Graphic Novel Review    

Farewell, Georgia: Four Folktales

told by Ben Towle

SLG Publishing, 2003

Paper, $6.95  (45 pages)

ISBN: 0-943151-78-3

Graphic novels are showing up as storyboards for feature films and finding more respect among the literary elite. The possibilities for bringing literature to slow readers and as a means to excite young people are interesting.

Ben Towle most likely wrote Farewell, Georgia as a project at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he received his MFA in sequential art in 2003.  He also holds a B.A. in philosophy from Davidson College.

Farewell, Georgia is a graphic retelling of four folktales: "The Georgia Peach" (Ty Cobb); "Thunderstruck" (a Cherokee myth); "King of the Road" (Charles McCartney, the Goatman); and "Coon Monkey" (based on a Jerry Clower skit of a common tale).

The artwork creates a strong sense of place and people as the cartoon cells add depth to the mood of the storytelling. The classic tales vary from Southern Gothic to redneck humor.

The summer of 2003, Towle taught comics art for six-weeks in the North Carolina Governor's Honors School, where his high school students created their own graphic comic.

Ben Towle currently resides in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Joyce Dixon

Southern Scribe Reviews

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