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Joyce Brabner is synonymous with biographical, autobiographical and nonfiction comics. Her solo writing projects mostly fall into the realm of anti-war and political commentary, and her collaborative writing projects include the classic autobiographical work OUR CANCER YEAR, alongside her late husband Harvey Pekar. Joyce has returned to the bookshelves with artist Mark Zingarelli on their new title, SECOND AVENUE CAPER: The Story of the Colombian Arts Council, a touching memoir of an extended family holding together as a new disease quickly and steadily begins taking their lives one after another. Set in New York City in the early 1980s at the beginnings of the AIDS crisis, the book introduces us to Ray the nurse and his lover, Ben the wedding singer. Each aspired to places in the arts: Ray as a playwright and Ben playing jazz.

After Ray meets a new business partner in a smarmy doctor at his hospital, he and Ben agree to start selling stolen medical marijuana out of their apartment. Considering most of Ray and Ben’s culture and community is outside the mainstream world, it isn’t hard for them to trust their clientele to be quiet about where they pick up illegal substances. Business goes well for Ray and Ben, lightening the workload for both of them and allowing them to pursue their arts. Things go well for a time, until Ray treats “the 24th known case of a mysterious new illness.”

"Brabner’s name on the cover alone is an assurance of quality nonfiction writing."

This is the beginning of the AIDS crisis from Ray’s eyes, and the terror he and his extended family from all over the five boroughs face. After those first months, Ray, Ben, and their friends rally together to smuggle illegal pharmaceuticals over the Mexican border to save whoever they can. They continue selling pot out of their apartment and procure pills with the proceeds. The fear, tension and struggles of this journey pick up steam until reaching an ending that left this critic desperately wanting to jump onto the pages and help out. The ties that bound this group together in the face of societal abandonment will fill the heart of any reader with hope.

Brabner’s name on the cover alone is an assurance of quality nonfiction writing, and a promise that despite some name changes --- as mentioned in the  dialogue --- we as a readership can trust that the actions of the characters are grounded in real and true events. That is the power of her name and her beliefs as a known social activist in and out of the comics medium. She does a fine job of bringing to life a largely ignored portion of history.

Mark Zingarelli is an artist of some distinction. Known for THE NARRATIVE CORPSE and as a contributing illustrator in Harvey Pekar’s AMERICAN SPLENDOR, Zingarelli was a triumphant choice for SECOND AVENUE CAPER. His classic American layout schemes and character blocking set-ups make for an easily relatable product. The book’s dimensions and format also add a dash of tension with the few panels allotted per page. With only three panels per page on average, the reader is practically forced to turn the pages faster and more frequently as the drama speeds up.

With most of the drama accelerated by the format design, the book ends as quickly as it starts --- abruptly and harshly. By the time it was over, I realized how much I had come to care for the characters, a revelation I had no time to stumble upon during the process of reading itself. I read my copy of this weeks ago, and I still remember most of the names. Well done, Joyce.

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