Staff Picks (January): A Fire Story

You can’t get much more contemporary than a graphic novel about the wildfires in Northern California, and in this graphic novel from Abrams Comicarts writer/artist Brian Fies brings a firsthand account of the Northern California wildfires of 2017.

Originally produced as a webcomic to help deal with his personal experiences, including losing his house and every possession he and his wife had that didn’t fit into the back of their car. In the days that followed, as the fires continued to burn through the area, Brian hastily pulled together A Fire Story and posted it online. It immediately went viral.

In this graphic novel, Brian has expanded his original webcomic to include environmental insight and the stories of his neighbors and others in his community. A Fire Story is an honest account of the wildfires that left homes destroyed, families broken, and a community determined to rebuild.

Given the reoccurrence of wildfires this year and having a son living and working in northern California and getting calls as he’s driving from work during an evacuation and telling me about the smoke and fires, this book really hit close to home.

With the continuing threat of wildfires in California, regardless of how they began, due to man or nature, Brian’s skilled storytelling puts human faces on this life changing environment.

— Steve Leaf

Publisher: Abrams Comicarts
Item Code: JAN191419
Release Date: 3/6/19
SRP: $24.99