Backlist: Graphic Libertarianism

Backlist: Graphic Libertarianism Mark Best The Probability Broach: The Graphic Novel L. Neil Smith and Scott Bieser Big Head Press http://www.bigheadpress.com 192 pages; paper, $19.95 Libertarianism is to science fiction as science fiction is to comics—sort of. That is,just as the comics medium in America has been and remains a place for the expression of sci-fi narrative and spectacle, so too has science fiction been the literary form ofchoice for several writers to best express their libertarian ideals. The Probability Broach: The Graphic Novel, by libertarian author L. Neil Smith and comics artist Scott Bieser, is a straightforward comics adaptation ofSmith's 1980 novel The ProbabilityBroach, originally published by Del Ray and the first in a series featuring the same world and characters. In both media, Smith's story is an even mix of hardboiled detective fiction, alternate history sci-fi, and, most notably, libertarian polemic, tempered with humor to avoid heavy-handedness. Police detective Edward "Win" Bear, living in an almost parodically dystopian near future characterized by oppressive and invasive Big Government, accidentally slips into an alternate reality while investigating a government conspiracy. Win finds himselfin a libertarian utopia, where all people are equal (as well as some additional species), everyone packs heat (the great social equalizer ), "government" is a dirty word, and libertarian ideals have enabled radical, beneficial technological advances. Upon meeting the alternate world version of himself, Win helps fight an evil Federalist plot threatening both realities, while learning about "propertarian" values from his newfound friends. The Probability Broach: The Graphic Novel works hard to reproduce Smith's novel in the new medium. Smith revises few details of the story; one minor but noteworthy example is a reference to other authors. In the original, as Win begins to figure out the truth of his situation, he compares it to Mackinley Cantor's 1961 novel Ifthe South Had Won the Civil War. In the graphic novel version, Win simply refers to the more recent Harry Turtledove, well known for his alternate timeline science fiction, which should easily orient any sci-fi fan to Smith's narrative interests. Smith's alternate history is often delightful in its logic. For example, the right to absolute personal privacy means fingerprinting has never been invented. As a faithful comics adaptation of a literary work, The Probability Broach more closely resembles vintage Classics Illustrated (1941-1962), aimed at introducing readers to the original, rather than other, more daring comics adaptations, such as Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli's 1994 City of Glass, a version of the Paul Auster novel that is as interested in exploring the potential of the comics medium as in retelling Auster's story. Smith and Bierson's goal is quite simple: to retell Smith's story as accurately as possible while visually fleshing out his characters and world. The graphic novel is very effective at doing that. The skill Bieser demonstrates here is more that of an illustrator, and he easily conveys a sense of how technologically advanced this society is as it reaps the benefits of propertarianism. Massive airships, the claustrophobic cubicles and spectator -sports-like quality of the Continental Congress (because in Smith's world any form of government is both alienating and deserving of close public scrutiny, yet not to be taken too seriously), and many of Smith's more endearing ideas translate well to a visual form. One of Smith's best is that any species demonstrating sentience and expressing the desire to be treated equally to other sentient species—and the technology exists to enable the necessary communication —must be granted that equality. Consequently, nattily dressed chimps, gorillas, and other higher primates populate Bieser's artwork, and a dolphin is one of the main characters, a university professor of theoretical physics. Occasionally, Smith and Bieser take advantage of the visual medium to add minor details to Smith's world. Atthe Continental Congress, a peanut vendor closely resembles a president in our reality. Storefronts featuring shout-outs to Smith's libertarian colleagues, or even his local comic book store, abound. However, given the potential richness of the comics form, another goal of Smith's original work provides the...