A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge was a random find at the library, and I’m so happy that it jumped out at me because I hadn’t heard of this book at all before, and it was seriously awesome. I don’t know why more people aren’t reading it, because you all should be. Why don’t I explain what it’s about?
A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge (Pantheon/ 2009) is the story of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, 
told in graphic novel format. Except that it’s really not a novel, as it is the story as it pertains to five individuals, real people who survived the storm. These are five people who author Josh Neufeld met in person while doing research on the hurricane and its aftermath, and he decided that he needed to tell all of their stories. So, using both words and illustrations, he did.
This is a beautiful book. The artwork is wonderful, and I particularly love Neufeld’s use of color throughout the book. He kind of used different colors to show different situations and to create different moods. For me, it really worked.
I also found the individuals in the book to be compelling and relatable. Each one of them experienced the hurricane in a different way, unique to their particular situations in life, and it was so interesting to see how it affected them all in such drastically different ways – but there was one thing in common: it hugely impacted their lives. It destroyed all of their homes, some of their businesses, all of their prized possessions and many of their memories.
Although there were so many differences among these people, reading their stories really served to remind me that so much of what makes us human makes us all very much alike. The sheer humanity of this book is what really got to me.
I can’t recommend this one enough. If you like graphic novels, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge just begs to be picked up. This one’s a winner. 5 Stars
Josh Neufeld is the writer/artist of the Xeric Award-winning graphic travelogue A Few Perfect Hours (And Other Stories from Southeast Asia & Central Europe). Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Neufeld spent three weeks as an American Red Cross volunteer in Biloxi, Mississippi. The blog entries he kept about that experience turned into a self-published book, Katrina Came Calling, which in turn led to A.D. Neufeld works primarily in the realm of nonfiction comics. His work has been featured in The Vagabonds, Keyhole, and Titans of Finance, as well as in numerous comics anthologies, newspapers, magazines, and literary journals. He is a longtime artist for Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor, and his art has been exhibited in gallery and museum shows in the United States and Europe. You’ll find Neufeld online at http://joshcomix.home.mindspring.com/
Hurricane Katrina Fallout: 1200 Citizens Incarcerated At “Camp Greyhound”
Book Review: Hate List By Jennifer Brown
Copyright © 2006-2010, Basil & Spice. All rights reserved.