Soviet Land
By Pierre-Henry Gomont
320 pages/Abrams ComicArts/$34.99
Those of us of a certain age recall when the Berlin Wall was breached and the USSR, the evil empire that was our Cold War enemy, was shattered. We knew of détente, perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the other big players of the time.
But, as I recall, the Western press didn’t spend a lot of time talking about what this meant to the citizens of the former organization who were now merely Russians. We heard about the rush of capitalism and the arrival of America’s biggest brands, but also about supply shortages and long lines for meager offerings. But the full picture of daily life remained elusive.
French creator Pierre-Henry Gomont invites us along for a glimpse into what that world must have been like for people living there. We open a few years into the new era and follow the efforts of the young, disillusioned artist Slava and the con man Dmitiri Lavrin as they scavenge and sell remnants of the old regime amid the country’s collapse. We watch as they, like so many others, loot abandoned Soviet sites for valuables to sell to collectors and to put food on the table. They’re an odd couple, but their friendship is genuine as they look after one another throughout the story.
At one stop along their nomadic path, they encounter Volodya and his daughter Nina, who are squatters in their latest target. The older man physically is the old Russian bear, menacing to those who threaten him or his daughter, who, of course, has caught Salva’s eye.
We follow their travails as Lavrin breaks away to use his skills to parlay his way out of poverty and become a major wheeler-dealer. Volodya and Nina get involved in an abandoned mining operation, trying to repair its equipment and put people to work, but find themselves embroiled in a new form of corruption, embodied by Morkhov, one of the oligarchs who cares about money rather than Communist ideals.
Gomont, a former sociologist, has been producing acclaimed graphic novels since 2011, and this appeared as a three-album series between 2022 and 2024, making its English-language debut in this collection. His energetic art is expressive, with kinetic, layered pages and loose, flowing linework. It’s an appealing style and makes the complicated interrelations between characters and story arcs easy to follow.
He explores the erosion of ideals, the struggle for survival, profiteering, and the search for purpose in a disorienting new world. Being Russian, it has its share of humorous moments and keen tragedy.
English (US) · 