Pat Dorian

nonfiction/graphic biography - silent film-era actor with deaf parents
I really liked the opening scene where Lon and his deaf mom communicate via sign language and facial expression. The rest of the book, moving on to Chaney's married life and professional career, was quickly read and enjoyed as well--and I appreciated the inclusion of his portrayal of asian stereotypes (a not insignificant number of roles) as well as the explanation that these depictions are widely offensive now but were very typical in those days. The artwork and formatting were very effective overall, and I'm happy to have learned about this person I'd never heard of before.… (mer)

This dramatized biography of Lon Chaney is fairly good when it lingers on his life, like how his silent acting was influenced by communicating with his deaf parents. But throughout the book, little synopses of his films are inserted, and they seem to keep getting longer and longer, turning into full-blown adaptations, based seemingly on how awful and boring the film was. This may be due to the fact that Chaney was a very private person and so the author didn't have a lot of source material to work with, but as the film footage increased my interest in this book decreased.… (mer)