'Boot Black Vol. 1' with story and art by Mikael is a graphic novel about an orphan on the streets during the Great Depression.

Starting with the German front in 1945, we get flashbacks of the life of self-named orphan Al Chrysler. He and his street gang worked as bootblacks, or shoe shiners, until they begin running money for the local mobster. It's Al's way up and his way to impress Maggie, the girl who will have nothing to do with him.

The story is a bit of a new world stereotype, but the art is pretty stellar. I liked the art more than the story.

Bootblack is a gorgeous graphic novel hampered by a muddled plot that I found difficult to follow. In many ways, it reminded me of Once Upon a Time in America by Sergio Leone. It shares plenty of that film's flaws. Bookblack follows the turbulent life of Al Chrysler. The son of Germans immigrants, Al is orphaned at at early age and is left to scrap for survival on the tough streets of pre-war NYC. I didn't find Al a particularly engaging or likeable character. He felt more like an archetype from a gangster film than a fully rounded creation. The same could be said for all the other characters in the book.

Mikael uses Bootblack to explore questions of identity, nationality, opportunity, and desire. All of the characters in the book are looking to better themselves and change the way the world sees them.

The art in Bootblack is stunning. Mikael perfectly captures the smokey griminess of NYC. There are sweeping epic double page spreads that I took an age looking at as well as small more intimate moments that ramped up the tension (especially in sequences later in the book where Al is dealing with NYC underworld).

That said I found the structure of the story made it hard to follow some of the personal machinations and melodrama. I also felt some of the dialogue a bit leaden. This is made up for with thrilling action sequences and humorous interludes. Bootblack is worth checking out for the art alone just wish the story matched it.

I wouldn't have expected it, but this story was touching and well told. I wouldrecommendd it, but I dont have anything else to say (and I know this has to be 100 characters long so I'm sorry but I'm having a lack of inspiration and it has nothing to do with this story I blame my job)

Bootblack is another stunning and unique work from Mikael. The visual style, story sensibility, and mood that is evoked from this author/artist’s work are all on prominent display here. Recommended reading.

Mikaël, author and illustrator of “Giant” returns in this second series, “Bootblack”, a gorgeous graphic novel set in Depression-era New York. Al Chrysler, an orphaned child of immigrant parents, grows up in the streets with his adopted family of street urchins, shining shoes and dreaming of something better, namely his love interest, Maggie. A gritty story of poverty and the tenacity and courage needed to survive, Al’s story is one of persistence in the search for connection and loyalty, and ultimately, redemption. Historically interesting, taking place during the gang wars in New York, in a time of deep mistrust for immigrant populations, with the looming war in Europe on the periphery, it is fertile ground for Mikaël’s characters and storytelling. Mikaël’s illustrations are slick, playing with shadow and light and incorporating abstract imagery, all with an incredible colour palette. His characters are profound in their expressions and body language, providing the deeper meta text needed to amplify an often spare script.