Robert Moses: The Master Builder of New York City

It’s always impressive when a graphic biography can engage readers with a figure whose importance is undeniable but fame is limited. Enter Robert Moses, a man whose sometimes profound, sometimes controversial vision for New York City shaped it over the course of four decades, with a plan for highways, playgrounds, and skyscrapers that changed the world. This latest effort by Christin (The City That Didn’t Exist) follows Moses’ rise to power in the 1920s as an urban planner with a knack for being a quick study and getting to know those who could help him realize his vision. Like anyone who rises quickly, Moses eventually meets his match when this ever-ambitious visionary runs into a fierce opponent in the legendary activist, Jane Jacobs. The artwork by Balez (Le chanteur sans nom) is stunning, not only in the intricate cityscapes but in the complementary blue-orange color palate. Christin never lets the biography stay too long in a single narrative mode, moving back and forth from exposition to dialogue. Nor does the book skirt some of the more troubling aspects of Moses’ attitudes toward urban renewal. It’s a gorgeous primer in the history of New York’s urban planning. (Oct.)