The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam: An Illustrated Memoir
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A full-color graphic memoir inspired by the award-winning documentary-and the life and mystery of China's greatest magician. Who was Long Tack Sam? He was born in 1885. He ran away from Shangdung Province to join the circus. He was an acrobat. A magician. A comic. An impresario. A restaurateur. A theater owner. A world traveler. An East-West ambassador. A mentor to Orson Welles. He was considered the greatest act in the history of vaudeville. In this gorgeous graphic memoir, his great-granddaughter, the artist and filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming, resurrects his fascinating life for the rest of the world. It's an exhilarating testament to a forgotten man. And every picture is true. Watch a QuickTime trailer for this book.
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I wanted to like this.
The art wasn't to my taste. AMF says ‘I couldn't draw very well' and that she had been run over, so she had Stick Girl. I didn't love Stick Girl but due to the quality and presentation of the photos and other visual it reminded me of fifth grade reports.
AMF doesn't owe me anything and is allowed to set the parameters of the story she wants to tell, but it seems like she wanted to say more about immigration and didn't. It feels like a missed opportunity.
Oh and * that didn't correspond to anything on the page was confusing and annoying. Use an arrow or other symbol, if one is even needed, ugh.
My favorite part of this is the very beginning where she explains how she's (part) Chinese, born in Japan with a Korean birth certificate.
