CASTRO GN (ARSENAL PULP PRESS)

On the heels of America's renewed relations with Cuba: a vivid graphic novel on the life of Fidel Castro.

PUBLISHER Arsenal Pulp Press
WRITER Reinhard Kleist
ARTIST Reinhard Kleist
COVER ARTIST Reinhard Kleist
PAGES 288 pages
COLOR? B&W
SIZE 7x10
FORMAT Graphic Novel

As America moves toward normalizing relations with Cuba, this gripping, vivid graphic novel reveals the life and times of Fidel Castro, one of the 20th century's most intriguing, charismatic, and divisive figures. The book is narrated by a German journalist named Karl Mertens, who is plunged into the searing heat of pre-revolutionary Cuba in the mid-1950s. He first meets with Castro while the latter is hiding in the mountains, then follows him through the dramatic revolution and his ascent to the presidency that, despite the Bay of Pigs confrontation and decades of international trade blockades, lasts for nearly 50 years. We also witness Castro's involvement in bloody skirmishes, failed missions, and brutal crackdowns, as well as his interactions with and on behalf of the Cuban people, which reveal as much about his fallible human qualities as they do his legend.

Castro is the work of acclaimed German graphic novelist Reinhard Kleist, who visited Cuba in 2008; it was first published in English by Selfmade Hero for the British market, and is now being made available in North America for the first time. Bristling with energy and alive with the spirit of Cuba, Castro has much to offer about the complex politics of one of the most enduring and controversial figures in modern history.

This graphic novel reveals life and times of Fidel Castro. The book is narrated by a German journalist named Karl Mertens who is plunged into pre-revolutionary Cuba in the mid-1950s. He first meets with Castro while the latter is hiding in the mountains, then the revolution and his presidency that lasts for nearly fifty years.

In October 1958, a young German journalist arrives in Havana, Cuba, and sets out to meet and interview Fidel Castro on behalf of a German newspaper. He finds himself in a country plunged into revolution. From the viewpoint of this young journalist, Kleist presents a detailed look at the life and politics of the Cuban 'Maximo Lider' Fidel Castro, from his childhood to the present day. Beautifully realised in Kleist's bold, striking style, Castro is a unique portrait of one of the most enduring and controversial figures in modern history.

A young journalist travels to Cuba in the end of the year 1958 to report about the rebel leader Fidel Castro and gets involved in the revolutionary actions. Quickly he becomes involved in the events and he experiences the history of the revolution from his perspective.

"Castro" tells the story of Fidel Castros life and depicts the story of the revolution from its beginnings til today.

In 2008 I went to Cuba to do some research for this book. The well received travel book "Havanna" was a result from this journey and the reader will find some details from it in the Castro book as well.

The preface is written by Castro-biographer and journalist Volker Skierka, who helped with the text as well.

Kleist's narrator, journalist Karl Mertens, begins his vigorous tale with a noble dictum: "a reporter must always remain neutral, must not judge and never become biased". Yet no sooner is he off the plane from Germany and into the sticky heat of 1950s Cuba than he's fallen in love with both a female guerrilla and the charismatic young Fidel Castro, who is hiding in the mountains. Mertens follows Castro through revolution and a reign that, despite the Bay of Pigs, trade blockades and scores of assassination attempts, lasts for 47 years. Kleist has a dramatic story to tell and rarely disappoints, his black-and-white artwork capturing bloody skirmishes, expressive faces and crowd scenes that throb with life. Clever touches, whether quotes from real interviews or the surprise appearance of Michael Corleone's face in a gallery of real rogues, make up for the occasional clunky dialogue. But inevitably it is Castro who dominates, and Kleist does a fine job of rendering the self-belief that both fuelled him and led this avowed lover of freedom into brutal crackdowns.

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