Art Young's Inferno

by Art Young, Glenn Bray (Foreword), Steven Heller (Introduction)

The preeminent American political cartoonist's classic reinterpretation of Dante's Inferno as a satirical indictment of capitalism ― as it has never been seen before. Capitalist oligarchs and their minions have been condemned to Hell, but they lead a hostile takeover, throw out Satan, and privatize the Inferno. Operated by a corporate monopoly who maximizes profits and misery, Hell has become the perfect capitalist paradise. Fantagraphics, the premier publisher of cartoon art, presents each page of Young's art scanned from the original and reproduced in full color. His brushstrokes are clearly visible and this artwork appears as it did on his drawing board. This edition also includes the original 1934 essays by Young and his "friend, admirer, and attorney" Charles Recht, a foreword by acclaimed graphic designer Steven Heller, and an introduction by art collector and documentarian Glenn Bray.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Art, Politics

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

Arthur Henry "Art" Young was an American cartoonist and writer. Is famous for his socialist cartoons, especially those drawn for the left wing political magazine The Masses between 1911 and 1917.

Reviews

[no elle]

yes we live in hell

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming book about the author following Dante's footsteps through Hell, and finding it taken over by capitalists. There's a lot of relevance here. It strikes me as a better version of the Animal Farm type story, because it wasn't written as a reactionary polemic. Still, it's a very gentle book, and the illustrations are pretty cartoony compared with the agitprop the Soviets were putting out.

[Steve Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly things have not changed all that much since 1934.
Only Hell has gotten hotter and is boring up.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!! I really enjoyed this. Americans should read this book!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skipped the five intros, but brilliant satire.
Really liked the art.

[Forked Radish]

I just bought an excellent, 1934, first edition of this BS Bolshy book for $10 at my local library book sale! 🤣 Capitalism at its finest!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Then they went to work and made a competing Hell on Earth. Civilization, you call it. The money insanity. The destruction of human beings wholesale by fire and poison. Hypocrisy and lying for profit. Jails and more jails for the poor and those who have the courage to revolt. Over all, a pretense of ethics and moeals and a veneer of culture. Not satisfied with making the upper world a Hell for everybody including themselves, these brains of business came down here and-forced-me-out."

-Satan

An incredible satire about a capitalist takeover of hell. Hilarious as it is depressing to realize that though it was written at the height of The Depression in 1934, this piece is still incredibly relevant.