Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness

I want to start off by saying I don't read graphic novels, and that most historical books that I read are intense epics by the likes of David McCullough and Stephen Ambrose; but I really enjoyed this as a great refresher story of one of the greatest musical story tellers ever to live.

Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness itself is sort of a hybrid narrative. For the most part the book is told through the perspective of the prisoner named Glen Sherley, who later went on to be a country singer himself after a chance meeting with Johnny Cash at his Folsom prison performance. That performance is both the penicillin of Cash's career and this story. This is all based on actual events.

I have to be honest, I am young and Johnny Cash was never a staple in my house hold. I grew up on the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, so most of what I know about Johnny Cash's life is through hearsay and that Walk the Line movie. I thought the movie attempted to make his life a lot darker then this book. I wouldn't normally have a problem with that, but the subtitle is "I See A Darkness." Where I think it is saved is the fact that the book is told through Glen Sherley who got what he knew about Cash through the "yellow press." He claimed to have a skill of reading "'tween the lines to get the real story." I guess that real story that he was reading was a slightly watered down version of Cash's truly troubled life story.

The book hits every major stroke from the death of his religious brother at a young age on their old cotton farm to the troubled relationship with his first wife that he would later leave for the love of his life, June, to his battle with drugs. There are some major points that I felt weren't touched on, maybe due to space or because I am reading too much into a graphic novel, but his troubled relationship with his father is never brought up, and it makes it seem like it was really easy for him to court June.

The author and artist, Reinhard Kleist, did do a beautiful job of turning some of Cash's greatest songs into narratives while he is singing them for the first time. Especially The Ballad Of Ira Hayes. This is a great four pages of wonderful, visual interpretation of a classic song. The book is beautifully drawn and will be a perfect gift for any enthusiasts of graphic novels and Johnny Cash fans alike. It feels like a book written and drawn by a true fan that has been touched and influenced by the hardships, and adversities that Johnny went through his whole life.

In the end, the book made me want to read Cash's autobiography; which I believe any great biography or historical book should do, make you want to dig deeper, not turn off from a subject.

The book is available now on Abrams Comic Arts and is apparently the #1 best selling Johnny Cash biography out now.