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Che: A Revolutionary Life
The graphic adaptation of the groundbreaking and definitive biography of Che Guevara
Che Guevara's legend is unmatched in the modern world. Since his assassination in 1967 at the age of thirty-nine, the Argentine revolutionary has become an internationally recognized icon, as revered as he is controversial. As a Marxist ideologue who sought to end global inequality by bringing down the American capitalist empire through armed guerrilla warfare, Che has few rivals in the Cold War era as an apostle of revolutionary change. In Che: A Revolutionary Life, Jon Lee Anderson and Jose Hernandez present the man behind the myth, creating a complex and human portrait of this passionate idealist.
Adapted from Jon Lee Anderson's definitive masterwork, Che vividly transports us from young Ernesto's medical school days as a sensitive asthmatic to the battlefields of the Cuban revolution, from his place of power alongside Castro, to his disastrous sojourn in the Congo, and his violent end in Bolivia. Through renowned Mexican artist Jose Hernandez's drawings we feel the bullets wing past the head of the young rebel in Cuba, we smell the thick smoke of his and Castro's cigars, and scrutinize his proud face as he's called "Comandante" for the first time. With astonishing precision, color, and drama, Anderson and Hernandez's Che makes us a witness to the revolutionary life and times of Che Guevara.
Che Guevara's legend is unmatched in the modern world. Since his assassination in 1967 at the age of thirty-nine, the Argentine revolutionary has become an internationally recognized icon, as revered as he is controversial. As a Marxist ideologue who sought to end global inequality by bringing down the American capitalist empire through armed guerrilla warfare, Che has few rivals in the Cold War era as an apostle of revolutionary change. In Che: A Revolutionary Life, Jon Lee Anderson and Jose Hernandez present the man behind the myth, creating a complex and human portrait of this passionate idealist.
Adapted from Jon Lee Anderson's definitive masterwork, Che vividly transports us from young Ernesto's medical school days as a sensitive asthmatic to the battlefields of the Cuban revolution, from his place of power alongside Castro, to his disastrous sojourn in the Congo, and his violent end in Bolivia. Through renowned Mexican artist Jose Hernandez's drawings we feel the bullets wing past the head of the young rebel in Cuba, we smell the thick smoke of his and Castro's cigars, and scrutinize his proud face as he's called "Comandante" for the first time. With astonishing precision, color, and drama, Anderson and Hernandez's Che makes us a witness to the revolutionary life and times of Che Guevara.
421 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
31 people are currently reading
1586 people want to read
About the author
Jon Lee Anderson
65 books284 followersJon Lee Anderson has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1998. He has covered numerous conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, reported frequently from Latin America and the Caribbean, and written profiles of Augusto Pinochet, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, and Gabriel García Márquez. He is the author of several books, including The Lion’s Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan, Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life, Guerillas: Journeys in the Insurgent World, and The Fall of Baghdad.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
December 26, 2018
I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I mostly knew this man from seeing his face on t-shirts.
His life's work is not generally taught in American schools . . . at least not the ones I attended. So, when the publisher asked if I'd like a review copy, I figured it would be a great way to learn about the revolutionary who was killed at the age of thirty-nine. And, it was.
Young Ernesto Guevara dreamed of becoming a doctor, but ultimately decided that the best way to help the people of his country was by Fidel Castro's side as he fought the Cuban Revolution.
"Everyone must name a family member, a close relative, or someone to contact in case of death."
"In case of death?"
"You think we're just playing revolution here? It's gonna be rough out there."
Though portrayed as a man single-mindedly devoted to his cause, Guevara is not necessarily depicted as a hero. The author does not gloss over the fact that he committed murder in the name of the revolution, or the fact that he was a virtual stranger to his children.
"Revolutions are ugly, but necessary, and part of the revolutionary process is injustice in the service of future justice."
José Hernández's artwork is simply amazing: moody, and dark - the likenesses are uncanny!
I'd recommend this one to all history buffs . . . even those who think they already know the whole story.
His life's work is not generally taught in American schools . . . at least not the ones I attended. So, when the publisher asked if I'd like a review copy, I figured it would be a great way to learn about the revolutionary who was killed at the age of thirty-nine. And, it was.
Young Ernesto Guevara dreamed of becoming a doctor, but ultimately decided that the best way to help the people of his country was by Fidel Castro's side as he fought the Cuban Revolution.
"Everyone must name a family member, a close relative, or someone to contact in case of death."
"In case of death?"
"You think we're just playing revolution here? It's gonna be rough out there."
Though portrayed as a man single-mindedly devoted to his cause, Guevara is not necessarily depicted as a hero. The author does not gloss over the fact that he committed murder in the name of the revolution, or the fact that he was a virtual stranger to his children.
"Revolutions are ugly, but necessary, and part of the revolutionary process is injustice in the service of future justice."
José Hernández's artwork is simply amazing: moody, and dark - the likenesses are uncanny!
I'd recommend this one to all history buffs . . . even those who think they already know the whole story.
May 24, 2024
This GN was amazing - I thought Spain Rodriguez had written the definitive GN on Che - but Jon Lee Anderson takes us into the field as Che tries to light the fire of revolutionary zeal around the world. The balance between cause and family is presented in the most unbiased way I have encountered. Art by José Hernández is amazing - highest recommendation.
July 7, 2019
“Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man”—reportedly, Guevara’s last words
The iconic image of Che Guevara is known the world over:
https://www.google.com/search?client=...
Yeah, I had and wore one out, at one time. And I know this image is the main thing most people now “know” about the guy. A symbol of resistance that nobody really knows anymore. But most lefties I knew in my life admired the passionate commitment to social and economic (revolutionary!) justice of the man born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, known lovingly the world over as Che. He was born into a rich (but liberal) Argentinean family, became a medical doctor, traveled all over the Americas, met people everywhere, and saw the great economic divide he had never adequately seen in the privilege of his youth.
"For Ernesto, the iconography of modern Argentine nationhood was merely a superficial veneer, ‘a luxurious façade’ under which the country's true ‘soul’ lay; and that soul was rotten and diseased."
And what was the root of that disease? Money, greed, capitalism, inequity. Ernesto, not yet Che, became a Marxist, and committed uncompromisingly to a revolution of the poor against the rapacious rich. Equality and socialism have always been dirty words, thanks to the rich/right, who think that freedom means being able to do whatever they want, even if people are starving.
Anderson’s terrific (non-comics) 1997 biography I have only sampled, reading sections of it over the years, but as an activist for various causes I read lots of his writings and much that was written about him. Also saw documentaries and films about him. And I didn’t and don’t agree with everything he did or said, of course. But his story evolved into a kind of uber-mythology, some of which is exaggerated, which is why it is useful for those on the political right and left to take a closer look at his life and ideas. And I really do think this story does not deify him in any way. Anderson, working with political cartoonist Jose Hernandez, adapted his own brick of a biography to make a 421 page brick of a comics biography, that gets at the heart of Che’s story and some of the thinking behind the resistance to inhumane dictatorships (which as we know the U. S. has a long history of supporting over socialists).
What might the appeal of Che be to Goodreads readers? Well, Che was a passionate reader, like also activist Jane Addams, and literary stories informed his ideology: Jack London, Kafka, Camus, and Sartre. His favorite was the activist poet of love, Pablo Neruda, which in many ways makes so much sense for him. His story is told primarily in excerpts from letters to many people, but most memorably to the woman he was most in love with his whole life, his mother. There are excerpts from his journal and others of his many writings, so it feels close to the ground, in some sense told by many of his own words, and not just a political commentary on his life.
“I realize that something that was growing inside of me for some time . . . has matured: and it is the hate of civilization, the absurd image of people moving like locos to the rhythm of that tremendous noise that seems to me like the hateful antithesis of peace.”
The heart of this book is the part about Che’s roles in the Cuban revolution under Castro, which people in the U.S. know largely from the American perspective, of course (cf. The People’s History of the United States; Everything They Never Taught Me in History). We also learn that he was involved in two failed campaigns in the Congo and Bolivia, where he was finally captured and shot. As with Castro, the leader he most revered, Che was not a saint. He lived like an ascetic, he was driven by his commitments, but he was not much connected to his wife and kids. Reminds me of all the great artists and men of faith who privileged a cause over family. A greater cause? Selfish narcissist? You decide.
So, do I feel like this comics biography has gaps? It does, sure, but Anderson does what he sets out to do, to hook you, and so maybe you will want to know more about him, and read his fuller biography, but even more importantly, we get some idea about why anyone (in this time of ludicrous unprecedented income disparity and inequity) would want to do anything about imperialism, colonialism, racism, and so on.
As a graphic memoir of political history, it is useful, inspiring, but I think if you knew nothing about him or politics it would not always be a great read, we don’t always know enough about what is going on, the action isn’t always enaging to the general reader, though the art is very inviting, the very heart and soul of this adaptation. Resist? Well, you might be more inclined to do so with respect to whatever cause you take up, after you read this book.
The iconic image of Che Guevara is known the world over:
https://www.google.com/search?client=...
Yeah, I had and wore one out, at one time. And I know this image is the main thing most people now “know” about the guy. A symbol of resistance that nobody really knows anymore. But most lefties I knew in my life admired the passionate commitment to social and economic (revolutionary!) justice of the man born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, known lovingly the world over as Che. He was born into a rich (but liberal) Argentinean family, became a medical doctor, traveled all over the Americas, met people everywhere, and saw the great economic divide he had never adequately seen in the privilege of his youth.
"For Ernesto, the iconography of modern Argentine nationhood was merely a superficial veneer, ‘a luxurious façade’ under which the country's true ‘soul’ lay; and that soul was rotten and diseased."
And what was the root of that disease? Money, greed, capitalism, inequity. Ernesto, not yet Che, became a Marxist, and committed uncompromisingly to a revolution of the poor against the rapacious rich. Equality and socialism have always been dirty words, thanks to the rich/right, who think that freedom means being able to do whatever they want, even if people are starving.
Anderson’s terrific (non-comics) 1997 biography I have only sampled, reading sections of it over the years, but as an activist for various causes I read lots of his writings and much that was written about him. Also saw documentaries and films about him. And I didn’t and don’t agree with everything he did or said, of course. But his story evolved into a kind of uber-mythology, some of which is exaggerated, which is why it is useful for those on the political right and left to take a closer look at his life and ideas. And I really do think this story does not deify him in any way. Anderson, working with political cartoonist Jose Hernandez, adapted his own brick of a biography to make a 421 page brick of a comics biography, that gets at the heart of Che’s story and some of the thinking behind the resistance to inhumane dictatorships (which as we know the U. S. has a long history of supporting over socialists).
What might the appeal of Che be to Goodreads readers? Well, Che was a passionate reader, like also activist Jane Addams, and literary stories informed his ideology: Jack London, Kafka, Camus, and Sartre. His favorite was the activist poet of love, Pablo Neruda, which in many ways makes so much sense for him. His story is told primarily in excerpts from letters to many people, but most memorably to the woman he was most in love with his whole life, his mother. There are excerpts from his journal and others of his many writings, so it feels close to the ground, in some sense told by many of his own words, and not just a political commentary on his life.
“I realize that something that was growing inside of me for some time . . . has matured: and it is the hate of civilization, the absurd image of people moving like locos to the rhythm of that tremendous noise that seems to me like the hateful antithesis of peace.”
The heart of this book is the part about Che’s roles in the Cuban revolution under Castro, which people in the U.S. know largely from the American perspective, of course (cf. The People’s History of the United States; Everything They Never Taught Me in History). We also learn that he was involved in two failed campaigns in the Congo and Bolivia, where he was finally captured and shot. As with Castro, the leader he most revered, Che was not a saint. He lived like an ascetic, he was driven by his commitments, but he was not much connected to his wife and kids. Reminds me of all the great artists and men of faith who privileged a cause over family. A greater cause? Selfish narcissist? You decide.
So, do I feel like this comics biography has gaps? It does, sure, but Anderson does what he sets out to do, to hook you, and so maybe you will want to know more about him, and read his fuller biography, but even more importantly, we get some idea about why anyone (in this time of ludicrous unprecedented income disparity and inequity) would want to do anything about imperialism, colonialism, racism, and so on.
As a graphic memoir of political history, it is useful, inspiring, but I think if you knew nothing about him or politics it would not always be a great read, we don’t always know enough about what is going on, the action isn’t always enaging to the general reader, though the art is very inviting, the very heart and soul of this adaptation. Resist? Well, you might be more inclined to do so with respect to whatever cause you take up, after you read this book.
March 28, 2021
I enjoyed this graphic version of Jon Lee Anderson’s biography Che: a Revolutionary Life (1997). As I did not read the original biography, I cannot comment on its faithfulness, but since Anderson himself created it (in collaboration with Jose Hernandez, political cartoonist for Mexico City’s La Jornada) I assume it is an accurate reflection of its source. In addition, since I knew little of Guevera’s life before reading this graphic, I cannot comment on its historical accuracy either.
What I can say, though, is that Anderson and Hernandez gave me a vivid feel for Latin American in the ‘50’s and ‘’60’s, and, although it made clear Che’s uncompromising vision and dedication to revolutionary justice, it also revealed the man, warts and all: he was an implacable foe but also an intractable ally; a revolutionary saint capable of murder; a lover of humanity who had little time for his wives and his children.
Much credit for the book’s success may be attributed to the drawings of Hernandez: the foggy, noir imagery of cigars glowing in shadows, a world never far from the sea; the vividly specific evocations of the great cities: Buenos Aires, Guatemala City, Mexico City, Havana; the faces, the unchanging intensity of Guevara in each of his many disguises, and the many mercurial expressions of Fidel—always himself though always changing.
I recommend this book to every United States citizen. It does us good to read a book where Uncle Sam is the villain—for a change.
December 6, 2023
In many ways graphic novel adaptations are like film adaptations. They incorporate an existing story into a new medium with varying levels of success. The best ones are those that recognize the differences and play to their strengths, while still staying somewhat true to the source material. Artist José Hernández has done just that.
"I will only take to my grave the nightmare of an unfinished song"
Whether you consider Che Guevara a zealot, a hero, or a thug, Jon Lee Anderson's extensively researched biography is a must read. Anderson's bio humanizes Che without idolizing him. His motivations are exposed, his ideology is defined, and his faults are readily apparent. It is the combination of this truthful narrative with Hernández's stunning artwork that makes this rendition of Che's biography so appealing. It is a collaboration that works.
"I will only take to my grave the nightmare of an unfinished song"
Whether you consider Che Guevara a zealot, a hero, or a thug, Jon Lee Anderson's extensively researched biography is a must read. Anderson's bio humanizes Che without idolizing him. His motivations are exposed, his ideology is defined, and his faults are readily apparent. It is the combination of this truthful narrative with Hernández's stunning artwork that makes this rendition of Che's biography so appealing. It is a collaboration that works.
November 17, 2018
Full disclosure: I won a free ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Don't be jealous. Yes, I got to read it early, but I read it in black and white.
So, if you're anything like me, you're more familiar with Che as an icon than a person. I’d seen the stickers and T-shirts and so on. I knew he was linked to Castro, but wasn't himself Cuban. I knew that he was dead, but little about the circumstances. And I had a vague sense of what being a revolutionary meant. Oh, and I knew Che was a nickname, not his given name. That’s about it.
After reading this book, I suppose I’m better informed about his life. That said, I had a difficult time staying interested in it. Turns out, being a world famous revolutionary is more boring than you’d think. Yes, there are scenes of combat, but they come off as muted and distant. There are extensive quotes from letters and speeches and whatnot, and I don't doubt that this is as good a picture of Che Guevara the man as one is likely to get from a graphic novel. Personally, I find Che Guevara the pop culture icon to be much more interesting.
The artwork is gorgeous, and probably will be more so in the actual book if the color pages at the back of my ARC are any indication. As good as it is, though, I think you’d have to be really into learning about Che’s life to get much out of it. Strictly from a comics standpoint, it's nothing special.
So, if you're anything like me, you're more familiar with Che as an icon than a person. I’d seen the stickers and T-shirts and so on. I knew he was linked to Castro, but wasn't himself Cuban. I knew that he was dead, but little about the circumstances. And I had a vague sense of what being a revolutionary meant. Oh, and I knew Che was a nickname, not his given name. That’s about it.
After reading this book, I suppose I’m better informed about his life. That said, I had a difficult time staying interested in it. Turns out, being a world famous revolutionary is more boring than you’d think. Yes, there are scenes of combat, but they come off as muted and distant. There are extensive quotes from letters and speeches and whatnot, and I don't doubt that this is as good a picture of Che Guevara the man as one is likely to get from a graphic novel. Personally, I find Che Guevara the pop culture icon to be much more interesting.
The artwork is gorgeous, and probably will be more so in the actual book if the color pages at the back of my ARC are any indication. As good as it is, though, I think you’d have to be really into learning about Che’s life to get much out of it. Strictly from a comics standpoint, it's nothing special.
May 17, 2022
I read this in conjunction with the audiobook written by the same author, Jon Lee Anderson. I found the artwork wonderful; artist José Hernández gives life to Che and the other colorful characters that played such integral roles in his life.
I would've given the book 5 stars except I don't think this would be a great place to begin for those who know nothing about Guevara. Because of the medium, a lot of nuances are omitted (I can't imagine a 1000 page graphic novel!) I would recommend it as a companion piece to either the book or the audiobook. It helped give a face to the names you read/hear about.
I would've given the book 5 stars except I don't think this would be a great place to begin for those who know nothing about Guevara. Because of the medium, a lot of nuances are omitted (I can't imagine a 1000 page graphic novel!) I would recommend it as a companion piece to either the book or the audiobook. It helped give a face to the names you read/hear about.
April 25, 2024
Riveting and informative, this is not.
As someone who got into politics in their mid-20s, I struggle with history books, but try and do the best I can with graphic histories. This graphic history, however, does nothing to situate its key players in the politics of their times. I have no idea who Fulgencio Batista, the tyrant of Cuba, is. I don't know whether the United States helped get him into power, supported his regime, or turned a blind eye to his atrocities. In fact, I don't even know what atrocities he committed, nor under what ideology. Was he openly tyrannical? Was he a corrupt embezzler? Did he disappear dissidents in the night?
Che's depiction is no better. For the first hundred pages, he repeatedly talks about yankee imperialism, without once explaining what it is. How is this imperialism expressed? Through economic sanctions? Privatisation? CIA-backed coups? Military occupation? Propaganda via coca cola, rock music, and abstract expressionism? Instead, we get pages and pages of Che hanging out at what appears to be a radical book club, proclaiming that the real revolution involves violent struggle. When his friend disagrees, arguing for ballot box democracy, Che calls him an imperialist. Such an exchange is the perfect time to provide a single argument or historical example of how liberal democracy is imperialism by another name. Jon Anderson provides nothing to back up Che's claim.
This is incredibly frustrating, because such a book does nothing to convince a liberal of the inadequacies of their politics. It alienates them by reducing communism to aggressive posturing and empty rhetoric. Conversely, this book does nothing to deepen a committed communist or anarchist's understanding of class struggle, imperialism, or decolonisation. My flatmate said this could be the limitations of the comic format, but I've read plenty of graphic histories that do a fantastic job of articulating complex ideas such as alienation, commodity fetishism, and the reserve army of labour (Red Rosa: A Graphic Biography of Rosa Luxemburg); environmentalism, animal liberation, and polyamory (The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia); and prefigurative politics, decolonising the mind, and counterinsurgency (The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History).
Because none of Che's revolutionary actions are backed by clear and convincing arguments, his more insidious traits come to the fore. At one point, to justify the building of worse public amenities in communist Cuba, he says "Revolutions are ugly, but necessary, and part of the revolutionary process is injustice in the service of future justice." He then tells his economic advisor that if he disagrees, he can choose between deportation or a bullet. This exchange happens after Cuba has been liberated. In other words, after the revolution. If not now, then when the fuck will such injustices be addressed? Che's treatment of women is similarly egregious. Multiple times throughout his life he gets a woman pregnant, then abandons her for more important revolutionary actions. His second wife was literally a guerilla, and he tells her to stay home after receiving an assignment. Just what exactly is the point of revolution if it doesn't refigure the labour relations of the domestic sphere, our most intimate space of being? I would like to think Che is more than a sexist loudmouth Trotskyite, but Anderson gives me nothing to weigh his worse qualities against.
In Anderson's introduction to Che, he laments the shift of progressive politics from direct action to virtue signalling, reproducing a narrative of class struggle against identity politics, as if one could deliver social justice bereft of the other. If this book is Anderson's attempt to shake the left from its ideological slumber, he has failed. Not only does Che appear an outdated role model for the 21st century, Anderson exposes himself as an outdated scholar, ignorant of the feminist politics of widely known revolutionaries such as Rosa Luxemburg, Emma Goldman, and Louise Michel. Such revolutionaries presage one of the most pressing class struggles of our time: that of trans sex workers whose class position cannot be severed from their gender and sexual identities. Queer identities sent to die in forced labour camps by the vanguards of Cuba (Sexual Revolutions in Cuba: Passion, Politics, and Memory), who claim to love all the oppressed of the world. Anderson is, strangely, silent on such topics. I wonder whose virtue he signals and whose direct actions he ignores?
1 star for José Hernández's beautiful, expressionist art.
As someone who got into politics in their mid-20s, I struggle with history books, but try and do the best I can with graphic histories. This graphic history, however, does nothing to situate its key players in the politics of their times. I have no idea who Fulgencio Batista, the tyrant of Cuba, is. I don't know whether the United States helped get him into power, supported his regime, or turned a blind eye to his atrocities. In fact, I don't even know what atrocities he committed, nor under what ideology. Was he openly tyrannical? Was he a corrupt embezzler? Did he disappear dissidents in the night?
Che's depiction is no better. For the first hundred pages, he repeatedly talks about yankee imperialism, without once explaining what it is. How is this imperialism expressed? Through economic sanctions? Privatisation? CIA-backed coups? Military occupation? Propaganda via coca cola, rock music, and abstract expressionism? Instead, we get pages and pages of Che hanging out at what appears to be a radical book club, proclaiming that the real revolution involves violent struggle. When his friend disagrees, arguing for ballot box democracy, Che calls him an imperialist. Such an exchange is the perfect time to provide a single argument or historical example of how liberal democracy is imperialism by another name. Jon Anderson provides nothing to back up Che's claim.
This is incredibly frustrating, because such a book does nothing to convince a liberal of the inadequacies of their politics. It alienates them by reducing communism to aggressive posturing and empty rhetoric. Conversely, this book does nothing to deepen a committed communist or anarchist's understanding of class struggle, imperialism, or decolonisation. My flatmate said this could be the limitations of the comic format, but I've read plenty of graphic histories that do a fantastic job of articulating complex ideas such as alienation, commodity fetishism, and the reserve army of labour (Red Rosa: A Graphic Biography of Rosa Luxemburg); environmentalism, animal liberation, and polyamory (The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia); and prefigurative politics, decolonising the mind, and counterinsurgency (The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History).
Because none of Che's revolutionary actions are backed by clear and convincing arguments, his more insidious traits come to the fore. At one point, to justify the building of worse public amenities in communist Cuba, he says "Revolutions are ugly, but necessary, and part of the revolutionary process is injustice in the service of future justice." He then tells his economic advisor that if he disagrees, he can choose between deportation or a bullet. This exchange happens after Cuba has been liberated. In other words, after the revolution. If not now, then when the fuck will such injustices be addressed? Che's treatment of women is similarly egregious. Multiple times throughout his life he gets a woman pregnant, then abandons her for more important revolutionary actions. His second wife was literally a guerilla, and he tells her to stay home after receiving an assignment. Just what exactly is the point of revolution if it doesn't refigure the labour relations of the domestic sphere, our most intimate space of being? I would like to think Che is more than a sexist loudmouth Trotskyite, but Anderson gives me nothing to weigh his worse qualities against.
In Anderson's introduction to Che, he laments the shift of progressive politics from direct action to virtue signalling, reproducing a narrative of class struggle against identity politics, as if one could deliver social justice bereft of the other. If this book is Anderson's attempt to shake the left from its ideological slumber, he has failed. Not only does Che appear an outdated role model for the 21st century, Anderson exposes himself as an outdated scholar, ignorant of the feminist politics of widely known revolutionaries such as Rosa Luxemburg, Emma Goldman, and Louise Michel. Such revolutionaries presage one of the most pressing class struggles of our time: that of trans sex workers whose class position cannot be severed from their gender and sexual identities. Queer identities sent to die in forced labour camps by the vanguards of Cuba (Sexual Revolutions in Cuba: Passion, Politics, and Memory), who claim to love all the oppressed of the world. Anderson is, strangely, silent on such topics. I wonder whose virtue he signals and whose direct actions he ignores?
1 star for José Hernández's beautiful, expressionist art.
August 1, 2023
Nao sabia nada sobre o Che guevara, achei que foi um bom ponto de partida sobre a historia dele
April 17, 2019
This is an amazing biography in comics, comparable to John Lewis' memoir March. In this adaptation of his earlier biography, journalist Anderson provides dramatic focus and artist Hernandez delineates. The visual-verbal blend of comics is disjointed, sprawling, relaxed here, with some dependence upon excerpts of Che's correspondence as an overlay to the visuals. A modern digital technique Hernandez uses changes the focus and depth of field in drawings as in photography; this is overused.
Still, I'm ready to read the full biography. Also, to compare with the comics biography of Che by the late Spain Rodriguez.
Che
Highly recommended.
Thanks to Atlanta-Fulton Public Library for the loan.
Still, I'm ready to read the full biography. Also, to compare with the comics biography of Che by the late Spain Rodriguez.
Che
Highly recommended.
Thanks to Atlanta-Fulton Public Library for the loan.
May 18, 2021
The illustrations are art. Seriously it's intensely good. This is one of my first steps into non fictional graphics and boy howdy has the bar been set impossibly high
June 24, 2021
DOWN WITH GRINGO MURDERERS! DOWN WITH GRINGO MURDERERS!
“To capture a fortress long yearned for, one does not need to wait until all the conditions are right before achieving it. One must create those conditions…”
Every time I see or hear the name Che Guevara now I keep on hearing that delightful song “Che Guevara T-shirt Wearer” by The Clap, or Tim Minchin singing, “Che was a bit of a homophobe! Che was a bit of a homophobe!” in his fine tune, “The Fence”.
This has some pretty impressive art work, which gives a dark, moody and introspective feel to this biography. We get many of the highlights of Che’s time as a freedom fighter, but this never gets the chance to cover anything in any great depth, but there are some interesting insights, and I would say that this would be a decent book for those who know little to nothing of the man and what he did.
October 1, 2024
4,5*
ai gente, pra quem não sabe eu tenho um fascínio gigantesco por este homem! acho que, entre as grandes figuras revolucionárias, ele, juntamente a malcolm x, ocupa um espaço muito grande no meu coração e essa biografia atingiu minhas expectativas.
dividida em 3 livros, "Che - Uma vida revolucionária" nos mostra a vida do comandante cubano sem filtros e tentando ser o mais imparcial possível, indo além da imagem guerrilheira que muitas vezes temos acesso, mas mostrando o lado família dele também.
ai gente, pra quem não sabe eu tenho um fascínio gigantesco por este homem! acho que, entre as grandes figuras revolucionárias, ele, juntamente a malcolm x, ocupa um espaço muito grande no meu coração e essa biografia atingiu minhas expectativas.
dividida em 3 livros, "Che - Uma vida revolucionária" nos mostra a vida do comandante cubano sem filtros e tentando ser o mais imparcial possível, indo além da imagem guerrilheira que muitas vezes temos acesso, mas mostrando o lado família dele também.
February 4, 2022
So I went into this knowing almost nothing about Che beyond what I learned from Epic Rap Battles of History and seeing his face plastered on every piece of merchandise possible. I found this at an Ollie's for five bucks and thought, thats a pretty good deal for a graphic novel about a guy a barely know anything about. So I bought it.
Was I expecting it to be a scholarly, complete, impartial account? No. It is a pretty good general history and a stepping to to learn more.
The art is good, the story is coherent. There were places where the author was kinda handwavy with the darker details of Che's history.
Was I expecting it to be a scholarly, complete, impartial account? No. It is a pretty good general history and a stepping to to learn more.
The art is good, the story is coherent. There were places where the author was kinda handwavy with the darker details of Che's history.
January 28, 2024
I dunno if it’s just me not being used to graphic novels but I found it a bit hard to understand the flow sometimes.
But otherwise this was my first time reading about Che so lots of brand new information. I would’ve liked more info though, for such a big book.
But otherwise this was my first time reading about Che so lots of brand new information. I would’ve liked more info though, for such a big book.
February 8, 2019
This was the first graphic novel I have read, so I it was hard for me to rate. Previously, particularly following the movie The Motorcycle Diaries, I had a much more romanticized view of Che. This portrayal brings some balance, although in many ways it is still a thumbnail sketch of his actions and relationships. I did, however, find the illustrations and the story engaging.
November 15, 2018
This book is not to be confused with Jon Lee Anderson's excellant biography of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, although Anderson did do the text, such as it is, and this graphic 'novel' does give a fair chronological overview of the Argentine revolutionary's life--an overview which, sadly, might confuse or frustrate a young reader not already familiar with the man and his times.
What is outstanding are the illustrations by José Hernández, hundreds and hundreds of them, many quite detailed and of exceptional artistic merit. One marvels at the time such a production must have taken and prays that the artist is adequately recompensed.
I give this book three stars as an average obtaining between the (inadequate) text and the (superlative) artwork.
What is outstanding are the illustrations by José Hernández, hundreds and hundreds of them, many quite detailed and of exceptional artistic merit. One marvels at the time such a production must have taken and prays that the artist is adequately recompensed.
I give this book three stars as an average obtaining between the (inadequate) text and the (superlative) artwork.
August 26, 2019
Remember that the revolution is the most important thing, and that each one of us, alone, is worth nothing. Above all, try to be able to always feel deeply any injustice committed against any person in any part of the world. It is the most beautiful quality of a revolutionary."
A number of years ago... well 10, 20... those are numbers, right? I read Jon Lee Anderson's authoritative biography on Che. I remember liking it. I remember the guy who I saw reading it - the guy who more or less recommended it to me saying, "He's not who I thought he was. I was expecting something different. He was idealistic, but lost sight of himself by the end."
On the other hand, it was Jefferson who famously said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." And we still celebrate that violent revolutionary.
If you're looking for book that gives an account of Che's life, this book probably isn't for you. Read Anderson's biography.
If you're looking for a book that gives you a glimpse and has some kickass illustrations, check this one out.
A number of years ago... well 10, 20... those are numbers, right? I read Jon Lee Anderson's authoritative biography on Che. I remember liking it. I remember the guy who I saw reading it - the guy who more or less recommended it to me saying, "He's not who I thought he was. I was expecting something different. He was idealistic, but lost sight of himself by the end."
On the other hand, it was Jefferson who famously said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." And we still celebrate that violent revolutionary.
If you're looking for book that gives an account of Che's life, this book probably isn't for you. Read Anderson's biography.
If you're looking for a book that gives you a glimpse and has some kickass illustrations, check this one out.
January 27, 2019
ATW 2019 Argentina, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Congo, Mexico and Bolivia.
March 8, 2022
I have to admit I knew very little about Che before reading this book. I knew he was instrumental in the Cuban revolution, but I thought he was Cuban, that's how little I knew (he's Argentine). This book is a decent overview of his life, the artwork is excellent, and it's a quick read, but I wish it had delved more deeply into fewer events in Che's life.
This book seems to presume at least some familiarity with Latin American history, and I don't think I came to the table with as much background knowledge as this book required. As a total n00b, it was sometimes difficult for me to figure out who various people were or what their significance was. And as soon as I'd figured out who someone was, they were then out of the book and I'd never see them again. This left me not caring too much about any of the people in the story.
Rather than trying to make a graphic novel of Che's whole life, I think this author would have been better served by either (a) writing a regular biography of Che's life or (b) not trying to cover this man's whole life in a graphic novel format. A graphic novel that focused only on Che's experience in the Cuban revolution would have been incredibly interesting, and the author would have had enough time and space to go really deep on why this revolution happened, what drew Che to participate in it, what these revolutionaries were like as people, what it feels like to lead a revolution, and what happened (to Cuba and to Che) as a result of this revolution.
As it stands, this book tries to cover way too much ground too quickly and as a result, winds up not telling a compelling story about anything. For example, it wasn't clear to me why Che felt so driven, as an Argentine, to risk his life for the revolution in Cuba specifically. What were the conditions that made him feel this was the risk worth taking? Why did Batista suck so bad, and why did the Cuban people support this revolution? What motivated this need for change? How many people actually did support the revolution? How did the people who didn't support it feel? Did Che ever have conflicting feelings about putting his life on the line for a country he'd never been to and a bunch of guerrilla fighters he didn't really know? All of this is left unexplained in the book, which has to hurry out of Cuba and on to other less interesting events in Che's life. Seriously, you're like 250 (graphic novel!) pages in and bam, Che has already left Cuba and is on to the next thing. If nothing else, this book makes it look super easy to topple an oppressive dictator. The main battle only took a few pages!
This book wants to be a historical biography that covers huge swathes of Che's life while also being a highly visual, dramatic narrative, but it manages to be neither. There's much about Che's life that I still don't understand (and presumably the book left out a lot), and the main thing I was interested in (his participation in the Cuban revolution) was quickly brushed aside without much context or drama. The book doesn't explain Cuban or Latin American history to someone who doesn't already know it, but it also races right past all the drama, suspense, and character building required to create a good story. Instead, it briefly touches on Che's major life events and then dashes off to the next thing.
This book could have focused on 1-2 important events from Che's life (presumably the Cuban revolution and maybe his time in the Congo) and slowly built a rich story with fully imagined, developed characters. But instead of a nice meal, this book felt like an all-you-can-eat buffet: way too much stuff and none of it is that satisfying. If you're gonna write a life-spanning biography, don't make it a graphic novel.
That said, the art in this book is awesome; the illustrator did great work. I'd recommend this book for the artwork but I'd read Che's Wikipedia page to get a better picture of what his life was like.
This book seems to presume at least some familiarity with Latin American history, and I don't think I came to the table with as much background knowledge as this book required. As a total n00b, it was sometimes difficult for me to figure out who various people were or what their significance was. And as soon as I'd figured out who someone was, they were then out of the book and I'd never see them again. This left me not caring too much about any of the people in the story.
Rather than trying to make a graphic novel of Che's whole life, I think this author would have been better served by either (a) writing a regular biography of Che's life or (b) not trying to cover this man's whole life in a graphic novel format. A graphic novel that focused only on Che's experience in the Cuban revolution would have been incredibly interesting, and the author would have had enough time and space to go really deep on why this revolution happened, what drew Che to participate in it, what these revolutionaries were like as people, what it feels like to lead a revolution, and what happened (to Cuba and to Che) as a result of this revolution.
As it stands, this book tries to cover way too much ground too quickly and as a result, winds up not telling a compelling story about anything. For example, it wasn't clear to me why Che felt so driven, as an Argentine, to risk his life for the revolution in Cuba specifically. What were the conditions that made him feel this was the risk worth taking? Why did Batista suck so bad, and why did the Cuban people support this revolution? What motivated this need for change? How many people actually did support the revolution? How did the people who didn't support it feel? Did Che ever have conflicting feelings about putting his life on the line for a country he'd never been to and a bunch of guerrilla fighters he didn't really know? All of this is left unexplained in the book, which has to hurry out of Cuba and on to other less interesting events in Che's life. Seriously, you're like 250 (graphic novel!) pages in and bam, Che has already left Cuba and is on to the next thing. If nothing else, this book makes it look super easy to topple an oppressive dictator. The main battle only took a few pages!
This book wants to be a historical biography that covers huge swathes of Che's life while also being a highly visual, dramatic narrative, but it manages to be neither. There's much about Che's life that I still don't understand (and presumably the book left out a lot), and the main thing I was interested in (his participation in the Cuban revolution) was quickly brushed aside without much context or drama. The book doesn't explain Cuban or Latin American history to someone who doesn't already know it, but it also races right past all the drama, suspense, and character building required to create a good story. Instead, it briefly touches on Che's major life events and then dashes off to the next thing.
This book could have focused on 1-2 important events from Che's life (presumably the Cuban revolution and maybe his time in the Congo) and slowly built a rich story with fully imagined, developed characters. But instead of a nice meal, this book felt like an all-you-can-eat buffet: way too much stuff and none of it is that satisfying. If you're gonna write a life-spanning biography, don't make it a graphic novel.
That said, the art in this book is awesome; the illustrator did great work. I'd recommend this book for the artwork but I'd read Che's Wikipedia page to get a better picture of what his life was like.
January 24, 2019
see my short review: https://wordsandpeace.com/2019/01/24/...
June 19, 2022
Incredible illustrations— covers a lot of material in a short amount of space. I personally needed a lot more background knowledge to understand what was going on (so I should probably read an actual history of this time period!), but this seemed to depict Guevara with equal parts honesty and respect.
January 22, 2019
Picked up an ARC copy from the bookstore I work at. This was a fantastic graphic biography! Particularly for someone like me with little background knowledge of Guevara but interested in the political history of socialist revolutions
January 29, 2021
I’m glad to review a graphic novel about a Latin American. This time I dived in with the life story of one of the most famous Latin Americans, Che Guevara, in Che: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson and Jose Hernandez.
Che is a difficult person to analyze. He’s evolved into a modern myth and even a religious figure known as Saint Ernesto in Bolivia where he was killed in 1967. So, there’s a lot to untangle in getting to the real man. Furthermore, Che is both idolized and hated till there’s little room for objectivity. Too many times in these situations, flaws are downplayed or outright left out in order to salvage a beloved hero. I wanted to understand the full scope of Che the person.
Che: A Revolutionary’s Life is a mixture of biography, Latin American history, propaganda, and magical realism. All this is thinly layered with a celebration of Che.
The book itself weighs in at 421 pages of high-quality matt with beautiful illustrations, bound in hardcover. Jon Anderson, the author of the original non-graphic novel book, states in the introduction that he wants to open a dialogue for real discussion about Che that leaves behind the familiar celebrations. He wrote, “I was interested in understanding who this man truly was beyond the iconography and the polemics.”
This statement was refreshing to me. Too much aggrandization often slips into propaganda or worse. I am after truth, not the myth of Che.
From the beginning the book hits you with a somber splash page of a lone boat being carried in an ocean. The art is good enough to cut directly from the book and frame it on a wall. Jose Hernandez, the artist, draws in a realistic style that refuses to idealize people. They are balding, fat, and imperfect. In short, they are real people.
Their emotions are authentic. And thank god for a genuine portrayal of Latin American culture, free of unoriginal stereotypes designed to be easily digested by white male readers. This book gives you the perspective of Latin America through the eyes of a Latin American.
The artwork is laden with a dreamlike quality where life and death, past and future meld into one another. This is one of the major power elements of Latin story telling. Often the reader takes the view of a spirt finding Che’s soul at some metaphysical horizon, and then leaves him in order to rediscover him rediscover him having an asthma attack in the jungles of Cuba.
The color scheme of sepia tones gives the impression of looking through a collection of old photographs. The ghosts on the pages seem to come back to life and die all over again.
This graphic novel gives plenty of insight to Che’s history, unfortunately it only grazes his darker elements. In a scene where he executes a traitor, the viewer is slammed with a graphic depiction of Che killing the man. Almost as fast as the bullet, the matter is settled. We’re deprived of any introspection after Che pulls the trigger.
Che speaks countless times about killing in the name of liberty, yet he’s usually depicted surviving or receiving violence. Were the writer and artist afraid to tarnish the romanticized view of Che by presenting a real battle-hardened killer? Furthermore, the graphic novel only alludes to the hundreds of executions permitted by Che after defeating Batista’s army.
These were missed opportunities for analyzing Che as a soldier, one that kills for his beliefs and was willing to pay the psychological price. Killing is not an easy task.
Che: A Revolutionary’s Life is most likely the best graphic novel about Che Guevara. The alchemistic blend of blood, history, and spirituality is the life source of Che’s legacy that is contained in this graphic novel. While there are shortcomings were significant to me, they only appeared that strongly because the rest of the book was damn good.
Jon Anderson’s promise in the introduction to provide a look beyond the myth was only partially delivered. This graphic novel strengthens the mythology of Che, rather than providing a hard, unflattering look. In one attempt to present his faults, Che is shown that he can’t keep away from the ladies. C’mon guys, lets try a little harder.
As Latinos we need our heroes in the face of oppression. However, I’m reminded of Rorschach in the Watchmen who refused to conspire in a lie even for the good of the world. “Never compromise, even in the face of Armageddon.”
When the full image of Che is revealed in all its reality, will it be more powerful than the myth? And who will the people choose to believe?
Che is a difficult person to analyze. He’s evolved into a modern myth and even a religious figure known as Saint Ernesto in Bolivia where he was killed in 1967. So, there’s a lot to untangle in getting to the real man. Furthermore, Che is both idolized and hated till there’s little room for objectivity. Too many times in these situations, flaws are downplayed or outright left out in order to salvage a beloved hero. I wanted to understand the full scope of Che the person.
Che: A Revolutionary’s Life is a mixture of biography, Latin American history, propaganda, and magical realism. All this is thinly layered with a celebration of Che.
The book itself weighs in at 421 pages of high-quality matt with beautiful illustrations, bound in hardcover. Jon Anderson, the author of the original non-graphic novel book, states in the introduction that he wants to open a dialogue for real discussion about Che that leaves behind the familiar celebrations. He wrote, “I was interested in understanding who this man truly was beyond the iconography and the polemics.”
This statement was refreshing to me. Too much aggrandization often slips into propaganda or worse. I am after truth, not the myth of Che.
From the beginning the book hits you with a somber splash page of a lone boat being carried in an ocean. The art is good enough to cut directly from the book and frame it on a wall. Jose Hernandez, the artist, draws in a realistic style that refuses to idealize people. They are balding, fat, and imperfect. In short, they are real people.
Their emotions are authentic. And thank god for a genuine portrayal of Latin American culture, free of unoriginal stereotypes designed to be easily digested by white male readers. This book gives you the perspective of Latin America through the eyes of a Latin American.
The artwork is laden with a dreamlike quality where life and death, past and future meld into one another. This is one of the major power elements of Latin story telling. Often the reader takes the view of a spirt finding Che’s soul at some metaphysical horizon, and then leaves him in order to rediscover him rediscover him having an asthma attack in the jungles of Cuba.
The color scheme of sepia tones gives the impression of looking through a collection of old photographs. The ghosts on the pages seem to come back to life and die all over again.
This graphic novel gives plenty of insight to Che’s history, unfortunately it only grazes his darker elements. In a scene where he executes a traitor, the viewer is slammed with a graphic depiction of Che killing the man. Almost as fast as the bullet, the matter is settled. We’re deprived of any introspection after Che pulls the trigger.
Che speaks countless times about killing in the name of liberty, yet he’s usually depicted surviving or receiving violence. Were the writer and artist afraid to tarnish the romanticized view of Che by presenting a real battle-hardened killer? Furthermore, the graphic novel only alludes to the hundreds of executions permitted by Che after defeating Batista’s army.
These were missed opportunities for analyzing Che as a soldier, one that kills for his beliefs and was willing to pay the psychological price. Killing is not an easy task.
Che: A Revolutionary’s Life is most likely the best graphic novel about Che Guevara. The alchemistic blend of blood, history, and spirituality is the life source of Che’s legacy that is contained in this graphic novel. While there are shortcomings were significant to me, they only appeared that strongly because the rest of the book was damn good.
Jon Anderson’s promise in the introduction to provide a look beyond the myth was only partially delivered. This graphic novel strengthens the mythology of Che, rather than providing a hard, unflattering look. In one attempt to present his faults, Che is shown that he can’t keep away from the ladies. C’mon guys, lets try a little harder.
As Latinos we need our heroes in the face of oppression. However, I’m reminded of Rorschach in the Watchmen who refused to conspire in a lie even for the good of the world. “Never compromise, even in the face of Armageddon.”
When the full image of Che is revealed in all its reality, will it be more powerful than the myth? And who will the people choose to believe?
April 17, 2019
If you have any sort of revolutionary fervor, Che will be deeply appealing. The book quotes endlessly from Che and Castro's revolutionary missives and letters, bombarding the reader with the same radical concepts until, personally, my vision blurred and I started skipping text boxes. If you like that kind of thing, you'll dig Che. If you're looking for an effective biography that sketches out Che's actions and why he became a revolutionary, you might be disappointed.
For all the chatter about implementing a worldwide socialist revolution, Che provides almost no backstory for why Che was so dedicated to his ideals. As far as I can tell from the book, one day he met Castro and then everything changed. That seems...too easy. The book is better when it comes to outlining Che's misadventures around the world, although the transition between scenes can be non-existent, making it read a bit like "Where in the World Is Che Guevara?" Additionally, there seems to be an odd assumption within Che that the reader is already familiar with mid-century Central and South American politics. There's never any explanatory text regarding Cuban history, for example, or why we're supposed to dislike Batista.
This would have been a two-star, merely acceptable book for me if not for the superb artwork by Jose Hernandez. Any time I grew bored with Che's repetitious life story, I focused on Hernandez's remarkably accurate work, with its crisp details and excellent colors. Astonishing to think of the effort that had to have gone into crafting these 400+ pages.
For all the chatter about implementing a worldwide socialist revolution, Che provides almost no backstory for why Che was so dedicated to his ideals. As far as I can tell from the book, one day he met Castro and then everything changed. That seems...too easy. The book is better when it comes to outlining Che's misadventures around the world, although the transition between scenes can be non-existent, making it read a bit like "Where in the World Is Che Guevara?" Additionally, there seems to be an odd assumption within Che that the reader is already familiar with mid-century Central and South American politics. There's never any explanatory text regarding Cuban history, for example, or why we're supposed to dislike Batista.
This would have been a two-star, merely acceptable book for me if not for the superb artwork by Jose Hernandez. Any time I grew bored with Che's repetitious life story, I focused on Hernandez's remarkably accurate work, with its crisp details and excellent colors. Astonishing to think of the effort that had to have gone into crafting these 400+ pages.
March 28, 2019
Having read Anderson's biography before this book, I suppose I went in expecting too much. As Anderson explains in his introduction this book is meant far more to appeal to younger audiences, thus making it a Young adult work rather than a transfer of the original biography. This isn't a criticism because as Che Guevara has become more and more of a public icon, it's vital that young people understand the fact that they'll at some point see on a t-shirt or billboard. CHE, is indelibly, part of the zeitgeist and culture and this book is a way of humanizing the man and making him digestible for further and more advanced study later in life.
The problem on my end was that I was hoping for an adult graphic novel, one that would explore the complexities of Che's life the way the biography did. Che's early life, the life that pushed him towards his journey into the revolution, is arguably the most important factor in what Made Che, Che. And the book largely glosses over it. There's also the issue of the art which can often be beautiful, but then also be a series of vague atmosphere moments rather than frames that propel the narrative forward.
This book does an okay job, where the original biography did an amazing job. Che was humanized, and complicated, and imperfect, but still interesting. This book will probably get a few people to dig deeper into the life of a complicated icon, but it's just not up to par with Anderson's original triumph.
The problem on my end was that I was hoping for an adult graphic novel, one that would explore the complexities of Che's life the way the biography did. Che's early life, the life that pushed him towards his journey into the revolution, is arguably the most important factor in what Made Che, Che. And the book largely glosses over it. There's also the issue of the art which can often be beautiful, but then also be a series of vague atmosphere moments rather than frames that propel the narrative forward.
This book does an okay job, where the original biography did an amazing job. Che was humanized, and complicated, and imperfect, but still interesting. This book will probably get a few people to dig deeper into the life of a complicated icon, but it's just not up to par with Anderson's original triumph.
January 31, 2025
I knew little about Che Guevara before reading this book other than that he was a famous revolutionary leader from South America. Through this beautifully written and illustrated graphic novel, I have a much better feel for the man and what he stood for. Among other things, I now know:
(1) Che’s real name was Ernesto Guevara and he was educated and trained as a medical doctor.
(2) Although he was born in Argentina, he never fought there.
(3) Che’s first revolutionary action was in Cuba, where he fought alongside Fidel and Raul Castro
(4) Che fought in a failed revolution in Congo, Africa
(5) Che had a number of children by 2 wives, but he very seldom saw his family.
(6) He could easily disguise himself by shaving his beard and wearing glasses.
(7) Che met his end in Bolivia at the age of 39; he was buried in a mass grave so that his followers could not easily mourn him
The illustrations in this book are dark in fitting with Che’s short, violent life. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to know more about this enigmatic, driven man.
(1) Che’s real name was Ernesto Guevara and he was educated and trained as a medical doctor.
(2) Although he was born in Argentina, he never fought there.
(3) Che’s first revolutionary action was in Cuba, where he fought alongside Fidel and Raul Castro
(4) Che fought in a failed revolution in Congo, Africa
(5) Che had a number of children by 2 wives, but he very seldom saw his family.
(6) He could easily disguise himself by shaving his beard and wearing glasses.
(7) Che met his end in Bolivia at the age of 39; he was buried in a mass grave so that his followers could not easily mourn him
The illustrations in this book are dark in fitting with Che’s short, violent life. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to know more about this enigmatic, driven man.
August 7, 2024
DNF’ed this book at page 70. The introduction was extremely condescending towards any generation younger than the author; claiming that youngsters nowadays don’t understand what it means to be a revolutionary and are only familiar with life within an iPhone. Notwithstanding this horrible introduction, the dialogue within the book is nearly unreadable. It doesn’t flow naturally at all, treating the reader as if they are stupid and don’t know what any words/concepts mean.
February 4, 2024
I love how this graphic novel was illustrated in sepia and dark tones even giving the cityscapes the look of an old photograph. Having only seen the movie “The Motorcycle Diaries,” this was a great way to learn more about Che Guevara.
July 10, 2025
If you are a history buff I'm guessing you may want a more in-depth biography but this was just about right for me. I enjoyed the illustrations and felt they added to the reading experience.
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