbean jungles, where the Cuban revolution was won. Scenes of bullets whizzing by Che and his guerilla fighters provide tension and immediacy, while close-ups that focus on the speakers and blur background details lend the narrative a documentary feel. Anderson and Hernández depict a proud and flawed leader who inspired the disenfranchised and whose exploits and early death added to his mythology. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant