Superzelda: The Graphic Life of Zelda Fitzgerald

by Tiziana Lo Porto, Daniele Marotta (Illustrator)

Overview

Dancer, painter, writer, muse, passionate lover, and freethinker, Zelda Fitzgerald is one of the most iconic figures of the Jazz Age. Born in Alabama in 1900, she was only 18 when she met F. Scott Fitzgerald, an ambitious young writer who would turn into one the greatest American authors of all time. Beautiful, talented, irreverent, extravagant, and alcohol-driven, the newly married couple took New York's high society and the whole literary world by storm. They traveled to France, Italy, and Africa; hung out with Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, and Gertrude Stein; managed to both charm and enrage most of the people they were acquainted with; and ended up destroying their love and themselves–Zelda was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent more than a decade in psychiatric clinics, tragically dying at 48 in a fire.

Superzelda is a thoroughly researched work based on period photographs and documents, as well as on Zelda and Scott's writing. It is a biography, a love story, and a travelogue all wrapped into one. The beautiful two-color illustrations bring to life one of the most fascinating women, as well as eras, of the early 20th century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935548270
Publisher:	One Peace Books
Publication date:	03/19/2013
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.88(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Tiziana Lo Porto is a journalist and translator who lives in Rome, Italy. Superzelda is her first graphic novel.

Daniele Marotta is a cartoonist who lives in Siena, Italy. Superzelda is his first graphic novel.

Editorial Reviews

Creators Lo Porto and Marotta’s debut chronicles the life of Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-48)—before, during and after her marriage to American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald; her biography deserves telling rather than relegation to anyone’s footnotes or coattails. At first glance, the novel appears to do justice to Zelda’s story, judging by the detailed, graceful artwork (black and white, colored in blue) and a script based on research rather than speculation. However, Lo Porto and Marotta never truly grapple with either the untidy truth of Zelda’s fascinating womanhood, nor do they have anything original to write about her. One well-rendered drawing follows another, each portraying a documented event or featuring a quotation; even the most decadent, excessive episodes are depicted with the same elegant remove consistent throughout the work.

Verdict Superzelda’s virtues are readily apparent and superficial, resulting in a biography that is eye-catching and informative yet closer to Madonna’s portrayal of Eva Peron. With scenes of and references to dissolute behavior, this is suitable for YA and up. An optional purchase.—J Osicki, Saint John Free P.L., N.B.
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