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Martha Washington #1
Give Me Liberty: An American Dream
A young girl from the ghetto struggles against impossible odds to save the world from the Fat Boy Burger corporate army, the Aryan Thrust, and the meanest Mr. Clean ever... the Surgeon General! That young girl is Martha Washington, and she redefines heroism in the Eisner Award-winning story, Give Me Liberty. Give Me Liberty set the stage for the Martha Washington Goes to War series.
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
11 people are currently reading
542 people want to read
About the author
Frank Miller
1,355 books5,346 followersFrank Miller is an American writer, artist and film director best known for his film noir-style comic book stories. He is one of the most widely-recognized and popular creators in comics, and is one of the most influential comics creators of his generation. His most notable works include Sin City, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman Year One and 300.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
November 9, 2008
Fantastic.
Finally found this out of print title the day AFTER the election. Figures. I thought the book might lose some of it's punch considering that you know, Obama is freaking president now.
But Since I don't want to spoil anything, I'll just say it's got some interesting thoughts in that regard to.
On the whole this is one of Miller's best stories with art by Dave "I Fucking Drew Watchmen Bitches" Gibbons. What more do you need.
Finally found this out of print title the day AFTER the election. Figures. I thought the book might lose some of it's punch considering that you know, Obama is freaking president now.
But Since I don't want to spoil anything, I'll just say it's got some interesting thoughts in that regard to.
On the whole this is one of Miller's best stories with art by Dave "I Fucking Drew Watchmen Bitches" Gibbons. What more do you need.
January 27, 2011
So far just amazing. It's very interesting that graphic novels can do a great job with political dissent.
Really fascinating. A crazy dream of a paranoid, militaristic and scary America.
Worth a read -- especially if a progressive or interested in politics -- flew through it in a day.
ecq
Really fascinating. A crazy dream of a paranoid, militaristic and scary America.
Worth a read -- especially if a progressive or interested in politics -- flew through it in a day.
ecq
March 6, 2011
Probably the best book of the best series Frank Miller has to offer, really. Martha Washington's twenty-first century is a satirical sucker punch to the gut even in our own twenty-first.
March 17, 2018
Action-packed, brisk, politically minded dystopia from Frank Miller has a lot to recommend it. Hero Martha Washington being the first. She's a computer-hacking kid who becomes a smart, resourceful, teenaged super soldier for the government's peace force. Miller is great at dystopia, and this one, set in the "future" of 1995 and 2011 the issues of environmental destruction, political corruption, racial segregation, and the ghettoisation of the poor all resonate 30 years after initial publication.
It loses a star and much of its revolutionary spirit for bewildering depictions of military factions: the Nazi characters are also explicitly exclusively gay men. The militant feminists are the Old South/confederate flag wavers. If Miller's point was to call out gay and white feminist movements as excluding POC, he had not achieved that here. Instead the conflation of these groups didn't add depth to the story--the Aryan Thrust (seriously) appears to be gay men just to give them a gay biker bar costume and the excuse to give them last names like Peckerwood and Crotch. The joke that never lands like Miller thinks it does, despite repeated use of it.
Ditch those flawed elements, (or refine, there's everything to critique in feminism and LGBTQA movements that aren't intersectional) and Give Me Liberty, with its brisk action, well-conveyed world building, central heros of a black woman and an Apache man, would be ripe for screen adaption.
It loses a star and much of its revolutionary spirit for bewildering depictions of military factions: the Nazi characters are also explicitly exclusively gay men. The militant feminists are the Old South/confederate flag wavers. If Miller's point was to call out gay and white feminist movements as excluding POC, he had not achieved that here. Instead the conflation of these groups didn't add depth to the story--the Aryan Thrust (seriously) appears to be gay men just to give them a gay biker bar costume and the excuse to give them last names like Peckerwood and Crotch. The joke that never lands like Miller thinks it does, despite repeated use of it.
Ditch those flawed elements, (or refine, there's everything to critique in feminism and LGBTQA movements that aren't intersectional) and Give Me Liberty, with its brisk action, well-conveyed world building, central heros of a black woman and an Apache man, would be ripe for screen adaption.
July 19, 2024
(Read in 2013, review from 2024)
I remember perusing this in college in the school library. I picked it up without ever having heard of it before although I was familiar with both Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons. It's your standard Frank Miller gritty affair but he did some really neat ideas with this dystopian hellscape of a future USA. Not his most well known work and not as good as his best but I liked it more than some of his other stuff.
I remember perusing this in college in the school library. I picked it up without ever having heard of it before although I was familiar with both Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons. It's your standard Frank Miller gritty affair but he did some really neat ideas with this dystopian hellscape of a future USA. Not his most well known work and not as good as his best but I liked it more than some of his other stuff.
October 8, 2020
If there is one thing nobody can target Frank Miller for, its the prevalence of strong independent female characters in his work. Now as to whether you agree with his execution of those characters, that's a different story. Casey McKenna, the ladies of Old Town from Sin City, Electra Natchios and then we have Martha Washington in Give Me Liberty.
The first volume - initally published by Dark Horse - entails the early years of Martha's life as she lives in a wrecked out Cabrini Green in a cyberpunkish future America, where the former President has been put into a brain in a jar, the Surgeon General treats cleanliness as tantamount to religion and the US is splintering itself apart. So not unlike the US of the modern day.
Along the way, she gets sent to a psych hospital, encounters psychic children, joins the military, gets involved in wars - abroad and domestic - gets pulled into a civil war, goes to space, survives explosions and assassinations, saves the former president and defeats a long standing enemy. And if that sounds balls to the wall crazy, that's because for the most part it is. The story as a whole is a wild mix of maudlin drama and bombastic set-pieces that are both engaging and ridiculous to the extreme. Most people might treat the story with more reverence than I do and maybe that's because I'm not American and hold no particular love for the Red, white and blue, but I enjoyed the story much more because it blew the bloody doors off and didn't stop.
This is the map of the US in the story. We have a Fundamentalist Northwest, a Disneyland State, Yeehaw America run by a McDonalds expy, a dictatorship, a hyper-feminist southeast along with Florida and Texas. How could anyone take this seriously?!
The art overall is a decent if a little stiff at times. I know Dave Gibbons mainly from his work on Watchmen but here he gives a decent amount of range and expression to all the characters along with vibrant colours, good use of shadow and lighting and there are some really nice setpieces that help to flesh out the world. The art really jumps in quality however when Miller inserts newsreel setpieces in between major arcs of the story. Here, the colours are beautiful, the designs are detailed with good shadowing and make for a nice change of pace. In addition we also have Howard Chaykin style jumpcuts to commercials which help to flesh out the world in an organic way.
However some of the art does feel a little barren with some panels being a little washed out and the linework being a little too simplistic. Overall it's a mix. The splash panels feel like they've been given more love, while the more standard panels feel a little more by the numbers.
Got to admit, this is a really solid piece, although the previous page was better.
The characters are a mixed bag overall, with most of the focus obviously being on Martha. Few other characters get as much screentime as her and for most of her time on the page, she eats up all the attention for good or bad. Miller himself took inspiration from Ayn Rand for this series and I will jam my balls in a vice to declare that Miller did a better job of espousing her views in this one bombastic ridiculous comic than that withered old hag's entire body of self-aggrandizing work. Martha starts off weak and ineffectual, constantly shat on by every aspect of life, suffers and hurts, is constantly being held under the bootstrap of her superior Moretti but she never quits, never stops and following the insanity that is her life is the driving force behind reading this.
This is an actual thing Martha fights in the comic and I will fight you if you deny how stupid awesome this is!
As for the other characters, they're hit and miss. Howard Nissen is the acting Pres of the comic after Rexall's brain is put into a jar and watching his decline as the public turn against him and he's manipulated by outside forces is both sad and rough. Moretti comes across a snotty elitist shitbag and never really evolves past that point. His beef with Martha crosses the line into being pathetic but Miller does a good job of highlighting how even others around him seem him as such. But there are some of the others. Wasserstein, an Apache native is little more than a noble follower whose use in the story feels more like a literal Get out of Jail Free card. Raggy Ann, the psychic child from earlier in the story also suffers from this role. Of the other minor characters of note, we have - and I kid you not - The Aryan Thrust, a gay Nazi terrorist group, further cementing that Miller likes to torture nazis in his work and the aforementioned Surgeon General, whose wild rants about cleanliness next to godliness make him feel like Jerry Falwell mixed with Howard Hughes.
Overall, I liked this mini-series but probably for different reasons to a lot of others. Some might hate this series because of its politics or its ridiculous premise or its wild mix of drama and crazy setpieces but its for those reasons that I can't take my eyes off it. It's a B-grade sci-fi flick taken to its most absurd conclusion, along with weird inconsistent political commentary that feels like its trying to throw shade at everyone. It's not a series I would take seriously whatsoever but is infinitely readable in its madcap nonsense.
Although part of me suspects that this is the sort of world Alex Jones and his neckbeard fans envision as the Apocalypse.
Remember folks. He's not legit. He's a "performance artist". Maybe.....
The first volume - initally published by Dark Horse - entails the early years of Martha's life as she lives in a wrecked out Cabrini Green in a cyberpunkish future America, where the former President has been put into a brain in a jar, the Surgeon General treats cleanliness as tantamount to religion and the US is splintering itself apart. So not unlike the US of the modern day.
Along the way, she gets sent to a psych hospital, encounters psychic children, joins the military, gets involved in wars - abroad and domestic - gets pulled into a civil war, goes to space, survives explosions and assassinations, saves the former president and defeats a long standing enemy. And if that sounds balls to the wall crazy, that's because for the most part it is. The story as a whole is a wild mix of maudlin drama and bombastic set-pieces that are both engaging and ridiculous to the extreme. Most people might treat the story with more reverence than I do and maybe that's because I'm not American and hold no particular love for the Red, white and blue, but I enjoyed the story much more because it blew the bloody doors off and didn't stop.
This is the map of the US in the story. We have a Fundamentalist Northwest, a Disneyland State, Yeehaw America run by a McDonalds expy, a dictatorship, a hyper-feminist southeast along with Florida and Texas. How could anyone take this seriously?!
The art overall is a decent if a little stiff at times. I know Dave Gibbons mainly from his work on Watchmen but here he gives a decent amount of range and expression to all the characters along with vibrant colours, good use of shadow and lighting and there are some really nice setpieces that help to flesh out the world. The art really jumps in quality however when Miller inserts newsreel setpieces in between major arcs of the story. Here, the colours are beautiful, the designs are detailed with good shadowing and make for a nice change of pace. In addition we also have Howard Chaykin style jumpcuts to commercials which help to flesh out the world in an organic way.
However some of the art does feel a little barren with some panels being a little washed out and the linework being a little too simplistic. Overall it's a mix. The splash panels feel like they've been given more love, while the more standard panels feel a little more by the numbers.
Got to admit, this is a really solid piece, although the previous page was better.
The characters are a mixed bag overall, with most of the focus obviously being on Martha. Few other characters get as much screentime as her and for most of her time on the page, she eats up all the attention for good or bad. Miller himself took inspiration from Ayn Rand for this series and I will jam my balls in a vice to declare that Miller did a better job of espousing her views in this one bombastic ridiculous comic than that withered old hag's entire body of self-aggrandizing work. Martha starts off weak and ineffectual, constantly shat on by every aspect of life, suffers and hurts, is constantly being held under the bootstrap of her superior Moretti but she never quits, never stops and following the insanity that is her life is the driving force behind reading this.
This is an actual thing Martha fights in the comic and I will fight you if you deny how stupid awesome this is!
As for the other characters, they're hit and miss. Howard Nissen is the acting Pres of the comic after Rexall's brain is put into a jar and watching his decline as the public turn against him and he's manipulated by outside forces is both sad and rough. Moretti comes across a snotty elitist shitbag and never really evolves past that point. His beef with Martha crosses the line into being pathetic but Miller does a good job of highlighting how even others around him seem him as such. But there are some of the others. Wasserstein, an Apache native is little more than a noble follower whose use in the story feels more like a literal Get out of Jail Free card. Raggy Ann, the psychic child from earlier in the story also suffers from this role. Of the other minor characters of note, we have - and I kid you not - The Aryan Thrust, a gay Nazi terrorist group, further cementing that Miller likes to torture nazis in his work and the aforementioned Surgeon General, whose wild rants about cleanliness next to godliness make him feel like Jerry Falwell mixed with Howard Hughes.
Overall, I liked this mini-series but probably for different reasons to a lot of others. Some might hate this series because of its politics or its ridiculous premise or its wild mix of drama and crazy setpieces but its for those reasons that I can't take my eyes off it. It's a B-grade sci-fi flick taken to its most absurd conclusion, along with weird inconsistent political commentary that feels like its trying to throw shade at everyone. It's not a series I would take seriously whatsoever but is infinitely readable in its madcap nonsense.
Although part of me suspects that this is the sort of world Alex Jones and his neckbeard fans envision as the Apocalypse.
Remember folks. He's not legit. He's a "performance artist". Maybe.....
January 24, 2011
MARTHA WASHINGTON HELL YEAH. Seriously, where was this book when I was in high school? Where the fuck were you, book?
April 13, 2013
Given our current state of the union, this graphic novel gave me goosebumps. At times Give Me Liberty led me to ponder Octavia Butler's work. Loved,loved,loved the heroine of this social-political story. Miller's prophetic outcomes regarding banks, corporations, war, ecology, GMOs, secession, hate groups... address unchecked social and economic priviledge.
The Divided States of America map in the last chapter(Death & Taxes),left me with a nervous tickle. This story may settle best in readers with an unproscribed sense of American history. A twisted sense of humor may be helpful too. Sometimes the current realities of our surroundings need satire to avoid insanity.
The Divided States of America map in the last chapter(Death & Taxes),left me with a nervous tickle. This story may settle best in readers with an unproscribed sense of American history. A twisted sense of humor may be helpful too. Sometimes the current realities of our surroundings need satire to avoid insanity.
February 6, 2016
Think Year one/born again/the best of his Sin City series Frank Miller,while completely different than those books this is just as good if not better.Dave Gibons'(watchmen fame)does great on the art & IMO forget TDKR (although a very good book)this is 'Miller's true masterpiece imo.It's amazing/bewildering that the loonie right wing borderline racist & misogynistic modern day 'Miller penned this tale about a female African American freedom fighter!It's anti corporation(especially a certain burger chain)pro human rights,in other words it's Frank b4 he turned into a prick.A great piece of satire fiction from 2 men in their prime & could well be argued to be the best thing 'Miller has done!
December 25, 2017
I have no idea what to think about this comic. None at all.
Frank Miller's 1990 offering, Give Me Liberty, is as choppy as it is bizarrely conceived. Featuring overwrought themes of "social justice" and racism it feels like a weird time travel loop gone wrong from the present to the, not so long ago, past. Victims of oppression (in this case the focus is on Blacks and Native Americans) are tossed into battle against agents of oppression (namely evil multi-nations corporations, and don't forget the government!) with a heaping helping of conspiracy and betrayal to spice up the mix.
From the very beginning we are introduced to our main character, Martha Washington who is born into, predictably enough, an environment of penury and crime. Depictions of poor schooling are presented alongside depictions of petty theft and even murder! After being tossed into a psychiatric hospital, she escapes and eventually joins the latest American military outfit PAX (a fabrication of Miller). In doing so, her shameful criminal history can be expunged.
From there the story trails off into utter inanity. With a narrative more chopped up that a Buroughs novel, innumerable horribly choppy insertions of faux-newspaper headlines and equally fictional magazine clippings, don't really help the cause neither. Merely lacing the comic instead of elucidating the story and making it more believable, they reduce (to me at least) to forced churlish cut and paste operations. As well meaning as the excerpts might seem, there's little rhyme nor reason for their insertions.
It was during the umpteenth insert that I noticed the resemblance to Watchmen. Following a brief facepalm I briefly roved my eyes over the front page and noticed that Dave Gibbons, of the aforementioned fame, was indeed the illustrator. Which brings me to my next question.
How could just an otherwise phenomenal meet-up of skill and talent be so mediocre?
Instead of a well organized and equally well crafted narrative, Give Me Liberty feels like the result of a bad acid trip more than anything. Upon finishing this comic I had a vision of Dave and Frank spending an awful trip that was half rereeading Watchmen and half saturating their skulls with critical theory twaddle.
In either case (and at any rate for that matter) I can't hate this comic no matter its flaws. The art is great and the resemblances to Watchmen (the good parts at least) are enjoyable, as they very well should be to any comic fan. Moreover, while the (character) development that precedes them might be flimsy/suspect at best - non-existent at worst, some of the character designs are pretty cool (I loved the brain-in-a-vat representation of the ex-president as well as the depiction of The Surgeon General). Even moreso were some of the, characteristically Miller, wide double page illustrations - choppy they might have been yet, were pretty cool nonetheless.
So where does this leave us? With a full belly and satisfied reading experience? Probably not. Does it deserve loathing or derision? Not exactly. It's definitely worth a read. However, any star rating beneath three is unnecessarily vindictive. On the other hand, any rating above three is absurd.
Take it for what it is. Frank Miller's, retroactive, SJW-esque, Give Me Liberty is a curious romp through innumerable issues that are even more pertinent now, than they were at the birth of the 90's.
There is truly nothing new under the sun.
Frank Miller's 1990 offering, Give Me Liberty, is as choppy as it is bizarrely conceived. Featuring overwrought themes of "social justice" and racism it feels like a weird time travel loop gone wrong from the present to the, not so long ago, past. Victims of oppression (in this case the focus is on Blacks and Native Americans) are tossed into battle against agents of oppression (namely evil multi-nations corporations, and don't forget the government!) with a heaping helping of conspiracy and betrayal to spice up the mix.
From the very beginning we are introduced to our main character, Martha Washington who is born into, predictably enough, an environment of penury and crime. Depictions of poor schooling are presented alongside depictions of petty theft and even murder! After being tossed into a psychiatric hospital, she escapes and eventually joins the latest American military outfit PAX (a fabrication of Miller). In doing so, her shameful criminal history can be expunged.
From there the story trails off into utter inanity. With a narrative more chopped up that a Buroughs novel, innumerable horribly choppy insertions of faux-newspaper headlines and equally fictional magazine clippings, don't really help the cause neither. Merely lacing the comic instead of elucidating the story and making it more believable, they reduce (to me at least) to forced churlish cut and paste operations. As well meaning as the excerpts might seem, there's little rhyme nor reason for their insertions.
It was during the umpteenth insert that I noticed the resemblance to Watchmen. Following a brief facepalm I briefly roved my eyes over the front page and noticed that Dave Gibbons, of the aforementioned fame, was indeed the illustrator. Which brings me to my next question.
How could just an otherwise phenomenal meet-up of skill and talent be so mediocre?
Instead of a well organized and equally well crafted narrative, Give Me Liberty feels like the result of a bad acid trip more than anything. Upon finishing this comic I had a vision of Dave and Frank spending an awful trip that was half rereeading Watchmen and half saturating their skulls with critical theory twaddle.
In either case (and at any rate for that matter) I can't hate this comic no matter its flaws. The art is great and the resemblances to Watchmen (the good parts at least) are enjoyable, as they very well should be to any comic fan. Moreover, while the (character) development that precedes them might be flimsy/suspect at best - non-existent at worst, some of the character designs are pretty cool (I loved the brain-in-a-vat representation of the ex-president as well as the depiction of The Surgeon General). Even moreso were some of the, characteristically Miller, wide double page illustrations - choppy they might have been yet, were pretty cool nonetheless.
So where does this leave us? With a full belly and satisfied reading experience? Probably not. Does it deserve loathing or derision? Not exactly. It's definitely worth a read. However, any star rating beneath three is unnecessarily vindictive. On the other hand, any rating above three is absurd.
Take it for what it is. Frank Miller's, retroactive, SJW-esque, Give Me Liberty is a curious romp through innumerable issues that are even more pertinent now, than they were at the birth of the 90's.
There is truly nothing new under the sun.
February 4, 2011
Es bastante común que a uno le guste mucho cómo empieza una historieta/novela/película/loquesea pero que ese gusto vaya perdiendo fuerza en cuanto la obra va perdiendo encanto. También que una obra que parece mediocre en su mayoría se redima con un gran final (cuando son cortas sobre todo, si son largas, quizás se haga imposible llegar a ese "gran final"). Pero que pase lo contrario a los dos ejemplos anteriores es bastante raro, y eso sentí al leer Give Me Liberty. Me explico: el primer capítulo y el cuarto (y último) no me gustaron tanto; pero el dos y el tres me encantaron. Me parece que tanto el planteo inicial como la resolución tienen lo suyo, pero que no están a la altura del centro de la historia. Lo verdaderamente disfrutable está en la mitad del medio, valga la redundancia. Quizás porque son los menos predecibles, quizás porque son los más divertidos, los que mejor combinan acción con crítica social (o algo parecido) y donde los personajes parecen más pulidos, ya que en las puntas están más para cumplir sus roles que otra cosa. De todos modos, el conjunto me pareció muy bueno, con un guión muy bien llevado.
Extrañaba leer a un Miller que tuviera algo que contar, que saliera con sus barrabasadas habituales en función de la historia, y no por llenar escenas nomás (como en su último -e imposible de tomar en serio- Batman). En algunas de sus incorrecciones políticas se va un poco al carajo, pero como deja mal parado a prácticamente todos los estereotipos habidos y por haber -más un par de nuevos tipos-, se le perdona. Espero que para la continuación siga desarrollando todo con tino y que no desbarranque tan rápido.
Y el dibujo es un tema aparte. Gibbons me parece tan bueno dibujando como aburrido guionando, y en esta serie dibuja muy pero muy bien. Casi me atrevería a decir que mejor que en Watchmen, si se me permite la blasfemia. Los diseños, los ángulos, los complementos, los colores (que no son suyos pero cierran el conjunto), todo suma muchísimo al producto final, y estoy seguro de que no le habría puesto cuatro de no ser por el capo inglés.
Sin duda un buen exponente de comic yanqui de los 90s, bastante mejor que el promedio de la época, y otra obra que,para bien o para mal, me salió mucho menos de lo que vale.
Extrañaba leer a un Miller que tuviera algo que contar, que saliera con sus barrabasadas habituales en función de la historia, y no por llenar escenas nomás (como en su último -e imposible de tomar en serio- Batman). En algunas de sus incorrecciones políticas se va un poco al carajo, pero como deja mal parado a prácticamente todos los estereotipos habidos y por haber -más un par de nuevos tipos-, se le perdona. Espero que para la continuación siga desarrollando todo con tino y que no desbarranque tan rápido.
Y el dibujo es un tema aparte. Gibbons me parece tan bueno dibujando como aburrido guionando, y en esta serie dibuja muy pero muy bien. Casi me atrevería a decir que mejor que en Watchmen, si se me permite la blasfemia. Los diseños, los ángulos, los complementos, los colores (que no son suyos pero cierran el conjunto), todo suma muchísimo al producto final, y estoy seguro de que no le habría puesto cuatro de no ser por el capo inglés.
Sin duda un buen exponente de comic yanqui de los 90s, bastante mejor que el promedio de la época, y otra obra que,para bien o para mal, me salió mucho menos de lo que vale.
October 26, 2010
This book is a Science fiction graphic novel by Frank Miller (batman:DK; sin city) with art by Dave Gibbons (watchmen).It takes place in the future. Martha is the main character. GIVE ME LIBERTY is the first graphic novel in a trilogy which can now be found at barnes and noble in one large volume. This series is for those that enjoy a good action packed political satire.
November 11, 2014
Year by year we follow a woman into America's bleak future: Cast-off, institutionalized, and rebuilt by her government as a warrior. But who is she really fighting for?
July 24, 2024
A masterpiece.
June 19, 2025
Book 1: Homes & Gardens - Beautifully sets up the dystopian (and all but prescient) nightmare in which Martha is born. It follows her into young adulthood as a soldier for PAX, fighting in the remains of the Brazilian Rainforest to preserve what is left. This is Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons at the top of their form. Miller provides the story and narrative, while Gibbons does some of the most creative art of his career.
Book 2: Travel & Entertainment - On one hand a nice progression of Washington’s story, on the other this is a thinly veiled excuse for a homophobic rant. The “gay nazi” bit might be a funny bit, but it oozes contempt and ridicule, and reeks of the white-male-cisgender-victim card that Miller will slap down with such venomous force in Holy Terror. I really loved this series when it first came out, but looking back on it now, there’s an insane amount of white male privilege being put on display for a series about a black woman.
Book 3: Health & Welfare - Martha Washington is our protagonist. But the most prominent voice we’re getting is not hers. In fact, she is nothing but a relentless victim and a tool used by a cisgender-white-male with a vigilante-savior complex. Yes, Martha prevails no matter what forces or obstacles are stacked against her, but she is still nothing more than a tool and a victim. She just moves from one tragedy to another, without agency or goal except that of survival. She is depicted as little more than an animal surviving anyway she can. It has been decades since I read this and I’m really surprised how much my reactions have changed. But then, I recall that I am now living in a world as dystopian as the one depicted. Here’s another lovely observation: the liberal who took over after the fascist president was left in a coma, is depicted nothing more than a well intentioned fool. He is completely incompetent and unable to be an effective president, and it is repeatedly made clear that he is a liberal. Miller seems to be suggesting that these “liberals” make terrible, indecisive leaders. Intentionally? I do not know. I reminded of Robert Kirkman’s deeply offensive Marvel Team-Up, Vol. 4: Freedom Ring with it’s attitude of homosexuals don’t have what it takes to be heroes.
Book 4: Death & Taxes - This makes up for some of the crap in the previous issues. But to be honest, it is still far to see the white-savior victim attitude being layered in here.
Book 2: Travel & Entertainment - On one hand a nice progression of Washington’s story, on the other this is a thinly veiled excuse for a homophobic rant. The “gay nazi” bit might be a funny bit, but it oozes contempt and ridicule, and reeks of the white-male-cisgender-victim card that Miller will slap down with such venomous force in Holy Terror. I really loved this series when it first came out, but looking back on it now, there’s an insane amount of white male privilege being put on display for a series about a black woman.
Book 3: Health & Welfare - Martha Washington is our protagonist. But the most prominent voice we’re getting is not hers. In fact, she is nothing but a relentless victim and a tool used by a cisgender-white-male with a vigilante-savior complex. Yes, Martha prevails no matter what forces or obstacles are stacked against her, but she is still nothing more than a tool and a victim. She just moves from one tragedy to another, without agency or goal except that of survival. She is depicted as little more than an animal surviving anyway she can. It has been decades since I read this and I’m really surprised how much my reactions have changed. But then, I recall that I am now living in a world as dystopian as the one depicted. Here’s another lovely observation: the liberal who took over after the fascist president was left in a coma, is depicted nothing more than a well intentioned fool. He is completely incompetent and unable to be an effective president, and it is repeatedly made clear that he is a liberal. Miller seems to be suggesting that these “liberals” make terrible, indecisive leaders. Intentionally? I do not know. I reminded of Robert Kirkman’s deeply offensive Marvel Team-Up, Vol. 4: Freedom Ring with it’s attitude of homosexuals don’t have what it takes to be heroes.
Book 4: Death & Taxes - This makes up for some of the crap in the previous issues. But to be honest, it is still far to see the white-savior victim attitude being layered in here.
July 27, 2021
(Minor spoiler ahead)
I am here for Dave Gibbons.
Seriously, not a bad idea: the rise of a young black woman, with backdrop, the fall of the United States, social, economic and political tensions precipitated by a corrupt and inept government. This is only the first part, it begins with the early childhood of Martha Washington and, well it does not really end. Well it ends, but not in this book. I did not read the second part but it seems obvious that Martha is on a trajectory to the White House, apology is this spoils anything for anybody, but really I don't know for sure I promise, you draw your own conclusion. All of that is served with a large heaping of satire.
Because Watchmen is one of my favorite books of all time, I recognize Gibbons' art without even seeing his name. And then I figured, Frank Miller? That's go to be all right... Well it is, sort of. It is a but disjointed and scattered. Trying to say too much, to do too much perhaps... Who knows? Just okay, not inspired to seek the rest of the series but if it falls into my hands I might bite.
I am here for Dave Gibbons.
Seriously, not a bad idea: the rise of a young black woman, with backdrop, the fall of the United States, social, economic and political tensions precipitated by a corrupt and inept government. This is only the first part, it begins with the early childhood of Martha Washington and, well it does not really end. Well it ends, but not in this book. I did not read the second part but it seems obvious that Martha is on a trajectory to the White House, apology is this spoils anything for anybody, but really I don't know for sure I promise, you draw your own conclusion. All of that is served with a large heaping of satire.
Because Watchmen is one of my favorite books of all time, I recognize Gibbons' art without even seeing his name. And then I figured, Frank Miller? That's go to be all right... Well it is, sort of. It is a but disjointed and scattered. Trying to say too much, to do too much perhaps... Who knows? Just okay, not inspired to seek the rest of the series but if it falls into my hands I might bite.
July 24, 2017
Publicado en 1990, las andanzas de la joven Martha Washington en una distopía ambientada a comienzos del S. XXI son claramente deudoras del espíritu de los 80. La consecuencia es que la historia ha envejecido bastante mal. Todo suena un poco a antiguo, gastado, sobre todo si se han leído más cosas de Frank Miller.
Aún así el cómic empieza bien, con un planteamiento atractivo. Pero llegando a la mitad empiezan a tomar más protagonismo las paranoias de Miller (ese cirujano que no pinta nada) y la historia da un bajón.
Hubiera sido interesante leerla en su momento, ahora no me ha dicho nada.
Aún así el cómic empieza bien, con un planteamiento atractivo. Pero llegando a la mitad empiezan a tomar más protagonismo las paranoias de Miller (ese cirujano que no pinta nada) y la historia da un bajón.
Hubiera sido interesante leerla en su momento, ahora no me ha dicho nada.
July 17, 2018
I'm seeing a lot of commentors give the impression that this is whip-smart social commentary. Maybe it is, but if so, it's still a comic where a huge robotic burger mascot is used as a war machine. Pretty good
January 5, 2025
Nobody escapes unscathed in this mix of action and dystopic political satire (though it's light on substantive critique). Beautifully rendered by Dave Gibbons. Miller's right-wing tendencies bleed through a bit, but it doesn't mar the propulsive story. Unfortunately, it feels eerily relevant heading into 2025.
July 14, 2015
I really liked the first issue of this limited series. Martha Washington has a great backstory and is really a hero you can get behind, and it seemed as though Miller was going to involve an interesting political what-if scenario. As the series goes on, however, Miller clutters up the story with too many characters, too many warring factions and whacky characters, too many panels on a fight sequence and not enough time of on other parts including an ending that wraps up fairly quickly. The amount of times the ‘good guys’ survive getting shot or blown up also really tests the reader’s suspension of disbelief. It sucks you in with a great main protagonist and the hint of something intelligent, but then gets too busy, silly, and explosion-filled, turning from an interesting sci-fi political commentary to an adventure story with a bit of political satire thrown in.
That said, there are a couple of things that it really has going for it, which makes it FRUSTRATINGLY CLOSE to being something really excellent. Firstly, the art: I can’t get enough of Dave Gibbons and here is some really excellent detailed work, and some splash pages that are frameable. I’m not sure if Gibbons is also responsible for the more painterly work done throughout (such as the magazine covers) but these are great too. Huge credit also goes to the colourist who I think is Robin Smith, who really helps to add definition to some of the busier pages and gives the whole series a really consistent tone. Secondly, the issues are really nice to own. The covers are cool, it’s ad free and the general design, from the fonts to the end papers, are well thought out. Miller’s trademark talking heads/TV screens are there, but also interspersed are mock magazine clippings and covers, which are an effective way of breaking up the regular story and art while providing some further insights into this dystopian USA.
While I feel as though it ends up being just another action comic, it’s a page turner and worth checking out for the art and design alone. This is my second time reading it and it's one I will come back to.
That said, there are a couple of things that it really has going for it, which makes it FRUSTRATINGLY CLOSE to being something really excellent. Firstly, the art: I can’t get enough of Dave Gibbons and here is some really excellent detailed work, and some splash pages that are frameable. I’m not sure if Gibbons is also responsible for the more painterly work done throughout (such as the magazine covers) but these are great too. Huge credit also goes to the colourist who I think is Robin Smith, who really helps to add definition to some of the busier pages and gives the whole series a really consistent tone. Secondly, the issues are really nice to own. The covers are cool, it’s ad free and the general design, from the fonts to the end papers, are well thought out. Miller’s trademark talking heads/TV screens are there, but also interspersed are mock magazine clippings and covers, which are an effective way of breaking up the regular story and art while providing some further insights into this dystopian USA.
While I feel as though it ends up being just another action comic, it’s a page turner and worth checking out for the art and design alone. This is my second time reading it and it's one I will come back to.
September 21, 2011
Un comic dentro de la lista de libros de 2008 - 2009. Si en el post anterior dije que no me gustaba la literatura, sirva esta reseña para decir que me gusta el comic (aunque no el manga, que le voy a hacer).
Y sinceramente si te han gustado otros comics de Frank Miller (Sin City,o 300) u otros de Dave Gibbons (Watchmen) este es uno de esos comics que no debes perderte.
El contexto donde se desarrolla la historia recuerda un poco al de Ronin de Frank Miller o al de Watchmen, aunque creo que al estar centrado en un personaje más «normal». Todo se centra en un personaje marginal llamado Martha Washington y en su recorrido por el sueño americano, o más bien pesadilla americana, con el toque de humor y sátira política que tanto han cultivado estos dos autores. Resumiendo un comic redondo al que he dado 5 estrellas.
Reseña de Give me liberty en bibliopolis
Reseña de Give me liberty en Tumba Abierta
Y sinceramente si te han gustado otros comics de Frank Miller (Sin City,o 300) u otros de Dave Gibbons (Watchmen) este es uno de esos comics que no debes perderte.
El contexto donde se desarrolla la historia recuerda un poco al de Ronin de Frank Miller o al de Watchmen, aunque creo que al estar centrado en un personaje más «normal». Todo se centra en un personaje marginal llamado Martha Washington y en su recorrido por el sueño americano, o más bien pesadilla americana, con el toque de humor y sátira política que tanto han cultivado estos dos autores. Resumiendo un comic redondo al que he dado 5 estrellas.
Reseña de Give me liberty en bibliopolis
Reseña de Give me liberty en Tumba Abierta
September 12, 2017
Se me hace complicado reseñar esta novela, creo que es de esas que tienen que ser releídas en varias etapas de la vida.
Nos encontramos en un Estados Unidos contemporáneo distópico regido por un gobierno militar y dictatorial a manos del presidente Rexall.
Nuestra protagonista es Martha Washington, una chica de color a la que seguimos desde su nacimiento hasta la adultez.
Desde el inicio la tiene complicada: nacida en un "proyecto" de asistencia social de una magnitud tan amplia que forma una especie de pueblo en sí mismo, pierde a su padre en una manifestación contra éste mismo conocido como "Green", y a uno de sus hermanos en el ejército.
Tiene una infancia desgarradora y luego de varios eventos desafortunados logra salir del Green (no en los mejores términos). A los dieciséis años se alista en las fuerzas militares pacificadoras conocidas como PAX, de las cuales se convierte en un valioso recurso.
Detrás de todo esto tenemos el trasfondo cultural de pueblos originarios oprimidos, multinacionales destruyendo selvas y bosques y la clase baja siendo tratada como animales; además de temas ambientales como los polos derritiéndose, dejándo a Nueva York bajo el agua.
Hasta ahí está interesante; para el final las cosas se ponen...extrañas y apresuradas.
Para expandirme más tendría que hablar de sucesos que se considerarían spoilers, así que prefiero dejarlo acá y creo que con decir que es una de las primeras distopías que me hizo sentir asqueada y enferma mientras la leía, alcanza.
Nos encontramos en un Estados Unidos contemporáneo distópico regido por un gobierno militar y dictatorial a manos del presidente Rexall.
Nuestra protagonista es Martha Washington, una chica de color a la que seguimos desde su nacimiento hasta la adultez.
Desde el inicio la tiene complicada: nacida en un "proyecto" de asistencia social de una magnitud tan amplia que forma una especie de pueblo en sí mismo, pierde a su padre en una manifestación contra éste mismo conocido como "Green", y a uno de sus hermanos en el ejército.
Tiene una infancia desgarradora y luego de varios eventos desafortunados logra salir del Green (no en los mejores términos). A los dieciséis años se alista en las fuerzas militares pacificadoras conocidas como PAX, de las cuales se convierte en un valioso recurso.
Detrás de todo esto tenemos el trasfondo cultural de pueblos originarios oprimidos, multinacionales destruyendo selvas y bosques y la clase baja siendo tratada como animales; además de temas ambientales como los polos derritiéndose, dejándo a Nueva York bajo el agua.
Hasta ahí está interesante; para el final las cosas se ponen...extrañas y apresuradas.
Para expandirme más tendría que hablar de sucesos que se considerarían spoilers, así que prefiero dejarlo acá y creo que con decir que es una de las primeras distopías que me hizo sentir asqueada y enferma mientras la leía, alcanza.
April 3, 2015
Every few years I pull this book out and re-read it. It's a shortish, action-packed tale of the American dream, twisted and rent. The eponymous hero, Martha, grows up on the wrong side of the tracks in a 1990's America beset by crime, social division and poverty. Cabrini Green is less a housing project, and more a prison for Chicago's down and outs.
But Martha escapes, only into more trouble as part of the Peace Corps of America. Her story gets more heroic as she fights the Big Boy Burger chain in the Amazon and the space laser cannons of the Aryan Thrust and onwards to more.
Yes, it's one of those silly comic book hero stories I generally dislike. But the alternative history and advanced technology works here, and while it doesn't take itself too seriously, the themes of identity, retribution and power are interesting and well told. The art is typical cartoon hero style, big and bold, pushing and break the borders where needed, and showing the action well. There's much less exposition in this book than many other of the genre I've read (though I'm no expert, as most of it I don't really like).
I bought this book about 18 years ago in Japan, as I just saw the 1000 Yen price tag on the back. Great bargain for the entertainment I've got out of it. One day I'll read the sequels too.
But Martha escapes, only into more trouble as part of the Peace Corps of America. Her story gets more heroic as she fights the Big Boy Burger chain in the Amazon and the space laser cannons of the Aryan Thrust and onwards to more.
Yes, it's one of those silly comic book hero stories I generally dislike. But the alternative history and advanced technology works here, and while it doesn't take itself too seriously, the themes of identity, retribution and power are interesting and well told. The art is typical cartoon hero style, big and bold, pushing and break the borders where needed, and showing the action well. There's much less exposition in this book than many other of the genre I've read (though I'm no expert, as most of it I don't really like).
I bought this book about 18 years ago in Japan, as I just saw the 1000 Yen price tag on the back. Great bargain for the entertainment I've got out of it. One day I'll read the sequels too.
April 29, 2021
Going back to re-read some books off the shelf (to make room for new books for the shelf), I've lighted on Miller's Martha Washington series, starting with "Give Me Liberty," which introduces to a dystopian future evocative of Moore's Watchman (a comparison which the Dave Gibbons art encourages) but with the polemic and melodrama cranked to 11, and the big concepts mostly satirical. Inspired by Ayn Rand, Miller gives us an America falling apart due to impositions on liberty by Big Government and Big Business, framing the rise of the titular character, a black girl from the projects. It's moderately interesting, but becomes less so the longer it goes on, its eventual end seeming to be about personal courage and the willingness to take vengeful satisfaction against someone who wronged you finally getting theirs.
Whatever.
The world presented feels a bit like that of the Dark Knight Returns, too, only more over-the-top. It's an okay tale, but hardly the most interesting or even retainable work Miller's ever cranked out.
Whatever.
The world presented feels a bit like that of the Dark Knight Returns, too, only more over-the-top. It's an okay tale, but hardly the most interesting or even retainable work Miller's ever cranked out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2013
Komea, melkein tähän päivään ja melkein ennustuksissaan oikeaan osunut tarina Milleriltä.
Mutta miksi Like halpaili ja julkaisi mustavalkoisena värisarjakuvan ja vielä näin surkealla painatuksella?
Mutta miksi Like halpaili ja julkaisi mustavalkoisena värisarjakuvan ja vielä näin surkealla painatuksella?
March 6, 2015
I loved this comic book (er, graphic novel?) series. I should read it again.
September 26, 2018
Un Miller esplendoroso de la época dorada. Un Dave Gibbons maravilloso, de pulcritud talentosa, dibujando casi mejor q en Watchmen. Un clásico del cómic.
July 29, 2017
Frank Miller al palo con su fascismo y los buenos dibujos de Gibbons.
December 19, 2019
I remember buying these when they first came out and being blown away by them, time hasn't diminished the power and impact of the story. Relevant.
October 2, 2019
Es para mí 3.5 estrellas, pero entre darle 3 o 4, prefiero darle un 4.
Mi mayor problema, creo, con la historia de Martha Washington fue el creer una cosa (juzgarla por el principio de la historia) y luego ser ampliamente sorprendido (y extrañado) por lo que sigue.
Pues al principio parecía ficción histórica, distópica. Y de pronto está Martha en el espacio. Es una astronauta de 16 años. Mmmm.
Y siento que no tiene mucho desarrollo o utilidad la trama donde se usan niños para controlar computadoras. Sí utilizan a un personaje de esos que es importante para la trama (y hace algunas bromas que a mí en lo personal no me convencen mucho) pero me refiero a escala más grande. Parece un gimmick muy trabajado. Funciona, supongo, pero la historia no gira alrededor de esto ni apunta a ser espectacular. Sólo existe y así son las cosas.
Estos niños horrendos no son lo más raro del mundo de Martha. Está el Doctor Sargento, o como se llame. Ese sí es un adefesio. Y su papel me gusta mucho.
La historia la juzgué de inicio a fin con mucho ojo crítico, y me pareció que el primer número era fantástico, y después bajaba 2 puntos, y después volvía a subir uno, pero entonces en general se vuelve una decepción porque si se hubiera mantenido tan bueno como el principio habría sido una de mis historias preferidas. Sólo podía imaginar hacia donde iría la historia.
Algo que no entiendo es por qué Martha no dice nada sobre el Presidente Malo, cuando es un cerebro. No menciona odiarlo o no querer salvarlo, o cualquier cosa. Nada. Cuando ese presidente fue el responsable de crear su miserable infancia y el responsable de que mataran a su padre.
Otro punto que me hace inclinarme más por las 3.5 estrellas es que, aunque al principio era una historia bastante apegada a la realidad, pues todo parecía plausible, cuando pasan cosas de ciencia ficción que para mí vienen de ningún lugar, intentan nivelar las cosas mostrando la realidad del país dividido con notas periodísticas.
No siento haber perdido el tiempo. Me han encantado varias páginas de una manera muy especial. Algunas secuencias de paneles son material de estudio. Y me ha dejado queriendo leer los otros cómics que hay de Martha Washington.
Mi mayor problema, creo, con la historia de Martha Washington fue el creer una cosa (juzgarla por el principio de la historia) y luego ser ampliamente sorprendido (y extrañado) por lo que sigue.
Pues al principio parecía ficción histórica, distópica. Y de pronto está Martha en el espacio. Es una astronauta de 16 años. Mmmm.
Y siento que no tiene mucho desarrollo o utilidad la trama donde se usan niños para controlar computadoras. Sí utilizan a un personaje de esos que es importante para la trama (y hace algunas bromas que a mí en lo personal no me convencen mucho) pero me refiero a escala más grande. Parece un gimmick muy trabajado. Funciona, supongo, pero la historia no gira alrededor de esto ni apunta a ser espectacular. Sólo existe y así son las cosas.
Estos niños horrendos no son lo más raro del mundo de Martha. Está el Doctor Sargento, o como se llame. Ese sí es un adefesio. Y su papel me gusta mucho.
La historia la juzgué de inicio a fin con mucho ojo crítico, y me pareció que el primer número era fantástico, y después bajaba 2 puntos, y después volvía a subir uno, pero entonces en general se vuelve una decepción porque si se hubiera mantenido tan bueno como el principio habría sido una de mis historias preferidas. Sólo podía imaginar hacia donde iría la historia.
Algo que no entiendo es por qué Martha no dice nada sobre el Presidente Malo, cuando es un cerebro. No menciona odiarlo o no querer salvarlo, o cualquier cosa. Nada. Cuando ese presidente fue el responsable de crear su miserable infancia y el responsable de que mataran a su padre.
Otro punto que me hace inclinarme más por las 3.5 estrellas es que, aunque al principio era una historia bastante apegada a la realidad, pues todo parecía plausible, cuando pasan cosas de ciencia ficción que para mí vienen de ningún lugar, intentan nivelar las cosas mostrando la realidad del país dividido con notas periodísticas.
No siento haber perdido el tiempo. Me han encantado varias páginas de una manera muy especial. Algunas secuencias de paneles son material de estudio. Y me ha dejado queriendo leer los otros cómics que hay de Martha Washington.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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