Cravan: Mystery Man of the Twentieth Century - Hardcover

Richardson, Mike; Geary, Rick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1593072910 ISBN 13: 9781593072919

Publisher: Dark Horse, 2005

Synopsis

This is the true story about the most interesting person you've never heard of: Arthur Cravan, major figure in pre-WWI cutting-edge art circles, was among the greatest mysterious figures of the twentieth century. A self-confessed thief, forger, and con-artist, he used a roster of assumed names and false identities. He was known, at various times, as a novelist, poet, painter, art critic, lecturer, publisher, and the lightweight boxing champion of France. Always a rebellious, restless spirit, this dedicated rule-breaker was a political radical whose friendship with Leon Trotsky earned him the surveillance of the U.S. government - even through his immigration to Mexico with his wife, the poet Mina Loy. In 1918, at the age of thirty-one, the fascinating physical giant vanished without a trace, and - despite several supposed sightings over the years - was never seen again. Is it possible that he became the mysterious, reclusive novelist B. Traven, who wrote The Treasure of the Sierra Madre?

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

It's not known what became of Arthur Cravan—boxer, poet, adventurer, hoaxer and Oscar Wilde's nephew—after he disappeared while sailing to Mexico in 1918. This graphic novel biography presents the larger-than-life incidents from his life, including various daring escapes, schemes and a scam involving boxing matches with Jack Johnson. Along the way, Cravan runs into such figures as Leon Trotsky and marries poet Mina Loy. Richardson even adds to the mystery by speculating that Cravan was also reclusive B. Traven, author of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Geary, creator of the outstanding Treasury of Victorian Murder series, is an excellent choice to illustrate and co-write this historical overview. His distinctive pen-and-ink style captures the reality of the times, especially when it comes to establishing settings like cluttered sitting rooms or angry groups of men in striped suits. Cravan embarrasses his family but claims it's all for experience to become a writer. Their good advice—"If you want to write, sit down and write"—is ignored in favor of more sensation seeking. The result is a life of violence and dada, a colorful footnote to the history of the era. (Nov.)
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From Booklist:

Nonfiction graphic novelist Geary, whose Treasury of Victorian Murder stands at seven volumes and counting, teams with Dark Horse publisher Richardson for the story of a short-lived--perhaps--figure of great fascination. Arthur Cravan (1887-?), ne Fabian Lloyd, claimed to be Oscar Wilde's nephew; labored and scammed around the world; was a charter Dadaist in Paris; met Jack Johnson in New York and sparred with him in Europe; married avant-garde poet Mina Loy; and disappeared in 1918 trying to get away from it all, or at least from government agents interested that he was pals with Trotsky. Colorful should have been his middle name--but between which first and last ones? He had more than a dozen, and one may have been B. Traven, which means Cravan may have been the reclusive author of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, whose self-described "agent" famously visited the on-location filming of John Huston's movie version in Mexico in 1947. All those escapades and more Geary renders in his characteristically droll, historically observant manner. Neat. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Dark Horse
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1593072910
• ISBN 13: 9781593072919
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 72