Book of the Month

Written by HOWARD CRUSE
Art and new cover by HOWARD CRUSE

Size: 224 pages
Price: 24.99

People talk about Maus and they talk about Fun Home, but other than hearing the title in passing, I never hear anyone mention Howard Cruse’s Stuck Rubber Baby, and that’s a problem. Originally published in 1995, Vertigo recently rereleased the graphic novel in a shiny new hardcover version. When I cracked the book open, I had no idea what it was about. I’m not sure I was prepared for just how heavy a read this was going to be, and I took my time with it over several weeks. This book isn’t for everyone, but there’s no denying either the skill involved, or the relevance of the subject matter to Americans today, or anyone living under the shadow of intolerance and bigotry.

Stuck Rubber Baby takes place largely in a fictional Southern town of Clayfield in the 1960’s. The story’s main protagonist and narrator is Toland Polk, an aimless, white young man, surrounded by the boiling cauldron of racism and segregation of a the era. If that wasn’t enough conflict, Toland is gay, but throughout much of the story, won’t admit it to himself or anyone else. As time passes, he meets all sorts of people, and goes through conflict and hardship, and Toland is forced to come to terms with himself and the world he lives in. It is not a pretty world. While there certainly seems to be no shortage of open-minded and tolerant individuals, they all live under the specter of fear and violence from the local government, police, and even the Klan. Having grown up in Birmingham, Alabama, the epicenter of the civil rights movement, in the early 1960’s, Cruse brings an incredible depth and truth to his story, to the extent that he doesn’t have to harp on the details and prove his authenticity, but they’re so integral to the work that they’re just there, organically. In that same thread, Cruse, like Toland, grew up as a gay man in that same era, and the conflict Toland feels is authentic and riveting. Every once in a while, I’d be reading a scene full of people who are all so accepting of one another, with all these gay characters mixed up in church activities, and think maybe this isn’t the way it was, and I’m not sure if that’s the case, but I’d like to think that this really happened.

The book isn’t autobiographical, but Cruse says that a great deal of it came from his life, and people he knew. So often, the Civil Rights movement is spoken of in reverence, but we rarely think of in conjunction with gay rights, at least at the time of the story. Yet in Stuck Rubber Baby, the oppressed black youth were under the same fire as the closeted and not so closeted gay youth, and you have a difficult time telling the two struggles apart. It’s impossible to read this story without comparing it to what we’re seeing today. We see how much better things are, but also the shadow of hatred lurking just under the surface, and still so prevalent. It’s a political story, no doubt, and if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of gay relationships, this isn’t the book for you. But then at the same time, maybe you’re the one who needs to read it. We try to shy away from politics on this website, but this is a story that goes beyond politics in my mind, because it’s about letting people be who they are, without having to fear for their safety.

From a storytelling standpoint, this is one full story. There are endless characters who are all distinct and separate from one another, and all very much fleshed out. Cruse invites you into a world that is so flush with reality that you’re surprised it’s a fictional account. This cast of characters moves in and out of the narrative, and you really get a sense of the community Toland is part of, as well as how harsh the world could be at the time. It was an ugly world, and it’s shocking that it wasn’t really all that long ago. To me, that is the most fascinating aspect of the story, that these antiquated laws and customs were actually upheld by the law, and people who are no different than us had to live with it. Among that hatred, they still managed to find joy in life and be who they needed to be.

As a cartoonist, it will become immediately apparent that you’re dealing with a master in Howard Cruse. The multitude of scratchy, but precise pen marks and clear storytelling flesh out the visuals of the world, and bring life to the characters. With all sorts of unique faces and excellent acting, Cruse sets the standard for a story like this. There’s no doubt that he influenced a lot of cartoonists who came after, not only in tackling challenging and personal material, but also by bringing such a high level of craft to his pencils and inks, and even his lettering. The carefully rendered pages are packed with content, honesty, and emotion, and it’s incredibly impressive.

One of the things I tell people when they ask me what I do is that I promote comic books as a medium that is capable of handling any kind of story you throw at them, and sometimes better than prose or movies. Stuck Rubber Baby is an excellent example of that strength. The art and words come from one source, and work together to paint a picture that couldn’t be matched in any other medium. It also tells a story that simply needs to be told. This story highlights that people, regardless of who they are, what they do, or what they are, need to be treated with respect. The era of segregation should never be forgotten, and the lessons of the time should be in people’s minds today, as they watch the news, and decide about what issues they care about. You’re not going to get away with reading Stuck Rubber Baby without having to think about these kinds of issues, and I think that’s a wonderful thing about this important work, just as poignant and relevant today as it was when it was released fifteen years ago.

Josh Flanagan
I’m skipping pithy, and telling you to read this.
josh@ifanboy.com