Brian Fies’s latest graphic novel looks at changes in American culture from 1939 through 1975--specifically, how the country went from dreaming of a technology based utopia to accepting a cynical dystopian future. In the story, a young man named Buddy looks back at how WWII, the Cold War, the space race, and just growing up affected his optimism and his relationship with his father.

I applaud Fies’s attempt, though his execution leaves something to be desired. Asking why Americans went from being optimistic to cynical is a good question. However, the answer is vague and nebulous. You might as well ask why things aren't the same as they used to be.

Still, Fies does a good job of summarizing the changes in society and pop culture that affected how people saw the future and themselves. We see these changes through his eyes, on a personal level since the story is primarily Fies’s personal history of the 20th century.

One problem with Fies's execution of this graphic novel is that it is actually more “novel” than “graphic.” Most of the reader's time is spent reading text boxes instead of reading dialogue or appreciating the art. The overall effect is to make the book feel more like a history lesson rather than a story.

The chapter about WWII in which young Buddy runs past houses with gold stars in the windows (signifying family lost in the war), is the most moving and emotional chapter. It’s no coincidence that it's also the only one without an essay on pop culture running through it.

I know readers need the information to put Fies's story into context, but couldn’t the most important facts have been worked into the story, and the details printed as pure text in the back? There are times when the Fies's illustrations are completely unnecessary--and that’s a serious flaw in a graphic novel.

Fies is capable of crafting a narrative that’s also social commentary. He does it through the comic books starring “Captain Crater”--a space-themed superhero and Buddy‘s favorite comic book character. The four issues of Captain Crater “reprinted” here reflect the changes in politics, pop culture, and public opinion throughout the decades.

The Captain Crater stories touch upon a number of Fies's points--such as how people went from embracing technology to fearing it, the improved roles of women in society, blind patriotism giving way to a more realistic view of politics, and leaving behind the black and white morality of “good guys” versus “bad guys” for a more nuanced view of good and evil. A false history of Captain Crater comics like these would be more successful at presenting and analyzing the 20th century.

The novel also tries to show how history affected the relationship between Buddy and his father. As the two men grow up and grow old, their beliefs slowly drive them apart. Buddy grows disillusioned with the promises of a brighter tomorrow after realizing the space program was primarily a military project to prove America’s superiority to Russia. Buddy’s view of the world and America change after the upheavals of the 1960s and 70s, while his father‘s beliefs remain the same.

This changing relationship should have been the heart of the story, but the text “talks over” the scenes of Buddy and father. We get precious few moments of actual conversations between the characters. More such scenes would have revealed deeper feelings and a more complex relationship between father and son. (Perhaps we could have learned what happened to the absent mother, or even the father’s real name!)

The novel concludes with an optimistic vision of the future that combines contemporary technology theory with the fantasies of yesteryear. However, this ending doesn’t seem right for the story. The novel shows how the future isn’t the way people imagined it. Time and people change in unpredictable ways, so any ending taking place in the far future would be pure fantasy--and that setting doesn’t belong in a story so firmly grounded in reality and history.

I’d prefer to see an ending that took place in the present day. It would contrast nicely with the vision of the early 21st century that was presented at the 1939 World’s Fair. Lifestyles, attitudes, and technology have changed drastically. Yet some things--such as American patriotism, class division, and corporate influence--remain as strong as ever.

We are able to live and work with greater freedom and independence than any other generation. However, old ideas--the “us vs. them” mentality, the disproportionate influence of corporations over our lives, and the “America is always right” belief that leads to our greatest mistakes--also remain as strong as ever.

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