Still, Wilshire's pencils are livelier than the material they serve. If many mainstream fans unfairly sneer at autobiographical comics for being solipsistic and whiney, it's hard to hold this book up as a counter-argument. We never get a smidgeon of, say, the wonderfully snippy character details that characterize autobio godfather Harvey Pekar’s best work. Only figure in Free to rise above two-dimensions is our narrator.
Too, at the risk of veering into a tangential argument with our narrator, I had a problem with the way she turned the entire NYC size acceptance crowd into a mass chorus slamming her decisions. To be sure, the issue of weight loss surgery can be a contentious one: many plus-sized advocates criticize it for a variety of reasons (none the least of which is the number of serious complications that they've watched friends and lovers experience), but there are others in the community who've chosen the procedure for themselves. We're never shown that in Fat Free, of course, because aside from caricatures recognizable to them-what-knows-'em (hey, look, there's Ned standin' in a row of would-be dancers!), none of the P.H.A.T./N.A.A.F.A crowd is even given a name.
Why should they be? It's not their "Amazing All-True Adventure"...
Article comments
1 - Ned Sonntag
Did I miss a previous Commenter who got Moderated? Thanks for setting the record straight, Bill! I went to Pratt with Mary and worked at OUTLAW BIKER with Jude, although I'd already known her through my wife's girlfriend and one of my plus-size sweeties... the Downtown Scene was a small world back in the mid80s... my relationship with Richard was always contentious. Still it's amazing to see yourself show up in the funny pages!
2 - Bill Sherman
Nope, Ned, looks like you're the first commenter to this post. Interesting to read that you were classmates with Mary Wilshire - not something I knew before.
I've long dreamed of someday showin' up in the Funny Papers . . .
3 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States. Nice work!
4 - Bill Weitze
Nice review.
5 - Dragynpryncess
I must shout Brava! to Ms. Wilshire. For far too long the comic book industry has been top heavy (pun intended) with superheorines who are anything but. They have little or nothing to overcome and are, as far as reality is concerned, more than perfect. This comic stylized graphic novel is like a wake up call to the comic community and the world at large. The world is filled with all kinds of people and the ones who most need to be lauded and praised are the ones who've struggled through the most and come out on the other side as better people. This story needed to be told to open people's eyes. I cry 'Well Done!", to Ms. Wilshire and those who helped to get this inspiring story out there.
6 - ent doctor
super sex