Soviet Land: A Tragicomic Thriller Graphic Novel

Gomont’s kinetic and assured English-language debut captures the Wild West atmosphere of northern Russia in the post-Communist 1990s. Slava and Lavrin loot abandoned Soviet estates, scavenging artworks, chandeliers, and other remnants of the old regime to peddle to the newly affluent. Lavrin is a born hustler, but this is only a gig for Slava, a lapsed painter demoralized by the “petty gatekeepers of good taste.” After a violent run-in with rival looters, they’re rescued by Nina, a sharpshooter squatting with her bear of a father in a deserted mansion. Through her, the pair stumble into a campaign to save the mine where Nina works from a shady investor whose “restructuring” proposals barely paper over his intention to strip the mine for parts. Slava throws himself into the cause—and into charcoal sketches of Nina in the nude—but Lavrin sees the makings of another score. As the pair’s paths diverge, Gomont’s canvas widens to capture the era’s profiteering, worker marginalization, and industrial collapse. Brushy, gestural cartooning maintains a brisk pace, while the text smuggles in an elegiac, almost Zweigian lilt. It’s an action-packed tale that explores the limits of loyalty when everything is up for sale. (Apr.)