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Ayn Rand's Anthem: Review by Greg Baldino

Greg Baldino writes for Bleeding Cool

Author and philosopher Ayn Rand's never been an easy fit. Her extreme views opposing socialism and "art by committee" sit ill with the left, and conservatives have often had to gloss over her vehement atheism to swallow her "greed is good" rhetoric.

Despite this, she still has fans in both camps; and in comics as well, with both Steve Ditko and Frank Miller expressing an interest in her philosophy of Objectivism.

After the 2008 elections, sales of her books hit a sudden spike, so it's not entirely surprising that a graphic novel adaptation of her writings would have been in the works.

The writing in question is Anthem, adapted by Charles Santino and Joe Staton, published by New American Library. Anthem is one of her shorter works, originally conceived of as a theatrical play while she was a teenager in Stalinist Russia.

More of an anti-collectivist folktale than an actual novel, it concerns an inhabitant of an anti-utopia where there is no "I" only "We." The hero, named Equality 7-2521, discovers the remnants of a greater society, and comes to reject his society and leave to form the basis of a new way of living, centered on the word "I."

Although it's definitely part of the spectrum of political sci-fi; alongside works like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and We; it's not the most detailed and nuanced argument in Rand's repertoire. The characters are really stock representations in a very exaggerated portrayal. At no point is an understanding of the core civilization given beyond "It's Bad." (What's ironic is that one of the most likely consumers of this adaptation will be public libraries, themselves a form of socialist institution- although not one you'll find mentioned anywhere in the simplistic world of the novella.) The love interest, Liberty 5-3000, has no real characteristic beyond being pretty and waiting for Equality 7-2521 to give her a direction in life. Although she ultimately follows him as he rejects their society, one wonders if she's following him because she genuinely believes he's right or because he's handsome and she's seventeen. The book's conclusion is an uplifiting victory, but only if you accept the idea that everyone in the civilization which Equality upturns shares the same definitions of personal liberty and freedom. Granted, there's not much room for detail; the original novel was just barely 150 pages.
Which does actually make it ideal for adaptation. While one of her more developed and well known books, such as The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged, would have taken either massive volumes or severe abridging to work as a comic, Anthem turns into a fairly slim book, about twenty pages less than the text version. Santino and Staton use a three-tier page structure throughout the book, giving it a very controlled and focused rhythm. Staton's art conveys an atmosphere reminiscient of P. Craig Russell's work on the operas of Richard Wagner, and the book's finished pencils lend it a sketchy samizdat quality.

While the Anthem graphic novel isn't likely to turn anyone into a full-fledged libertarian in one reading, it conveys the message of the original text well enough to give a clear picture of the basic underpinning of Rand's overall viewpoint. (We'll ignore for a moment the glaring question of whether or not Rand would have approved of other people acting in collaboration to retell her own words.) Regardless of what you think of it's message Anthem is a well done literary adaption with concise storytelling and dynamic art.

Ayn Rand's Anthem: The Graphic Novel is published by New American Library for $15.00

Greg Baldino also dares to think, see, and love, but still votes against library budget cuts. He lives and writes in Chicago, reporting on arts and culture. His writing has appeared in print internationally. Contact him at greg.baldino@gmail.com

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