Stuck Rubber Baby Review
4.5 stars out of 5
DC / Vertigo Comics
For most people, comic books are seen in the realm of children’s entertainment, only becoming worthwhile when a television show or movie based on a property is released. Even as a larger number of graphic novels come out that deal with serious, real world issues, the general consensus remains that the term “comic books” relates directly to superheroes, over-the-top plots and characters, and juvenile antics.
The brush-off that the medium often receives from popular and literary circles can be quite infuriating, especially when some of the most mature, complex stories are told in comic book form. Some graphic novels tell such truthful, developed stories that they demand to be notice from anyone capable of understanding the written word. Howard Cruse’s Stuck Rubber Baby is one such graphic novel, and shows just how powerful a tale sequential art can tell.
Originally published in 1995, Stuck Rubber Baby was re-released over the summer by DC’s Vertigo imprint, known for its mature titles and storylines. Set in the fictional southern American town of Clayfield in the 1960s, Stuck Rubber Baby tells the story of Toland Polk, a young man trying to come to terms with his homosexuality against the backdrop of the civil rights movement.
At its core, Baby is a coming-of-age story, chronicling Toland’s life in his late teens and early twenties. What sets the story apart from others is Toland’s issues with his sexual identity and the way he tries to deny it. This denial continues even as he becomes more involved with the outcast members of southern society, which includes both homosexuals and supporters of the movement.
The lengths to which Toland goes to hide from his own sexuality are wholly believable, especially given the time and place in which he is living. He begins to date a woman named Ginger, and even goes so far as to trick himself into being in love with her. All the while, her friendships with other homosexuals allow Toland to become more involved with that subculture without having to be honest with himself.
While not an autobiographical tale, Cruse based much of Toland’s story on his own experiences as a closeted gay man in 1960’s Alabama. As a result, Toland’s actions, thoughts, and feelings all ring true, as do his interactions with all of the other characters. This is furthered by narration provided by an older Toland looking back on the events in question.
Equally important to Toland’s evolution as a character is the focus the graphic novel places on the civil rights movement. As the story progresses, Toland is witness to many incidents that parallel real-world events throughout the movement. He takes part in a sit-in to try and keep Clayfield’s park open for movement gatherings, sees a friend receive brain damage as a result of an attack from the Klan, and even takes part in the March on Washington to hear the “I Have a Dream” speech.
Many of these events come at the urging of Toland’s friends and the rest of the complex and varied members of the supporting cast. What’s impressive about Cruse’s characters is that each and every one brings something unique to the story while also feeling as real and developed as Toland himself.
The Reverend Harland Pepper personifies the strong leaders of the movement. Toland’s sister Melanie remains neutral to the events occurring throughout most of the novel, but cares for and is supportive to her brother. Even the racist and ignorant are given a voice in Melanie’s husband Orley, who constantly butts heads with Toland’s more liberal friends.
Most important among the supporting cast is Sammy Noone, the openly gay friend of one of Toland’s roommates. In many ways, he represents what Toland might be if he could finally be honest about his homosexuality and stop living in fear. The myriad feelings Toland has towards Sammy mirror those he has towards himself, and their relationship with one another builds until it becomes the focus of the graphic novel’s climax.
As for the art, it isn’t hard to see why it took Cruse nearly five years to finish the book. Not only is every page bursting with upwards of twelve to sixteen panels, but each image is rendered in a cross-hatching style, which brings a greater level of detail to shadow and allows for a unique means of indicating skin color. Cruse’s impressive mastery of cartooning breathes that extra bit of depth and reality into both his characters and the world they inhabit, the kind that can only be achieved in the graphic novel medium.
Of course, while the art style is impressive, some may find that it is too cartoon-influenced, and be put off when the graver topics of racism and bigotry in general are brought up.
Also, Stuck Rubber Baby is assuredly a mature title, and those uncomfortable seeing nudity and sexual intercourse, both hetero and homosexual, should be forewarned. However, these scenes are brief, and are far from gratuitous. Instead, they only help further the reader’s connection with Toland and the journey of self-discovery he is on.
While much of this review has been rather brief, it is only because to give too much detail about the novel would be to ruin the experience one has when reading it for the first time. The town of Clayfield is one that deserves to be discovered, not heard about secondhand. Stuck Rubber Baby succeeds not only as a graphic novel, but as a classic piece of American literature, one still deserving of recognition 15 years later.
