I will never tire of reading the accounts of Holocaust survivors. The Photographer of Mauthausen is a graphic novel, which is a medium I don't often read. I was skeptic going in - how can such an important story such as a Holocaust survivor be adequately portrayed in a cartoon? I've never had such misplaced doubts in a written piece of work.

The story is of Francisco Boix, a Spaniard Communist arrested in France and sent to the death camp in Germany. Prisoners weren't sent to this camp to work - they were sent here to die. Despite this (or perhaps BECAUSE of this, since he had nothing left to lose?), Boix risks everything, even the lives of his fellow prisoners, to expose the atrocities of the Nazis within the camp. He subjects himself to a 24/7 on-call basis witnessing the sick, depraved torture and murder the Nazis perform regularly. He takes part in an elaborate plan to smuggle the negatives of pictures capturing all this out of the camp. What's crazy is they smuggled over 20,000 negatives out - but only around 1,000 survived.

What I really liked about this one is the author doesn't just talk about what happened to Boix in the camp. He goes beyond that, to when Boix testified at the Nuremberg trials. I didn't know that many of the witnesses didn't get to tell their entire story. Boix had to fight to even be allowed to testify. Then he had to fight to be heard, by the people who were allegedly fighting for justice on his behalf. AND he couldn't even go back to Spain, because after the war, Stalin decided that any Communist who escaped the camps was a collaborator .... WHAT?! So many survivors survived the most depraved and inhumane conditions, only to be victimized again and again by the supposed good guys. I learned a couple new aspects of the war that I haven't read about so far so it's off to the history books to learn more.

And THAT is what I love about a good book - Rubio didn't just tell a story, he shared a life. He made me interested in learning more. Plus the graphics are hauntingly beautiful and I didn't think I'd ever be saying those words about a graphic novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dead Reckoning Publisher for this ARC in exchange for a review.

Publisher’s Blurb: This is a dramatic retelling of true events in the life of Francisco Boix, a Spanish press photographer and communist who fled to France at the beginning of World War II. But there, he found himself handed over by the French to the Nazis, who sent him to the notorious Mauthausen concentration camp, where he spent the war among thousands of other Spaniards and other prisoners.

So often when we think of the Holocaust, we only think of the 6 million Jews who were executed. We forget, or some don’t even know of all the other victims of that atrocity. Catholics, Gypsy’s, Homosexuals, Christians, Communists, and Spaniards, to list just a few groups hated and murdered by the Nazis.
The Photographer of Mauthausen tells the story of Communist Spaniards sent to the prison that they were never supposed to leave alive. Like all prisoners, some gave up, some fought back, some found ways to survive that we may not approve of, but who are we to judge if we have never been in a situation even remotely like this.
Francisco Boix did what he needed to do, not just to survive but to get out proof of the horrific deeds perpetrated by the Nazis. I’m sure his choice was horrible for him, he had to not only witness the murder of countrymen and friends but record those horrors with his camera. He also had to help make propaganda pictures that made Mauthausen's life look happy and fulfilling.
Salba Rubio did a wonderful job telling this story. You could feel Boix’s anger at his fellow inmates when they didn’t want him to gather the proof for the world to see, you felt the fear he had, not just for himself but for his comrades. To be caught would be his death, but others would die as well as an example to all. You could see and feel his righteous anger when later, no one cared to hear his story or see the photos he made. But he never gave up and he showed them to anyone who would look and see what he and others went through.
The artwork of Columbo Pedro was a perfect accompaniment to the story, used as a vehicle to make you feel like you were there.
I had never heard the story of Francisco Boix before. That is a shame. His story, his life, should be better known. Now more than ever, as so few survivors are left, the stories must be told. To forget the past is to be doomed to repeat it. What happened in Germany during World War II must never be forgotten, nor the other counties assistance, and turning a blind eye to the massacre. (Looking at you Roosevelt…)
Highly recommended, with usual trigger warnings that go without saying. Murder, language, racism.
I received this book free from Dead Reckoning, and Netgalley for my honest, unbiased review.

I enjoyed this graphic novel!

It was brilliantly illustrated and you could really see the story coming to life. This man led a life of imprisonment and following orders while watching his friends die daily.

It has a sad ending after everything he went through he never found happiness.

This a a dramatic retelling of this man's life. It is emotional at times along with being down right disturbing.

Give it a read though.

I have read a good bit on WWII and the Holocaust, but I was not familiar with photographer Francisco Boix Campo. Upon being sent to Mauthausen concentration camp, he was given the role of photographing the prisoners who had died. He knew it was important to get copies of these pictures out to his party. This was a risky venture and along the way most of those people who were once willing to help, started to fear the risk and stopped helping. After the camp was liberated, Francisco went to get the pictures from the woman who had been keeping them for him. When he learned about the Nuremberg Trails he went there to testify about what it was like in Mauthausen concentration camp. The ending, which I will not go more into, was a bit sad. He had done so much and lost so much. I am giving this graphic novel, which had very detailed, yet sad, illustrations representing those who were in Mauthausen concentration camp a solid 4 star review.

A gorgeously drawn graphic novel with an interesting narrative, plot, and concepts. Definitely recommended for fans of this genre.

5 out of 5 - I'll tell you to read this without you asking.

The Photographer of Mauthausen was a story I had yet to learn about WWII history. I didn't know about the Spanish who had gone to fight with the French and were sent to concentration camps. Mauthausen was a work camp that no one was supposed to survive. Francisco Boix was one of the Spaniards who was sent to Mauthausen. In his previous life, he'd been a photographer. This allowed him to get a "job" at the camp working with one of the Nazi leaders who was attempting to turn death into an art form, taking photos of men who were killed during the time at Mauthausen.

Francisco uses his place within the camp to steal the photo negatives and works with others to find a way to smuggle them out to a woman in the village nearby. After he is liberated from the camp by the Americans, he is able to recover the negatives that were smuggled out. He attempts to publish them, but other photos have already been published from Auschwitz and Berkenau, so his photos weren't wanted or needed for publication.

He was able to utilize the photos to testify against some of the Nazis in the Nuremberg Trials, but he wasn't able to tell the full stories of what he had witnessed and endured.

You could see the research that had gone into the telling of this story. I also was impressed by the illustrations and coloring of this graphic novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dead Reckoning from the U.S. Naval Institute for this advanced copy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this graphic novel! Sadly, due to the font type I had a difficult time reading and therefore I did not finish the book. What I was able to complete was amazing! I definitely recommend this book. I am required to give a star rating, and this is based on the amount that I was able to read.

I hate reading about the Holocaust, I hate it hate it hate it.... but only because it makes me so angry! How could we do this to human beings? HOW???
This story tells a tale that is seldom heard. We all know about the Jews who were horribly treated and exterminated in camps, but we don't seem to get the full picture that THOUSANDS of other people of all ethnic backgrounds were also sent to death camps. This is the story of a camp that mostly housed Spanish prisoners of war, who were taken to the camps because they were communists, not fascists. The imagery is at times grotesque, as the author recreates actual photographs of the death these people saw. It is an uncomfortable read but worth reading anyway, because we need to know about these things - especially in the world we live in today.

This graphic novel is the tale of Francisco Boix, a Spanish photographer captures by Nazis in France and sent to Mauthausen. The novel explores what might have happened during his time in the concentration camp and how he came to smuggle out the negatives of photographs depicting the horrible deaths of his fellow prisoners.

The novel is very well done. The story is compelling and the illustrations style and muted colors set the tone perfectly. As a photographer myself and as someone who is interested in WWII history, I appreciate this look at a lesser talked about event/place. I’ve read about the photographers who arrived at the camps and documented the aftermath, but reading about someone who was forced to help document the atrocity of the camp as these events were happening was eye opening.

Very engaging and thought provoking. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Salva Rubio & Pedro Columbo, and the publisher for the opportunity to review.

I received this book free from Netgalley for an honest review.

I knew this would be a messed up book when I went in. It was. I really enjoyed the artwork. I liked the dark colours. The story itself was sad and terrifying. But try and remember there’s always a hero even if in the end they don’t get exactly what they were after. I would recommend this read.

A graphic novel accounting of the wartime life of Francisco Boix, who was imprisoned at the Mauthausen concentration camp. Boix became the "photographic assistant" of an SS Officer at the camp and in doing so, managed to smuggle 20,000 negatives documenting both the atrocities and the visits of officers who would later claim to "know nothing." His photographs and testimony at the Nuremburg and Dachau trials would go on to be used as evidence to convict dozens. This graphic novel documents both his and those whose assistance he required to successfully get the negatives out bravery.

First, I want to thank both NetGalley and Dead Reckoning for giving me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very powerful story and it felt very appropriate to have been made into a visual story since photographs are such a crucial part of the narrative. Most of the holocaust narratives I have read in books or seen in movies over the years have mostly featured Jews or those who were trying to help them. In history class we learned that there were those who didn't have any connection to Judaism or Jews who got sent to concentration camps, but this is the first story I have read that didn't focus on those groups. In this case, Spaniards. And more specifically, mostly those who fled Spain when Franco came to power.

This graphic novel mostly focuses on one man: Francisco Boix and how he hopes to use photographs to fight the Nazis. The artwork is gorgeous. The color palate sets the mood and feel of the story perfectly. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to know about this part of history.

The Photographer of Mauthausen is the semi-factual account of Fransisco Boix, a Spanish photographer captured in France and taken to the Nazi concentration camp Mauthausen. When it's discovered he speaks German, soldiers use him to translate insults and derogatory remarks to their victims. He ends up in a position developing film for Ricken, an evil man intent on creating photographic art out of death. Fransisco believes the film negatives are his only chance at telling the true story of what took place at the camp and decides to sneak them out at any cost: whether it be his life or that of others.

Historical fiction isn't a genre I read often but this story sounded like one I needed to hear. Its graphic novel form ended up making it the perfect medium to read it in because the artwork provided a direct window into the past. The coloring was also done beautifully: fires seemed to glow in dim scenes with grim colors. The storytelling held suspense and I found myself on the edge of my seat a few times as Fransisco needed to make hard but important choices in life-threatening circumstances. This was a really good read and I recommend to anyone who enjoys historical-based stories or enjoys first-person accounts.

Trigger Warning for graphic images of death.

Thank you Dead Reckoning Publishing for providing an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

On man, where do I start with this book? I loved the cover, I loved the description so I decided to give it a read and I was no disappointed. This book did an amazing job catching the absolute horror that was the Holocaust, no matter the camp. The pictures are haunting, the art is fantastic, the color choices are outstanding. This book is over all a must read, especially since it's based off of a true story. The lengths that a person will go through to try and protect others, even when it seems a lost cause, is just breathtaking. He wanted these pictures out of the camp and safe, he wanted them so that others would see the horror they lived through....but just barely. Beautiful story. I would definitely recommend this book and read again!

This book was very hard to look at. The images are graphic and extremely upsetting. But that is their intention--the entire book revolves around those images and how they could be used to condemn Nazi war criminals. Francisco was an amazingly brave young man who did everything in his power to get information about Mauthausen into the outside world through contraband negatives. This was a fascinating story and the less-than-encouraging ending says a great deal, not only about the world at the end of WW2, but also our world now. We still have to ask, what is more important? Retribution to make us feel less guilty or sharing the truth?

My only complaint is that the characters all looked very similar, which made it hard to figure out who was speaking. But that's honestly very trivial.

The story intrigued me. But a story like this deserves a skillful writing which I missed.

"The Photographer of Mauthausen" depicts the historical tale of prisoners of Mauthausen concentration camp during the second world war. These prisoners included intellectuals among them. Francisco Boix, the photographer was among them. Through his narration, we see the history. But a story to be well built up, there are certain other components. I would like to know about "the Francisco before the war" as he was telling the story. The story just jumped into the concentration camp. How they ended up there - this part could be as interesting. I was also demanding the timeline of the events as it was a historical tale.

In graphic novels, you can send your message with only few outlines. An expression with only few brush strokes can make you emotional or amazed or horrified. This book's illustration was detailed. While reading the dialogues and looking at the illustration simultaneously, it's hard to decide where to focus on, if the illustration is too detailed. Many times, the colors of the subjects were indistinguishable. I had to really struggle to distinguish Francisco, because many of the characters looked same to me. Another note, the type size was too small for a graphic novel.

I was glad to know the story, the sacrifice Francisco and his mates did. But I was demanding quite more details from the story and quite less details but focused spots on the illustration.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me the ebook!

I got this as an ARC from netgalley. I have seen the movie on Netflix and I feel like as a comic for a high school history class this would be an amazing addition. It weaves so much information into a comic where a teenager would not feel like its so much about learning. I would definitely buy for my class room!

The art and layout of this comic is phenomenal and I loved the way it tells its story. There were parts of this comic that were difficult to read, given the subject matter, but even during those moments, I was floored by how well it was being told.

This book has a very important message and highlights one of a seemingly infinite number of people whose story isn't well-known. The horrors of World War II aren't overlooked or softened. I can't say that I enjoyed this book, because the word "enjoyed" feels wrong given what this book is about, but I was certainly impressed with what it achieved in its story-telling.

The Photographer of Mauthausen is an eye opening story about what goes on inside a concentration camp. I was immediately enraptured by the story right from the very beginning and until the end. I was deeply moved and I feel like fighting along with them for what they have gone through because no one deserves to be treated that way. What they did, fought for and the destruction they caused in this world is too much and I'm so glad that they no longer exist. But the people that went through by their hands will have an effect on them forever.

This book is very important and raw. I didn't know what I was expecting when I saw this book but it definitely wasn't anything like how and what this story entails. Voices need to be heard, we need to listen to them and we must do something about it so that no one ever has to suffer the actions of people with so much hate in their hearts and entire being.

Well done to this book for redressing a balance – the fact that I hardly considered Spanish inmates in Nazi camps, let alone Communist ones. And well done, too, for doing it with a story of high drama and proper grit. Apart from the framing device (which at least shows our hero kept some spunk and friendly spirit, despite all he'd been through, but which didn't really add that much) I really got caught up in the true story of a Spanish Communist, tasked with first translating for the Nazis and Kapos, then employed in the photographic department, recording arrivals and more. The way they tried to get photographic proof of the Shoah out may seem over-blown to some, but from their point of view, where they had no timeline for the end of the war and a need to rely on any possible hope for some justice in the future, it must have been important. This is much beyond a standard story of life in the Holocaust, with all its attendant darkness and camp details, for it has some real-life espionage to go with its historical basis. Some may find the artwork a little coarse, but I really liked this for the story, so it's four and a half stars from me.