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North Country is an autobiographical graphic novel based on the Shane White’s childhood in a small town in Northern New York. A harsh environment with struggling parents, poverty and frequent beatings, Shane tells about how he survived this world, becoming an adult that is no longer scared. While remembering his past, Shane travels back home where all the memories, the w good ones and the bad one surge all at once.
It’s a good story, different in tone from the autobiographical comic books written in the late 1980s and 1990s. This one doesn’t seem so pretentious. In it, the Northern New York setting is omnipresent and it is easy for readers to relate to White. Perhaps it is because he did not spend much time exposing his neuroses and dealt more with the source of his suffering, his father. Fortunately, it’s still a positive story as White made it through.
The artwork is similar to David Lapham. It’s a pure and clean comic book line that would suit most comics today. Perhaps it is why readers will not feel removed from White’s story. It is all framed in a comic book world. Nevertheless, White is more than a solid draftsman. He mixes styles and colour treatment in his story to illustrate his feelings. The layout is mostly a solid square nine panel grid with little variation. It works well with this story.
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