Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness, by Reinhard Kleist

Writer & Artist: Reinhard Kleist; English Translation: Michael Waaler

Rating 4 out of 5 stars

I am not what you would call an avid fan of Johnny Cash. I own one CD by him, At Folsom Prison, which is a great album. And, of course, like everyone else, I'm familiar with his two biggest hit songs, "Walk the Line" and "Ring of Fire." Nevertheless, I do know enough about Cash to realize he was a tremendously talented musician who had a significant influence on American music, not only in the field of Country, but across the spectrum of genres.

When I learned that there was a graphic novel of Johnny Cash's life, I immediately thought it was a brilliant concept. Given Cash's iconic image as "the Man in Black," colorful personality, and eventful life, he is the ideal subject for a sequentially illustrated biography.

Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness, by writer / artist Reinhard Kleist, was originally published in 2006 in Germany by Carlsen Comics. An English-language translation saw print here in the States last year through Abrams Books.

Kleist does incredible work on I See A Darkness. His art style is reminiscent of comic book legend Jim Steranko, as well as a couple of more recent innovators in the medium, namely Dean Haspiel and Paul Pope. I would describe the look of Kleist's artwork as "alternative noir," and that sensibility suits the material of the book perfectly.

I See A Darkness covers the events of Johnny Cash's life beginning with his impoverished childhood in rural Arkansas during the Great Depression, through the long & bumpy road to musical fame, up until the recording of his live album at Folsom State Prison in January 1968. Kleist demonstrates an obvious admiration for Cash's innovative musical accomplishments and talent. At the same time, though, Kleist does not gloss over Cash's major personal failings. Cash's neglect of his first wife Vivian & their two daughters, as well as his drug addiction, are addressed by Kleist. We are presented with a portrait of a complicated man, brilliant yet deeply flawed, equally talented and tortured.

Kleist has two parallel story structures to complement his retelling of Cash's life. The first of these is the tale of Glen Sherley, an inmate at Folsom. Learning of Cash's upcoming performance at the prison, Shirley wrote & recorded a song, and got it out to the singer shortly before his Folsom appearance. Cash was so impressed by the song, "Greystone Chapel," that he performed it as the closing number, dedicating it to Sherley.

The second device is utilized throughout the narrative. Kleist illustrates dramatizations of several of Cash's songs. At times these are emotionally poignant, on other occasions humorous, and sometimes both. Kleist and his publisher were fortunately able to obtain permission to use the lyrics to Cash's music, both in these sequences and throughout the rest of the book.

I have only a couple of criticisms of Kleist's work in I See A Darkness. The first is that, at times, I had trouble keeping track of the various friends and associates in Cash's life. On a few occasions the various people, as drawn by Kleist, appear somewhat similar. But I suspect that if I was more familiar with Cash's history, I would not have had so much trouble.

Towards the end of the book, though, Kleist shows Cash working with a music producer identified only as "Rick," no last name given. Kleist ought to have gone into a bit more detail about exactly who Rick is, and how he and Cash ended up working together.

Which brings me to my other criticism. The narrative of I See A Darkness makes a tremendous leap in time. It jumps from the Folsom performance in 1968 to some three decades later, when we see Cash in his twilight years, recording songs with Rick. Aside from a brief discussion between Cash and Rick, we do not learn too much about what took place during this thirty-year gap. Kleist could have devoted at least some space to the events of that period of time.

That said, I did find it sardonically humorous to see the elderly Cash complaining to Rick that no one is interested in buying his recent albums. When Rick points out that a lot of people still go to Cash's live concerts, the Man in Black dismisses this, commenting that they only come to hear "Walk the Line" and "Ring of Fire." So there you go, as I said before, everyone really does know those two songs!

In any case, aside from a couple of flaws, Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness is an interesting, insightful, extremely well illustrated graphic novel. Even a casual listener to Cash's music such as myself found much to recommend. At the very least, Kleist deserves credit for trying something different. He has created an engaging work that stands outside the typical mainstream material published in the comic book medium.