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Erased: A Black Actor's Journey Through the Glory Days of Hollywood
Maximus Wyld had his heyday in 1940s-50s Hollywood. Of mixed race black, Chinese and Amerindian descent, he was "the actor with a thousand faces” , essentially interpreting ethnic Indian chief, Mexican revolutionary, oriental dandy... A veritable reinterpretation of the myth of American cinema through the prism of minorities, Erased reveals the political and social dimension of Hollywood productions.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2020
2 people are currently reading
2892 people want to read
About the author
Loo Hui Phang
21 books20 followersLoo Hui Phang is the author of comics including Panorama (with Cédric Manche) and Prestige de l'uniforme (with Hugues Micol), and has also written plays, books, films, performances and installations, for which she has collaborated with renowned illustrators like Blexbolex and Ludovic Debeurme. Born in Laos, she grew up in Normandy.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 11, 2024
A look at racism during the golden age of Hollywood through the prism of a fictional actor named Maximus Wyld, a man of Comanche, Black, and Chinese heritage. Discovered by Cary Grant in a boxing gym, Wyld switches between ethnicities as he takes supporting roles in various films, aiming to be the breakthrough star who is idolized by audiences of all races. He crosses paths with dozens of real figures in the entertainment industry -- and sleeps with some of Hollywood's biggest starlets -- as he tries to build a career that reflects his ideals of dignity, respect, and representation.
It's an interesting concept, but the execution didn't really work for me. The dialogue is stilted, with the characters taking turns making speeches or sharing profound insights instead of having natural conversations. There are sporadic slips into dreamlike, symbolic moments that I did not find appealing. I frequently found myself wishing I was reading a straight-up history about the real people Wyld meets instead of wading through his melodramatic moods and sex life.
I think I also would have engaged more with the work if it were homegrown instead of a French import. The creators feel too far removed from the material.
It's an interesting concept, but the execution didn't really work for me. The dialogue is stilted, with the characters taking turns making speeches or sharing profound insights instead of having natural conversations. There are sporadic slips into dreamlike, symbolic moments that I did not find appealing. I frequently found myself wishing I was reading a straight-up history about the real people Wyld meets instead of wading through his melodramatic moods and sex life.
I think I also would have engaged more with the work if it were homegrown instead of a French import. The creators feel too far removed from the material.
November 4, 2024
Quite an undertaking. This graphic novel explores racial stereotypes in Hollywood through the fictional life of actor Maximus Wyld. Born of mixed ethnic backgrounds, Wyld's experiences reveal both the opportunities and limitations for nonwhite actors in mid-20th century Hollywood. The art was sketchy and rambling; the story was organic, with Maximus representing a variety of actors who, while ‘perfect’ for the role, were marginalized and often uncredited from the film. But it was so, so dense. Fans of Hollywood and scholars of ethnic studies may love it, but it by no means is a light read.
January 29, 2025
Tout d’abord : le graphisme est incroyable. En blanc et noir, comme un vieux film de l’époque dorée de Hollywood. C’est comme d’avoir le film physique sur les genoux.
Puis l’histoire est folle (et cruelle) tout comme devait être folle (et cruelle) la fabrication des stars par les maisons de production. Et puis le débat interne, la lutte pour la visibilité des POC depuis l’intérieur de cette industrie éminemment raciste, quand on pourrait s’y engager plutôt politiquement, mais à quel prix…
Une réflection très intéressante sur un épisode obscur de l’histoire du cinéma, inconnu et désespérant.
Puis l’histoire est folle (et cruelle) tout comme devait être folle (et cruelle) la fabrication des stars par les maisons de production. Et puis le débat interne, la lutte pour la visibilité des POC depuis l’intérieur de cette industrie éminemment raciste, quand on pourrait s’y engager plutôt politiquement, mais à quel prix…
Une réflection très intéressante sur un épisode obscur de l’histoire du cinéma, inconnu et désespérant.
August 2, 2025
This graphic novel came up in a historical fiction webinar and I loved the sound of it. A forgotten actor of colour who was in all the classic movies (Vertigo, Lost Horizon, etc.) and who paved the way for leading men like Sidney Poitier and Yul Brynner, despite being excised from so many films and lost to history. The description of the book is so convincing that you at first think this is the true story of a real forgotten actor, and it's also not surprising that Hollywood could erase him from history. What a premise.
The narrative moves forward in jumps between filming years and the development of Wyld's career. Big name actors and actresses fill the pages, and recognizable scenes from classic cinema are reinterpreted with Wyld in the picture. We love to see John Wayne disparaged in his depiction as a drunken bigot. We also love to see gay Cary Grant over and over through the years, and his supportive friendship with Wyld. The actresses whose names change and whose bodies are altered, shaped, and policed by the studios, a haunting and true history of the Hollywood machine. I think there were likely more faces and images that I didn't clock, and I'd love to have the book broken down into who's who in certain crowd scenes, or what references were being made with some of the images.
The narrative moves forward in jumps between filming years and the development of Wyld's career. Big name actors and actresses fill the pages, and recognizable scenes from classic cinema are reinterpreted with Wyld in the picture. We love to see John Wayne disparaged in his depiction as a drunken bigot. We also love to see gay Cary Grant over and over through the years, and his supportive friendship with Wyld. The actresses whose names change and whose bodies are altered, shaped, and policed by the studios, a haunting and true history of the Hollywood machine. I think there were likely more faces and images that I didn't clock, and I'd love to have the book broken down into who's who in certain crowd scenes, or what references were being made with some of the images.
December 28, 2024
Hollywood is the Great Dream Factory and peddler of lies. All those movies we watch will have the audience believing that the hero is the larger-than-life white guy riding in on his steed and saving the gorgeous actress from the “others.” The “others” are anyone who does not look like the hero. We all know the names of those silver screen heroes. I do not need to list them here. But the names that are forgotten are the actors who played the “others”, names like Maximus Wyld that have been erased.
Erased: An Actor of Color’s Journey Through the Heyday of Hollywood is a historic fictional graphic novel by Loo Hui Phang and Hugues Micoi. This convincing story, mixed with the incredible artwork, makes for a surreal experience. Phang unmasks the racism that plagues Hollywood in a brilliant and thought-provoking way. The story is so well written that it is believable.
As were the movies of the time, Micoi’s art, in black and white, gives life to the tragic tale. With the preface written by Raoul Peck, this graphic novel shines a spotlight on some of the darker shadows of Hollywood.
This Review was Originally Published at
Erased: An Actor of Color’s Journey Through the Heyday of Hollywood is a historic fictional graphic novel by Loo Hui Phang and Hugues Micoi. This convincing story, mixed with the incredible artwork, makes for a surreal experience. Phang unmasks the racism that plagues Hollywood in a brilliant and thought-provoking way. The story is so well written that it is believable.
As were the movies of the time, Micoi’s art, in black and white, gives life to the tragic tale. With the preface written by Raoul Peck, this graphic novel shines a spotlight on some of the darker shadows of Hollywood.
This Review was Originally Published at
October 19, 2024
The idea is interesting, and may have been inspired by the Ryan Murphy "Hollywood" series that imagined better outcomes for its minority characters than they had in real life. But this is a more unsettling mix of reality and fantasy. The Black actor actually is able to break through, to some degree, the Hollywood viewpoint that kept ethnic minorities either off the screen or in roles of servants or fools. His ultimate downfall turns out to be a totally different issue. Because much of the background story is true, I fear that readers will think that this character and what becomes of his filmed work could actually have happened, and it could not, making the book a work of total fantasy, minimizing the real problems that such an actor would have had. And the art isn't really very good. The spoiler is [
July 14, 2024
Everything about this book is just great. It’s particularly touching, what in my opinion is difficult to achieve in a comic book. The setting is one of my favourite in art. (We can see it in the movie Babylon or the Netflix series Hollywood). It clearly shows us how the fight for civil rights could take different aspects, every one being primordial. Besides the story (that is unique) the drawings are also exceptional. It depicts the feeling of this time period with excerpts being dreamy and surrealist, showing us indirectly the power of cinematography.
The only negative point is that some parts seemed like Wikipedia extracts. However they were needed to clarify the context.
This is why I give it five stars.
The only negative point is that some parts seemed like Wikipedia extracts. However they were needed to clarify the context.
This is why I give it five stars.
January 25, 2025
A look at racism in Hollywood in the mid 20th century through the eyes of a fictional actor of color. He was light enough skinned to portray almost any race. This would have worked better if it had been a real story instead. Not sure why you'd even need a fictional one when there's so many real ones. The conversations in this sound like preaching at times instead of real conversation. There's also a ton of metaphysical pages that could have been removed without lessoning the story at all. I also found the lack of panel structure distracting.
December 23, 2024
*Won a free copy through Goodreads Giveaway*
This graphic novel follows the upcoming actor Maximus Wyld and is about the political and social dimension of Hollywood back in the 40s-50s.
I liked the idea of this graphic novel, however, I found the story to be quite dense and it was hard to tell the characters apart. I felt like some parts could've been cut and it still would've worked, it dragged on a bit sometimes.
This graphic novel follows the upcoming actor Maximus Wyld and is about the political and social dimension of Hollywood back in the 40s-50s.
I liked the idea of this graphic novel, however, I found the story to be quite dense and it was hard to tell the characters apart. I felt like some parts could've been cut and it still would've worked, it dragged on a bit sometimes.
October 5, 2024
Very original and fascinating tromp through the early history of Hollywood! The artwork was stunning, I felt like it belonged in a museum! The only thing I wish was included with this GN was a guide toward the end of the famous actors and politicians.
September 12, 2024
A very inciteful book. It would be interesting to know about Maximus Wyld.
March 15, 2025
Excellent !!!
November 25, 2020
Hollywood - une fabrique de rêves - l'âge d'or du cinéma.
C'est la bio fictive d'un acteur métisse "Maximus Ohanzee Wildhorse". Il est d'origine comanche, afro-américain, avec des racines mexicaines et chinoises, c'est un diamant à mille facettes. Il peut tout jouer.
C'est Gary Grant qui découvre cet orphelin dans une salle de boxe de Los Angeles. Maximus va jouer tous les rôles ethniques : tibétain dans "Horizons perdus", turc dans "Le faucon Maltais", égyptien dans "La terre des pharaons", indien dans "La flèche brisée", latino dans "Vertigo", domestique noir dans "Autant en emporte le vent".
Il a les premiers rôles dans les race movies d'Oscar Michaux qui crée le cinéma pour les noirs.
Il joue, certes mais est souvent coupé, effacé au montage ou au générique. C'est l'Amérique qui fait son cinéma blanc pour les blancs, c'est qu'on ne se mélange pas...
Pas encore lui dit-on. On lui laisse miroiter qu'un jour lorsque le public sera prêt, il sera un bon "Othello" alors il change de nom et devient Maximus Wild. On le façonne à l'image d'Hollywood, on le modélise, supprime ses accents, lui fait suivre des cours de diction, de danse, d'art dramatique, du sport et lui fait subir de la chirurgie esthétique. C'est Hollywood qui crée les personnages.
Il rêve de jouer et représenter ses origines, se pose des questions mais pourquoi les indiens sont-ils toujours les méchants ? Ce n'était pas comme ça au début, encore une fois, ce sont les blancs qui écrivent l'histoire et c'est la réalité voulue par les blancs qui l'emporte.
C'est aussi la période des lois racistes, du code Hayes, de la ségrégation et du maccarthysme.
C'est un roman graphique exigeant qui s'adresse aux érudits, aux amateurs de cinéma. C'est extrêmement bien documenté. Ce récit peut avoir plusieurs niveaux de lecture, mettant en avant le sort des minorités ethniques au cinéma dans les années 40-50 avant d'ouvrir enfin la porte à Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte et Yul Brynner.
Le dessin est noir et blanc en écho au thème du roman graphique. J'ai beaucoup apprécié le coup de crayon de Micol, foisonnant de détails, nous représentant l'atmosphère. Il alterne avec des pages classiques et des grands formats. Il y a des multitudes de symboles dans chaque planche, le dessin est vraiment remarquable, superbe.
Une très belle idée cadeau pour les amateurs du genre.
Ma note : 9.5/10
Les jolies phrases
Qu'est-ce que tu aimes dans la vie ? Les combats impossibles. La vie va te gâter.
Le cinéma est un instrument malléable, il se plie à n'importe quel dogme.
Vous n'avez pas peur que les caméras volent vos âmes? Qu'elles les volent. Nos âmes hanteront leurs films.
En fait, quand tu réunis tout ce que le code Hayes interdit : la nudité, les déviances sexuelles, l'homosexualité, la violence, l'immoralité, la vulgarité et que tu les mélanges à la Bible, ça fait un péplum.
https://nathavh49.blogspot.com/2020/1...
C'est la bio fictive d'un acteur métisse "Maximus Ohanzee Wildhorse". Il est d'origine comanche, afro-américain, avec des racines mexicaines et chinoises, c'est un diamant à mille facettes. Il peut tout jouer.
C'est Gary Grant qui découvre cet orphelin dans une salle de boxe de Los Angeles. Maximus va jouer tous les rôles ethniques : tibétain dans "Horizons perdus", turc dans "Le faucon Maltais", égyptien dans "La terre des pharaons", indien dans "La flèche brisée", latino dans "Vertigo", domestique noir dans "Autant en emporte le vent".
Il a les premiers rôles dans les race movies d'Oscar Michaux qui crée le cinéma pour les noirs.
Il joue, certes mais est souvent coupé, effacé au montage ou au générique. C'est l'Amérique qui fait son cinéma blanc pour les blancs, c'est qu'on ne se mélange pas...
Pas encore lui dit-on. On lui laisse miroiter qu'un jour lorsque le public sera prêt, il sera un bon "Othello" alors il change de nom et devient Maximus Wild. On le façonne à l'image d'Hollywood, on le modélise, supprime ses accents, lui fait suivre des cours de diction, de danse, d'art dramatique, du sport et lui fait subir de la chirurgie esthétique. C'est Hollywood qui crée les personnages.
Il rêve de jouer et représenter ses origines, se pose des questions mais pourquoi les indiens sont-ils toujours les méchants ? Ce n'était pas comme ça au début, encore une fois, ce sont les blancs qui écrivent l'histoire et c'est la réalité voulue par les blancs qui l'emporte.
C'est aussi la période des lois racistes, du code Hayes, de la ségrégation et du maccarthysme.
C'est un roman graphique exigeant qui s'adresse aux érudits, aux amateurs de cinéma. C'est extrêmement bien documenté. Ce récit peut avoir plusieurs niveaux de lecture, mettant en avant le sort des minorités ethniques au cinéma dans les années 40-50 avant d'ouvrir enfin la porte à Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte et Yul Brynner.
Le dessin est noir et blanc en écho au thème du roman graphique. J'ai beaucoup apprécié le coup de crayon de Micol, foisonnant de détails, nous représentant l'atmosphère. Il alterne avec des pages classiques et des grands formats. Il y a des multitudes de symboles dans chaque planche, le dessin est vraiment remarquable, superbe.
Une très belle idée cadeau pour les amateurs du genre.
Ma note : 9.5/10
Les jolies phrases
Qu'est-ce que tu aimes dans la vie ? Les combats impossibles. La vie va te gâter.
Le cinéma est un instrument malléable, il se plie à n'importe quel dogme.
Vous n'avez pas peur que les caméras volent vos âmes? Qu'elles les volent. Nos âmes hanteront leurs films.
En fait, quand tu réunis tout ce que le code Hayes interdit : la nudité, les déviances sexuelles, l'homosexualité, la violence, l'immoralité, la vulgarité et que tu les mélanges à la Bible, ça fait un péplum.
https://nathavh49.blogspot.com/2020/1...
November 29, 2022
La vie fictive mais très politique de Maxymus Wild, qui m'a plus convaincu au niveau du propos que du dessin, ce qui me va me faire suivre attentivement le travail de Loo Hui Phang (j'avais déjà adoré L'Odeur des garçons affamés). Cet acteur métis d'ascendance afro-américaine, chinoise et amérindienne, rejoue ou réinterprète l'histoire en cherchant par ses choix de rôle ou de gestes codés à bouleverser Hollywood de l'intérieur, voire de l'extérieur (Moscou), toujours à la merci de l'instrumentalisation d'un tiers et de la répression (code Hays, maccarthysme), à travers ses rencontres avec les actrices et acteurs de son temps et leurs représentations très paradoxales.
Vous y croiserez Cary Grant, Rita Haysworth, Ava Gardner, Hitchcock, Ford, Paul Robeson, Sabu (que j'adore), Lena Horne, John Wayne le faf...
Vous y croiserez Cary Grant, Rita Haysworth, Ava Gardner, Hitchcock, Ford, Paul Robeson, Sabu (que j'adore), Lena Horne, John Wayne le faf...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2022
Black-out retrace l'histoire du cinéma américain à travers les yeux d'un acteur (fictif mais si crédible) aux origines ethniques multiples, exploité jusqu'à la moelle par la machine Hollywoodienne, avant d'être jeté aux oubliettes et méthodiquement effacé. Comment en est-on arrivé à une issue aussi drastique ? C'est ce que racontent, magistralement, Loo Hui Phang et Hugues Micol, dont les somptueux dessins m'ont rappelé, en plus foisonnant, le style de la série de biographies par Catel et Bocquet.
May 29, 2022
L'histoire et le sujet sont très intéressants, et le dessin original, mais j'ai vraiment eu du mal à accrocher... notamment, je n'arrivais pas à distinguer les personnages !
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