Know-It-All By Micheal Kupperman

I’m still on the comics kick, but honestly, because I can plow through one of these in a day or so. I’m making a slower plod through a nonfiction book right now that’ll end up here in a couple of weeks.

Michael Kupperman is an underground comics artist, probably best known for his work on TV Funhouse. Know It All is not one of his typical books; instead, it is a straightforward comic biography, in the vein of Harvey Pekar’s book about the beats, or Kupperman’s earlier adaptation of Mark Twain’s autobiography. For this book, he interviews his father Joel about being one of the famous quiz kids from the 40’s and 50s.

The book is fairly unflinching in its portrayal of everyone. Kupperman realizes that he’s pushing his dad to tell his story before dementia takes his memories away, his dad tries to evade actually talking about how he felt about anything, and his grandmother is depicted as a stage mom in a time before it had a name.

It’s an odd and awkward book, but still a fascinating read. The depiction of Quiz Kids as propaganda to help show the humanity of Jewish kids for the US was interesting, as the show took place during and after World War II. It’s a little out of character in how we think of that war and the Holocaust, that Americans needed a bit of a push to fight against anti-semitism. It worked, and the kids became minor celebrities. Joel Kupperman became a break out star in the late days of radio, and briefly during the first days of television.

The weaving of the two stories together, the Quiz Kids and the junior Kupperman trying for one last connection with his father is excellently told. Kupperman’s art style is plain, but he has a distinctive style. It’s perfect for this type of story.

It’s an emotionally raw book, which means that if you’re looking for a nice neat bow at the end of the story you’re going to be disappointed. Kupperman’s honesty is refreshing in a genre that often sacrifices the truth for the sake of narrative.

This book can likely scratch a few itches, people into quirky biographies, difficult families, or diary comics. Kupperman’s voice is a strong one, as is his unflinching eye. Make sure to check this one out. Though if you’re attached to everything resolving cleanly, it might not be for you.