Book of the Month
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Size: pages
Price: 19.99
One of my earliest memories in my life was in the living room in my family’s old house in Commack, NY. I had to have been 4, maybe 5, and I remember my Dad blasting a Queen record. I remember it vividly because the cover of the album had a robot holding the bloody bodies of men and quite honestly, it scared me a little. But I remember loving the songs and my father was quite fond of it as well. It could probably be said that Queen was one of the first bands I was “aware” of, raised on “We Will Rock You.” I think it’s because of this early memory, I’ve always had a soft spot for Queen, even before Wayne’s World.
It’s this soft spot that made me stop in the aisles at a comic book store and notice Freddie & Me by Mike Dawson. I noticed the cover and immediately thought “a comic about Freddie Mercury? Awesome!” And even though it jumped out at me, I moved on, adding it to my mental list of comics I would eventually get around to. It was nearly a year later that I found myself in that same comic book store purchasing my weekly stack of issues, which for this specific week was unusually low. So given that I was spending less than normal I thought it would be fun to go find a book I wouldn’t normally buy. As I had this thought, I walked by Freddie & Me again, and this time I stopped and grabbed it.
Freddie & Me is an original graphic novel by Mike Dawson, telling his autobiographical tale of his childhood, growing up, family issues he dealt with all within the shadow of his obsession with Queen and the vocalist Freddie Mercury. Now, it’s already clear about my obsession with comics, or else I wouldn’t be writing for this site that you come and read quite often (thank you for that by the way.) But I also tend to get a bit obsessed with music, specifically a few artists, much to the chagrin of my friends (who I also thank for putting up with me and my blind devotion). So the idea of a comic book about a guy with a similar obsession seemed to be something I should be reading.
My original expectations for Freddie & Me was for a book filled with camp and over dramatic anecdotes playing off easy jokes such as Freddie Mercury as both a performer and a homosexual as well as tons of Wayne’s World references. I was delighted to find out that it while it was filled with dramatic anecdotes, they weren’t the type I was expecting. Instead what Freddie & Me is an amazingly honest and sincere autobiographic comic that was amusing but also gripping in its honesty. Mike Dawson really put himself and his life and relationships out there with this book in a way that was a pleasant surprise and earned a massive amount of respect from me.
The book begins with a timeline, outlining the career of Queen and alongside it snapshots of Mike and where he was in his life at those various times. Beginning in 1984 we see as Mike discovers Queen in all their cross dressing glory during “I Want To Break Free.” We watch in 1986 as Mike and his family move from England to New Jersey and how hard it is to fit in (especially in New Jersey) and grow up as an outsider. Years later, in 1992 teen angst is defined for Mike with a major hatred of grunge music and coping with the death of Freddie Mercury. And finally we see Mike as an adult dealing with the loss of his Grandmother and finding the inspiration for his career as a graphic novelist. All along the way we see as relationships come and go and a life develops and grows, much in the way that you and I have grown up. In fact, it’s that very aspect that I found so compelling about this book. Mike Dawson is a normal guy. Swap out a few of the specifics and this could be a story about me, or you even. But this is Mike’s story, and while his story isn’t exotic or over the top, it’s extremely relatable.
Mike’s art style is more on the cartoony side of the fence, often reminding me of the work of Alex Robinson. Usually this isn’t a style that I love, but in this instance it worked. Throughout the book, which is black and white, his use of blacks and negative space to denote sections of the story are done in a way that helps move the reader along. His layouts are a combination of simplistic in that they don’t get in the way of the story to immensely complex and unique, providing dramatic control of the pace and the moments being told. I’ve really come to respect original graphic novelists who do everything from writing the script to the layouts to the finished art. It truly is a labor of love, and with Freddie & Me, you get a real sense of the love Mike Dawson has for both Queen as well as those in his life.
Another aspect of the story of Freddie & Me that I really enjoyed was the juxtaposition of Mike Dawson’s personal obsession with Queen with the fascination with Wham and George Michael that his sister had at the same time. The use of Wham and George Michael as a narrative thread, tying both Mike to his sister as well as the connection between Queen and George Michael (who performed at the the epic Freddie Mercury memorial concert that I totally remember watching on TV), provides a clever bookend to the story beginning and ending with Mike and his sister both loving their personal music idols. Elegantly showing how siblings can fight and hate one another in their youth, but grow to adulthood and maturity and with that comes understanding, toleration and even respect. Again, I find myself connecting with Mike’s life and his life story as my sister and I couldn’t be further away from one another in our musical tastes, and yet as we grow older I can understand and respect where she’s coming from. What I realized from reading Freddie & Me is that while I may think I am the sole arbiter of what’s good and worth listening to in the world, so does everyone. Everyone creates this universe where they are the center of it and how anyone could disagree with you is beyond comprehension. It’s this aspect of the story that provides just another layer of the depiction of getting older and the maturity that comes with age.
As I write this myself, I’m listening to my personal “Freddie Mercury” and laughing at how silly it seems. Silly in that while reading Freddie & Me, I was able to understand and relate to exactly how Mike Dawson felt while growing up, being hopelessly devoted to a band/music artist and how it casts a shadow throughout life. As I went from chapter to chapter, I couldn’t help but to read and interpret the events of Mike’s life and find parallels and similarities to my own. Of course Mike’s life, while similar in themes, is not the same as mine. His is a unique story that only happened to him. But it’s that relatable aspect that led me to be thinking about this book weeks after I read it. Delighted to see a story of someone else who was like me, who understand the range of emotions that life can provide and the healing and inspiring power that music can bring. Sure it helped that I shared an enjoyment of Queen, but by no means do I think that’s a requirement to read and enjoy this book. Rather just the emotions and feelings that come with being caught in the spell of a band at any point in your life. It could have been David Bowie, or Michael Jackson, or Pearl Jam or N.W.A or even Morrissey. But it’s that connection, that feeling that it’s just you and the band that one feels has never been retold or conveyed in a more accurate manner than in Freddie & Me.
If you’re in the market for a personal graphic novel on the autobiographical side, I absolutely recommend Freddie & Me, as it never failed to impress. If you’re a fan of Queen, then you have to own this! If you don’t really care for Queen, don’t worry, you can still enjoy and relate to this book. Simply put on an album of YOUR Freddie Mercury, sit down and read. Freddie & Me is a fantastic graphic novel about growing up that most of us should be able to relate to and see and feel the love that is depicted throughout it.
Ron Richards
ron@ifanboy.com
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You wish it was about Morrisey, don’t you? (great reviw, by the way.) My friend was 6 rows back at his show in Minneapolis last night. When she told me, my first though was, "Ron would be really jealous."
Ron, you are so right, this book was brilliant. The scene where the school nurse relates to Mike about the death of Freddy was incredibly moving. I remember being really cut up about the death of Douglas Adams and feeling silly about being feeling so upset. That scene was so truthfully told it made me cry!
Ron, I read this after you tweeted about it a month or two ago, and loved it. i’ve been a queen fan since the mid 80’s so I knew the history, which made it a lot of fun. I suggest you look up the videos and concert footage on you tube as you read the book, it makes it even more enjoyable.
A) Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeDawsonComic if you’re so inclined He’s very amusing.
I think what I liked about this book most was that the voice matured as the Mike’s character did. The begining is written uding a child’s voice and rightly so, but as Mike’a comic character matures, so does his narritive voice.
This comic is recession proof. Buy!
……..Freddie and I! srry couldn’t resist
@Aquaman – Not necessarily. If the tile is an object, as in "This book is about Freddie and Me," there’s nothing wrong with it. Given that there’s no context, you can’t actually say it’s incorrect.
I just got this from my library on the recommendation of our own Dave Carr!
I’m a Queen fan, so I love it on that level–but it does a great job at evoking the relationship you form with an atrist or group from that first moment you ‘discover’ them. I especially loved the timeline of Queen albums juxtaposed with the timeline of Dawson’s family. It is a great representation of how certain artists or albums become our life soundtrack through both the mundane periods and life-altering events.
ps: I always assumed that "Freddie and Me" was an allusion to "Ben and Me"–the kids book about Benjamin Franklin.
Sounds awesome!
Sounds great, I’ll definitely check this out. Thanks for the review!
@PaulMontgomery im not that actually that picky with grammer. I read Scott Pilgrim for god sakes! (^_^)
So don’t stop me now don’t stop me
‘Cause I’m having a good time … reading this review!
I may have to buy this.
Queen is one of the greatest bands to ever grace the planet, after all.
The cover of "News of the World" was one of my earliest music memories as well.
Whoa. This sounds great!
Sounds good.
Just ordered it, sounds wicked and I love Queen:) didn’t realise they were so loved outside the UK. That rocks!
Good review Ron, made me want to read the book, but I like autobio comics generally speaking.
I hadn’t read this by the time we did the talk on the show, but I loved it, if that means anything to anyone. 5 Stars, easy.