Mike's Place: A True Story of Love, Blues, and Terror in Tel Aviv

This comic opens in 2003 Israel, where filmmaker Baxter (Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X), has just picked up a new story: Mike's Place, a blues bar in Tel Aviv that eschews all political debate, even in the tense environment. With the first stages of the Iraq War winding down, and everyone looking over their shoulder, the loves, friendships, and interwoven lives of everyone who hangs out at the cafe begin to come into focus. Soon a suicide bomber detonates in front of the cafe and shatters everything. This is a comic that wears its intentions on its sleeves, and its writing frequently verges on the stiff, but its attempts to grapple with the emotional and physical fallout of the bombing include empathy for all sides. Shadmi's (In the Flesh) supple illustration captures the day-to-day life of the cafe, the horror of the bombing, and the slow, uneven recovery of the survivors. (June)