Fax desde Sarajevo

by Joe Kubert

En esta novela gráfica a todo color, la leyenda del cómic Joe Kubert creó la que, sin duda, fue la mejor y más personal obra de toda su larga y distinguida carrera. Esta es la historia de un amigo de Joe, Ervin Rustemagic, y de cómo él y su familia lucharon para conservar sus vidas y su dignidad durante los 18 meses que duró el asedio a Sarajevo entre 1992 y 1993. Ervin no tuvo más apoyo que el de una frágil línea de fax con la que pudo comunicarse durante la guerra con sus amigos del mundo exterior. A partir de cientos de faxes, en los que describía con todo detalle desde las atrocidades cometidas en nombre de la “limpieza étnica” hasta los miedos y frustraciones siempre presentes de la familia Rustemagic, Kubert construyó con gran habilidad una historia desgarradora de una auténtica tragedia y, en última instancia, de una esperanza inquebrantable.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, History, War, Comic Book, Politics

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Joe Kubert was a Jewish-American comic book artist who went on to found the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. His sons, Andy Kubert and Adam Kubert, have themselves become successful comic-book artists.

Kubert's other creations include the comic books Tor, Son of Sinbad, and Viking Prince, and, with writer Robin Moore, the comic strip Tales of the Green Beret.

Kubert was inducted into the Harvey Awards' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1997, and Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1998.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

War - up close and personnel. Joe Kubert is one the most underappreciated masters of the comic/graphic novel genre. He is one of the few artists who could make you feel you have seen the face of war; several combat veterans have told me he is there favorite comic book artist. This book is a masterpiece - highest recommendation.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina declared its independence from Yugoslavia. Subsequently, Bosnian Serb forces, led by Slobodan Milosevic, committed horrific crimes against Bosnian Muslim and Croatian civilians, and in the next three years more than 100,00 people were dead, 80% from those two groups.
Genocide.

I have read I think four different books of comics journalism by Joe Sacco focused on these events. In the process he, a comics guy, read among, other things, Joe Kubert's book. Kubert got faxes from a friend trying to get his family out of Sarajevo and though he was a superhero comics legend, and not a comics journalist, he nevertheless fashioned a story out of what he was getting from his friend. He also got pictures from someone else that was there at the time, and he uses the faxes and pictures to contribute to his rendering of the events. Kubert also includes a written-only appendix of the events.

I am not a fan of the art, a full color version of the events that feels a little too Hollywood dramatic for me. A little too Sgt. Rock (a Kubert series)-influenced for me. But it's what Kubert did, make things a little larger than life. But it is still one heckua story, it just IS dramatic, this escape, and horrific in detailing one family's experience of events in the mid-nineties as they touched (maybe slapped is a better verb here) their lives. It is, to be fair, also a product of the art style of earlier times, bearing some resemblance to the documentary work of Will Eisner. And is a classic of comics reportage.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly moving story of a comic book artist and in his family trapped in Sarajevo during the "ethnic cleansings" in 1992 by the Serbians. It's a harrowing tale of a father trying to keep his family safe while tanks are blowing up his home and he makes multiple runs through a gauntlet of sniper fire while trying to contact those on the outside who can get permission for his family to leave. It's incredible how UN soldiers and the world at large ignored the plight of these people trapped by genocidal monsters, particularly since everyone has supposedly vowed to never let a holocaust happen again. I was often moved by Ervin's plight and frustration as he struggles for months to keep his family safe as those around him were killed. The story is told through Ervin's fax's to Joe Kubert and other friends which Kubert then illustrates.

Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

[Sud666 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel is based on real events. It is a non-fiction representation, by comic book writer Joe Kubert, of a series of faxes (which are included in their entirety) from European comics agent Ervin Rustemagić during the Serbian siege of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rustemagić and his family, whose home and possessions in the suburb of Dobrinja were destroyed, spent one-and-a-half years trapped in Sarajevo, communicating with the outside world via fax when they could. Friend and client Kubert, the highly regarded artist of DC Comics' Sgt. Rock, Hawkman, and many other titles, was one recipient. Collaborating long-distance, they collected Rustemagić's account of life during wartime, with Kubert turning the raw faxes into a somber comics tale.

The art is ok, but that is not the point of this story. It is grim and dark, but war is grim and dark. It also highlights how truly worthless the UN is in reality versus the belief in its efficacy which is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. A good history book in comic format that gives a great look at the brutality of life in Sarajevo during the siege by the Serbs.

[Veronika Pizano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Srdce mi zvieralo a slzy sa tisli, ale nebolo to kvôli príbehu rodiny, skôr kvôli okolnostim, ktoré poznám z iných zdrojov. Typický superhrdinovský štýl sa mi z počiatku nepáčil, ku koncu mi už celkom sedel na atmosféru knihy. Ale v samotnom príbehu sa prelínalo príliš veľa línii a nevedela som poriadne uchopiť ani jednu. Osud rodiny, kombinácia s textami faxov (ktoré som už od polky ani nečítala, lebo buď písali o ničom, čo už bolo v predchádzajúcej kapitole alebo bolo v nasledujúcej), byrokracia, vonkajšie oklnosti, kritika nečinnosti mocností. Veľká zmeska, výsledok rozpačitý, ale za prečítanie to stojí.

[Mary Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In 1945, we told the world, 'Never again.' In 1992, we forgot our promise." This is a direct quote from the blurb inside the book jacket of this book. I went into reading this book knowing that the subject matter would be difficult, but I wasn't prepared for just how difficult it truly was. This book is devastatingly sad and horrifying. It is a graphic novel account of one family's struggle to survive in Sarajevo during the siege in the 1990s, based on faxes that the father was able to send to the author of this book. With some minor liberties taken, this story is true. There were several points where I rested the book down by my side and wept for the atrocities that took place. There were several points where I felt nauseous and disturbed to my core. And yet, I am grateful that I made it through this book. It was my first foray into fact-based fiction about the siege in Sarajevo (though not my last, as I plan on reading much more on the subject), and it opened my eyes to a time in history that never should have been. No one should EVER have to suffer through what these people did, and perhaps if more people were awakened to these horrors, they would want to turn things around in this world so that this never happens again. I truly pray- never again.

[Smassing Culture · Rating 3 out of 5]

Κείμενο στο Smassing Culture

Μάχη επιβίωσης σε μία πόλη χειρότερη απ’ την κόλαση

Ένα κόμικ βασισμένο στην αληθινή ιστορία μίας οικογένειας Βόσνιων που βίωσαν τον τρόμο και τις κακουχίες του πολέμου, απ’ τον οποίο προσπάθησαν να διαφύγουν με κάθε τρόπο. Η ιστορία εντάσσεται στα πρώτα χρόνια του Γιουγκοσλαβικού Εμφυλίου, ο οποίος διεξήχθη καθ’ όλη τη δεκαετία του 1990 και κατέληξε στη στρατιωτική επέμβαση του ΝΑΤΟ το 1999 με τον βομβαρδισμό της Σερβίας.

Πρωταγωνιστής είναι ο Έρβιν, ένας δημιουργός κόμικ, ο οποίος έχει εγκλωβιστεί με την οικογένειά του στο Σαράγεβο το 1992 οπότε ξεκίνησε μία μεγάλης έντασης επίθεση στην πόλη απ’ τον αντίπαλο σερβικό στρατό. Εκείνος επικοινωνεί με τον φίλο του Joe -δημιουργό του κόμικ- μέσω φαξ, προκειμένου να του μεταφέρει τα νέα του και να τον ενημερώνει για τις εξελίξεις στο μέτωπο του Εμφυλίου. Αυτά τα φαξ θα γίνουν τελικά η πρώτη ύλη δημιουργίας του κόμικ, το οποίο εντάσσεται στην κατηγορία των δημοσιογραφικών comics, στην οποία ξεχωρίζουν τα comics του Joe Sacco (Παλαιστίνη, The Fixer). Ο Joe Kubert ουσιαστικά εικονογραφεί την ιστορία του Έρβιν, έτσι όπως τη διηγείται ο ίδιος από ημέρα σε ημέρα -σαν ένα ημερολόγιο πολέμου– μέσω των φαξ που στέλνει στους φίλους του για να τους ενημερώσει για την κατάσταση της οικογένειάς του και για να ζητήσει τη βοήθειά τους. Επιπλέον, προκειμένου να αποδώσει με ρεαλισμό και πιστότητα το τοπίο του πολέμου, ο Έρβιν έστειλε στον Kubert τέσσερις κούτες με φωτογραφίες τραβηγμένες από τον πόλεμο της Βοσνίας απ’ την κάμερα ενός φωτογράφου, του Καρίμ Ζάιμοβιτς, ο οποίος σκοτώθηκε το 1995 από μία χειροβομβίδα που τον χτύπησε ενώ περπατούσε στο Σαράγεβο. Το comic είναι αφιερωμένο στη μνήμη του Ζάιμοβιτς, ο οποίος σκοτώθηκε μόλις 25 ετών.

Το comic του Kubert είναι ένα βαθιά αντιπολεμικό κόμικ. Κεντρικός άξονας της ιστορίας είναι η απεγνωσμένη προσπάθεια της οικογένειας του Έρβιν να επιβιώσει απ’ την αιματοχυσία και να καταφέρει να διαφύγει απ’ το Σαράγεβο που δέχεται επίθεση για μήνες. Είναι εγκλωβισμένοι στο Σαράγεβο, την πόλη όπου άλλοτε κατοικούσαν ειρηνικά, όμως πλέον πρόκειται για μία πόλη ερειπωμένη που σε τίποτα δεν θυμίζει το πρόσφατο παρελθόν. Έχοντας χάσει τα πάντα (σπίτι, στούντιο, αντικείμενα αξίας, αναμνηστικές φωτογραφίες) το μόνο που τους ενδιαφέρει είναι να ζήσουν αυτοί και τα παιδιά τους και να μπορέσουν να αποδράσουν απ’ το πεδίο του πολέμου. Με τα λόγια του Έρβιν:

«Η κατάσταση είναι χειρότερη απ’ ότι αν βρισκόμασταν στη χειρότερη κόλαση».

Αν δεν βασιζόταν σε αληθινά γεγονότα θα ήταν υπόδειγμα ενός αγωνιώδους θρίλερ επιβίωσης μίας οικογένειας αμάχων σε συνθήκες ολοκληρωτικού πολέμου. Όμως όπως σημειώνει ο δημιουργός του «αν νιώσετε, διαβάζοντας αυτή την ιστορία, πως είναι παρατραβηγμένη, υπερβολική για να ‘ναι αληθινή, θα κατανοήσω απολύτως αυτή σας την αντίδραση. Διαβάζοντας και ξαναδιαβάζοντας τα φάξ του Έρβιν (που ήταν εκατοντάδες), το ίδιο ένιωσα και ‘γω. Εντούτοις αυτή η ιστορία είναι αληθινή». Μάλιστα προκειμένου να μην ξεχνά ο αναγνώστης ότι πρόκειται για αφήγηση πραγματικών γεγονότων, ο Kubert σε κάθε κεφάλαιο παραθέτει αυτούσια πολλά από τα φαξ που αντάλλαζε ο Έρβιν καθ’ όλη τη διάρκεια της τραγικής παραμονής του στο Σαράγεβο. Βέβαια, ακόμα κι ο πιο αντικειμενικός παρατηρητής δεν θα μπορούσε να αποφύγει στην αφήγησή του υποκειμενικές ερμηνείες. Έτσι κι εδώ ο Kubert ήδη απ’ την αρχή μας προϊδεάζει ότι κάποια απ’ τα στοιχεία του comic είναι μυθοπλαστικά, είτε γιατί υπήρχε κάποιο κενό στην αφήγηση του Έρβιν, είτε με σκοπό να συγχωνευθούν στιγμές της πραγματικής ιστορίας χάριν της αφηγηματικής ροής.

Πάντως, παρά την δεδομένη ιστορική αξία της προσωπικής μαρτυρίας του Έρβιν, το Φαξ από το Σαράγεβο δεν μπορεί να διαβαστεί ως μία ολοκληρωμένη ιστορική αφήγηση για τον Εμφύλιο της Γιουγκοσλαβίας, παρά μόνο ως μία ιστορική μαρτυρία, ένα τεκμήριο με εγγενείς περιορισμούς σε σύγκριση με μία ολοκληρωμένη ιστορική έρευνα. Ο γιουγκοσλαβικός εμφύλιος είναι ένα πολύπλοκο ιστορικό κεφάλαιο της σύγχρονης ευρωπαϊκής ιστορίας. Είναι έντονα ιδεολογικά φορτισμένος, ως αποτέλεσμα της έξαρσης των εθνικισμών στα Βαλκάνια, της κατάρρευσης του «υπαρκτού» σοσιαλισμού και τελικώς της ιδεολογικής αντιπαράθεσης καπιταλισμού – «υπαρκτού» σοσιαλισμού, η οποία δημιούργησε αποσχιστικές τάσεις και έτσι προκάλεσε τον πολυετή αιματηρό εμφύλιο.

Προκειμένου να έχει ο αναγνώστης μία σφαιρικότερη εικόνα για τις σημαντικότερες πτυχές αυτού του εμφυλίου πολέμου, μεταξύ άλλων βιβλίων και ταινιών (όπως το Underground του Κουστορίτσα), αξίζει να διαβάσει παράλληλα το comic Χαιρετίσματα από τη Σερβία του Αλεξάντρ Ζόγκραφ, που μεταφέρει σε κόμικ μία παρόμοια ιστορική μαρτυρία από την άλλη πλευρά, από τη Σερβία που ο λαός της ζει βαθιά οικονομική κρίση καθ’ όλη τη δεκαετία του 1990 και τελικά βομβαρδίζεται από τα πολεμικά αεροσκάφη του ΝΑΤΟ το 1999 με το πρόσχημα της «ανθρωπιστικής επέμβασης». Ο Ζόγκραφ ασκεί κι αυτός σφοδρή κριτική στην διακυβέρνηση Μιλόσεβιτς, όμως αντιλαμβάνεται βαθύτερα το πρόβλημα της ανάδυσης του εθνικισμού ενώ αποκαλύπτει τις συνέπειες της ιμπεριαλιστικής επέμβασης των ΗΠΑ – ΝΑΤΟ για τον άμαχο πληθυσμό της Σερβίας. Αντιθέτως, το comic του Kubert υιοθετεί μία επιδερμική πολιτική ανάλυση με μανιχαϊστικά σχήματα. Παρά το φιλειρηνικό του χαρακτήρα το comic, δημοσιευμένο για πρώτη φορά το 1996 από την Dark Horse, δεν χάνει την ευκαιρία να κάνει συχνές εκκλήσεις στις ΗΠΑ και την υπόλοιπη Δύση να οργανώσουν μία «ανθρωπιστική επέμβαση» στην περιοχή, όπως κι έγινε τελικά τρία χρόνια αργότερα με τον βομβαρδισμό του ΝΑΤΟ. Γι’ αυτό το λόγο, χωρίς να μειώνεται η αξία της προσωπικής ιστορικής μαρυρίας του Έρβιν και της οικογένειάς του, ο αναγνώστης πρέπει να διατηρήσει μία κριτική ματιά διαβάζοντας την τραγική ιστορία του Φαξ από το Σαράγεβο.

[Oneirosophos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite good, but if you want something really interesting, read Joe Sacco.

[Mirnes Alispahić · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading „Fax from Sarajevo“, a graphic novel based on a true story of how world-known strip agent and publisher Ervin Rustemagić escaped Sarajevo with his family during the war in Bosnia, brought back memories. Of things that no child should experience. The fear of waiting whether you'll see your father again when he goes for days, weeks, months to the frontline. Will it be him at the door after the knock in the dead of night or somebody from the HQ bearing grim news? The hunger. The cold. Your friend's guts spilled on the snow after a play. Red hot shrapnel flying around you as you run as fast as you can to outrun death.
That being said, reading this graphic novel woke a certain anger in me. Envy if you'd like. Why would a story of the plight of the Rustemagić family be more interesting than those of hundreds, thousands of others that got stranded in besieged Sarajevo? What about those less fortunate, without money, without friends around the world to intervene on their behalf? Those kids who never met their fathers? While many other men were on the frontlines bleeding for their families, fearing what will happen to them if they turn and run, our hero of the graphic novel sends faxes and begs friends to save him and his family.
Sure, many elements of the story were too Hollywoodized for dramatic effect. Something that's never good when it comes to telling a story like this as it will impact only those who were never in a war, not knowing how it really feels. Kubert himself says that he made changes for this purpose, and that was a bad idea.
This story is nothing different than hundreds of others from around the world, where one man and his family are put in the center while the main thing serves only as a vehicle that pulls the drama. You don't see how war impacted other families, it's all in the background. The rape camp story was something that doesn't fit in here, although it's a topic itself that could've been discussed for days.
Kubert's art is outdated. Fitting more to the war propaganda US comics of the 1940s than this. If it's not for the theme, artist, and main character name, I don't think this graphic novel would leave an impact as it did.

[Elfo-oscuro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal lo que pasó en la guerra de Yugoslavia. Una pena ver tanto sufrimiento despues de un siglo XX catastrófico para la humanidad. Reflejado aqui de modo sobresaliente desde la perspectiva de la familia Rustemagic

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Kubertin "Faksi Sarajevosta" (Egmont, 2014) keikkuu toistuvasti listoilla kun kaikkien aikojen parhaita sarjakuvaromaaneita pistetään järjestykseen, joten oli mukavaa että se saatiin nyt suomeksikin.

Vuodesta 1992 käynnistyvä sarjakuva kertoo tositapahtumiin perustuvan tarinan bosnialaisesta Ervin Rustemagicista ja hänen perheestään, jotka joutuvat keskelle sodan ja kansanmurhan kauhuja. Serbijoukkojen piirittämään kaupunkiin sataa kranaatteja ja asukkaat - lapset mukaan luettuna - ovat alituisessa vaarassa joutua tarkka-ampujien saaliiksi. Poispääsyn mahdollisuudet ovat mitättömät, eikä kansainvälinen yhteisö ei tunnu tekevän mitään auttaakseen siviilejä.

Ervinin ainoa keino pitää yhteyttä ulkomaailmaan on faksi, jolla hän lähettää ystävilleen viestejä piiritetystä kaupungista kuvaillen siviiliväestöön kohdistuvan sodan kauhuja ja yrittäen pelastaa perheensä julmuuksien keskeltä - ja juuri näiden faksien pohjalta sarjakuva onkin laadittu.

Sarjakuva on voimakas lukukokemus, ja se sai ainakin minut havahtumaan kun tajusin miten vähän loppujen lopuksi tiedänkään siitä mitä entisen Jugoslavian alueella tapahtui ihan äskettäin.

[Apzmarshl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel based on faxes received by the author from a family trapped in Sarajevo. During the 1990's Serbs moved into this area and many others and began killing families, women and children for money. The Serbs were determined to claim the land and leave nothing standing.

I wasn't sure I was going to like a graphic novel. I like to rip right through the book without giving my eyes a work out. I will admit though that the graphics really brought this book home. Also at the end of the book were pictures taken of the family and of the city during the time it was occupied.

I enjoyed getting a bit more in depth about the war. I also read the book Zlata's Diary which was written by a young girl during the war. Because she was young she wasn't able to give the same detail.

[Outi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting reminder of the terrible things that happened in Europe only 20 years ago or so. I liked the photos and the faxes, Kubert's style of drawing I'm not so keen on.

Artist Aino Sutinen has written about the book from a feminist point of view which I find very interesting since I noticed that the more I read Fax from Sarajevo the more it started to annoy me that all the wife did was cry and wallow after her husband and the kids. And the main character Erwin was just invincible.

[André Bernhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich traf den Protagonisten Ervin in Skelleftea, der mir ein Exemplar geschenkt hat. Und da stellt man sich die Frage, wie oft trifft man Menschen im Leben, über deren Leben ein Comic gezeichnet wurde? Ich kann das nun von der bucket list streichen:

Seine persönliche Geschichte über den Bürgerkrieg in Jugoslawien und die Rettung seiner Familie ist herzzereißend und zeigt uns, dass Comic nicht immer Superhelden bedeuten muss, bzw. dann doch, aber auch mal ohne Superhelden-Kräfte. Lesenswert!

ps.: Es fühlt sich schlimm an, dass die Geschichte in der Ukraine erneut wiederholt.

[David Borges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estas reportagens históricas desenhadas são sempre tão dolorosas. Para quem leu o Goražde de Joe Sacco, este livro é um belíssimo complemento histórico, desta vez contado a partir dos faxes que o editor Ermínio Rustemagič enviava para o amigo Joe Kubert, na esperançade conseguir ajuda para salvar a família do cerco de Sarajevo. Acredito até que o Joe Sacco e o Ervin Rustemagić possam ter se encontrado no Holiday Inn em Sarajevo. Isto tudo aconteceu debaixo dos olhares estupefatos e apáticos da Europa e do mundo, há pouco menos de 30 anos atrás.

[Tomáš Fojtik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Svět komiksů mi byl dosud více méně vzdálený. Četl jsem jen několik klasických děl, jako je Persepolis nebo Maus. Komiksy, nebo lépe řečeno grafické romány jsem trestuhodně opomíjel. Jsem rád, že jsem v případě Faxu ze Sarajeva toto opomenutí napravil. A pokusím se vám povědět proč.

Grafický román to má oproti knize o dost těžší. Autorov klasického románu totiž může spoléhat na to, že si jeho popsaný svět dovedu nakreslit sám, pomocí své představivosti. Malíř to musí udělat sám a tím pádem mi odebírá možnost vizuální interpretace. Současně s tím ale platí, že dovedně nakreslený román umí působit velmi silně. Tak to aspoň cítím z těch nemnoha případů, které jsem "četl".

Fax ze Sarajeva je podle skutečných událostí z první poloviny devadesátých let, kdy na Balkáně probíhala asi nejbrutálnější válka na evropském území od konce 2. světové války. A nejen válka, probíhala také genocida. Historické souvislosti si čtenář této recenze jistě vzpomene, a nebo najde na Wikipedii. Já si tu dobu ještě pamatuju, o to silnější to byl zážitek. O co jde? Román vypráví příběh podnikatele a uměleckého agenta Ervina Rustemagiće, který se svou rodinou uvízl v obléhaném a ostřelovaném Sarajevu (respektive nejdřív na jeho předměstí, v Dobrinji). Celou dobu věřil v pomoc zahraničních přátel a mezinárodního společenství, ale té se jaksi nedočkal. Svým přátelům posílal faxové zprávy (pamatujete na fax? :) ), kde popisoval svou situaci, i situaci v Sarajevu obecně. A že to nebyly veselé zprávy, to mi můžete věřit.

Kniha má z mého pohledu zajímavý koncept. Chtěl bych napsat netradiční, ale vzhledem k mé neznalosti komiksového prostředí to napsat nemohu. Součástí každé grafické kapitoly jsou uvedené faxové zprávy, které Evin posílal (jedná se, jak vám už došlo, o skutečnou postavu a o skutečný příběh). V podstatě dochází ke zdvojení příběhu, protože komiksová okna pak odpovídají tomu, co se píše ve faxech. A na konci celého románu je ještě epilog, který ten příběh de facto znovu shrnuje. Autor, Joe Kubert, totiž dostal fotografie jistého Karima Zaimoviće, jemuž je kniha dedikována a který na konci války zemřel – byl zastřelen na ulici. Problém je v tom, že fotky mají souvislost k tomu, o čem komiks vypráví a často zobrazují to samé (Kubert je, podle předmluvy, dostal i proto, aby mohl věrně zobrazit to, co se snaží vyprávět). Kdyby byly fotografie součástí komiksu, nebo na konci každé kapitoly, komentář by jistě nepotřebovaly a nedocházelo by tak k další interpretaci událostí. Fotky, velmi působivé, by tu komiksovou interpretaci jen umocnily. Škoda, je to velká slabina knihy.

Toto je však v konečném důsledku jediná výtka, kterou ke komiksu mám. Někdy se mi zdálo, že postavám chybí emoce, ale protože ty emoce vyplývaly z textu v bublinách více než dostatečně, nevnímám to jako slabinu. Ta kniha ve vás vyvolá odpor, to mi věřte. Hrůzy v ní popisované jsou samy o sobě hrozné, ale ještě horší je, jak se k celému konfliktu stavělo mezinárodní společenství. Jak je možné, že svět nečinně přihlížel balkánským jatkám? Již v šokující knize Století zázraků Jaromíra Štětiny jsem před šestnácti lety četl, co všechno se na Balkáně dělo. Ale čím dál tím víc nechápu, proč tomu někdo neudělal přítrž. Nebyla to válka vzdálená, byla to válka hned za našim plotem, za plotem hrdé, civilizované Evropy.

Fax ze Sarajeva není kniha o minulosti. Je to kniha o tom, že když se páchají zvěrstva, je někdy pohodlné přivřít oči. Velmi aktuální téma.

Hodnocení: 90%
Vydalo Crew
Překlad: Pavla Horáková

[E.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 How did the United Nations and the West not interfere to stop such brutalities on civilians ?
As a child, I heard about the "Gulf War" in 1990 when the United States & co. (or UN) intervened when Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait. Subsequently a no. of novels were written featuring Saddam Hussein. How did this brutal war in Yugoslavia not find a place in fiction ?
A year or so ago, I read Safe Area Goražde: The War in Eastern Bosnia, 1992-1995 by Joe Sacco on the one-sided war waged by Serbs on Bosnian Muslims. While Gorazde was a town and the author documented the plight of its residents, this one was much more harrowing as it focused on a single family and their continuous misfortunes in Sarajevo which was a bigger city.
If continuously being bombarded and sniped upon in the street was not enough, the family is refused the permission to leave Sarajevo on technical grounds by ministers/bureaucrats of Western Europe. People tried to get past the Sarajevo airfield in the dead of night and were sent back by those same "neutral" forces !! Was aghast ! Thankfully they finally managed to leave for Slovenia.
It also reminded me of Trump's derision of the United Nations. For many nations, if and when strife breaks out, it is the organisation that itss civilians will look to. It must be reformed and the baby must not be thrown away with the bath-water. Hopefully sanity prevails !!!

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost didn't read this because the art style didn't immediately grab me. But I thought "Skye, this is important, you need to make it at least halfway through." So I did, and by then I had no doubts that I'd be recommending this comic. I lost track of how many times I started to cry while reading it, and I mean that in a complimentary way.

During the siege of Sarajevo in 1992-93, Ervin Rustemagic and his family were trapped in the city. Rustemagic had access (sometimes) to a fax machine, which he used to update his friends on their situation and beg for help in saving his family's lives. Kubert was one of those friends, and later he used Rustemagic's faxes and recollections as the basis for this graphic novel. It's harrowing and heartbreaking. The ethnic and religious genocide, the murder of civilians (especially children), and the seemingly complete disregard for Sarajevans by nations outside of the war... and their officials on the ground, who give Rustemagic five different answers to any question. The back of the book says it's a story "ultimately, of unflagging hope" but honestly, it's a story of increasing despair and a lucky happy ending. Many weren't so lucky. Left me thinking about why we can't stop this kind of atrocity, with all our supposed wisdom. Brutal reminder not to take what I have for granted.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

The events related fall into the valley of to recent for school and at a time when I was to young for current events, but in the intervening years I became passingly familiar with the incidents at the heart of the story. As a war-is-hell tale then, it succeeds quite well. Where it does not succeed is with the constant woeful moralizing and ignorant comparisons trying to claim that the Bosnian war was just the worstest thing ever, you guys. Such things might be excused as the viewpoint of the central character if any context was offered or accompanying history essay included, but without such material it just feels like cheap and lazy emotional manipulation - which it is.

[Solentiname · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd liked it better than the Joe Sacco books on the Bosnian war. It is always important to have the witness perspective. People should write so the others will always remember

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A close up view of life in Sarajevo during the siege. Brutal; as bad as anything that happened in WW-II. The Balkans have a long history of conflict and I want to learn much more about this.

[Álvaro Velasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

A uno se le cae el alma a los pies imaginando lo que tuvo que pasar esa gente.

[Alycia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If someone was killing and massacring penguins the way Serbs are massacring Bosnian people, the world would have intervened." How true.

[Jipi Perreault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like Maus, you don't get out of this untouched. A tragic story from a war we know so little about.

[Soobie is expired · Rating 3 out of 5]

Era da tanto che questo fumetto aspettava di essere letto.

Oggi cercavo qualcosa da sbocconcellare prima di cena e ho preso in mano questo che, tra i molti pregi, ha anche quello di essere autoconclusivo.

Nel 2009 la mia migliore amica di allora mi propose una vacanza insieme in Croazia. Non ero granché convinta perché - con due caratteri forti come i nostri - nove giorni insieme sarebbero stati esplosivi. Come effettivamente è stato, un po' per un errore mio, un po' per la sua testardaggine. Comunque. Voleva assolutamente passare per una strada croata che aveva fatto una sua compagna di squadra l'anno precedente. Siamo passate davanti a muri trapassati da proiettili e ad un paio di campi minati. In Croazia. A meno di cinque ore di macchina da casa. Lei era curiosa; io avevo questa pesantezza sullo stomaco di cui non riuscivo a liberarmi. Erano così vicini casa.

Avevo otto anni nel 1992 e non ricordo praticamente nulla della guerra. È un argomento che non è nemmeno venuto fuori all'uni, troppo fresco forse. Qualche cenno è venuto fuori da La cotogna di Istanbul, ecco. Però non avevo le idee chiare su quello che è successo. Certo, il ponte di Mostar, il massacro si Srebrenica, la pulizia etnica sono cose che mi sono familiari.

Qua c'è tutto. La storia si sviluppa dai fax che Ervin Rustemagić, che di professione pubblicava fumetti, manda ai suoi amici all'estero durante la guerra a Sarajevo. C'è la disperazione di un padre che non riesce a salvare i figli. C'è la disillusione di un cittadino del mondo che credeva veramente al Nie wieder dopo la Seconda Guerra mondiale. C'è la rabbia nel vedere che l'ONU era lì a guardare, senza poter intervenire. C'è la sorpresa di vedere a cosa può abituarsi un uomo per sopravvivere. Il tutto condito dalle tavole di Kubert e i fax che Ervin ha spedito da una città in guerra.

Storia vicina - sia nello spazio, sia nel tempo - forse dimenticata. Ma, come al solito, basta una piccola disattenzione per far scoppiare l'inferno.

[Malapata · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mira que me las guerras en los Balcanes es un tema que me ha interesado de siempre, y mira que las historias de supervivencia en medio de conflictos me suelen llegar al corazón, pero nada, no ha habido manera con este Fax from Sarajevo.
Desde el primer momento me ha echado para atrás la narración esquemática, la forma algo cutre de presentar al personaje en las primeras páginas, con conversaciones forzadas para darte la información. Pero es que, cuando empieza el terror, todo está narrado de manera tremendamente simplista y maniquea.
Ha coincidido que acababa de leer El abismo del olvido de Paco Roca, y mientras lo leía más de una vez tenía que parar con el corazón a punto de soltar una lágrima conmovido por la dureza de las situaciones que me contaba, situaciones que fluían de manera natural, viñeta a viñeta. Pero aquí todo es directo, a paletadas: parece que Kubert está tan convencido del potencial del material que maneja que no se preocupa en trabajarlo y urdir una historia o desarrollar los personajes.
Y, además, con un estilo de dibujo que suena antiguo, a tebeo de superhéroes de los 70.

[Meepelous]

Content notes for: War, ethnic cleansing, explosions, violence against children and animals, smoking, refugee crises, and rape. 

While not a book that depicts violence as artistry, it is pretty in your face and meant to shock you.

Picking up this title as I work my way through some of the stuff that's been on my TBR the longest. Joe Kubert is obviously a big name in comics, although not generally known for nonfiction work. 

And while I was at least alive for the Bosnian War, and know some people impacted by the conflict... I can't say I knew that much about it. So I also wanted to pick this book up as a first step to engaging more with this point in history. Sounds a bit silly, but it's already worked for me a couple of times before and I actually already have a few follow ups in mind including The Fixer, Safe Area Goražde, and War's End all by Joe Sacco. As always, recommendations are always appreciated.

Keywords that came to mind reading this comic: family, struggle, good vs evil, journalism, luck and adaptability.

Looking at the art I was surprised, but not really, that many people seem to find the art dated. What can I say but I'm a sucker for such linework!

Looking at the writing, the use of titular faxes was really interesting. That said, for me, the writing felt like it revealed some weaknesses on Kubert's part. Namely that his story largely passes over the experience of these horrendous events in a way that often felt a bit shallow and didactic. That said, Kubert did step up to write about a war that still doesn't feel like it gets much coverage and did it largely in the moment.

Moving right along to looking at the intersections of identity (as I do for all my reviews):

Following a conflict that broke down along lines of ethnicity and religion, obviously something like the social construct of race was pretty central to the story.

Similarly, following a family of mother, father, son and daughter from Kubert's perspective the quintessential heterosexual nuclear family of it all did come on pretty strong.

In contrast I did feel like we got a bit more nuance then I sometimes see about the wide space between being dead and being fully able bodied and alive. Violent conflicts up to and including war are incredibly mass disabling and traumatizing events after all. 

Class felt like it was largely ignored.

[Darius Daruvalla-riccio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see the horrors of war and particularly through the lens of a regular family. However, not much of a plot or coverage of the history. This could have been useful given that most readers wont have a background knoweldge of the Bosnian War.

Without this context, the story can feel like repetetive cycles where red tape prevents them leaving the country again while the serbs shoot at them in the streets, for some unknown reason.

I think the author did it this way because he wanted to focus on the real life story of the people he actually knew went through this. His other graphic novel Safe Area Gorazde does a much better job of covering the overall conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[Keshav · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joe Kubert is a superhero comic book author. He was also friends with Ervin Rustemagic, a Bosnian caught inside Sarajevo when Serbian forces besieged the city and left hundreds of thousands of people *dead*, several more wounded and displaced, and a city reduced to rubble. Ervin tries to get out at several moments, but is stopped at various points by the bureaucratic machinery - one that did little to prevent a situation to escalate to mass killings of civilians, but ensured that a person couldn't board a flight if they didn't have all the requisite documents.

Joe Kubert seems to not be certain of how to tell this story. He has included copies of fax received from Ervin -the latter's only contact to the outside world; drew pictures that illustrate a city lain to waste, a car journey so perilous it has to be taken on a makeshift 'armored' car barricaded behind a chain of unused trucks to shield against the shelling by Serb militia's bullets (emblematic of the industrial-scale bombing and shooting of civilians), schools and shops closed, life being thrown away to procure a pack of cigarettes; but rounding up the book with short paragraphs summarising each chapter in prose. He notes that comics were still seen primarily as children's medium, so possibly the text was supposed to add seriousness? - although ofc to an audience attuned to receiving the hard truth from cutesy panels, it was superfluous.

The comic feels somewhat rushed, and Joe Kubert has refrained from any larger political commentary. However, he illustrates the despair of a husband/father at being stuck in a war zone, living on false promises and abandoning and daring hope alternatively, every few hours.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fax from Sarajevo was an interesting but horrifying look, at what people can do to others who are different. Kulbert uses colorful art to paint a grim picture of a dark time in this world. Ervin the protagonist is personified perfectly as the hero, struggling to save his family and the ones he loves. And on the other side the "Serbs" are gruesome and relentless. It really makes you feel uneasy, like your their trapped in Bosnia dodging shells and gunfire. I do think in some of the ways its written it makes ErvIn and is family too corny or unreadable, and it does move very quick. But all around it is a very solid book, I don't usually care for graphic novels but this one was enjoyable.