Capote in Kansas

by Ande Parks, Chris Samnee (Artist)

Murder. Not an intricately plotted "whodunit" or fiery passionate fury. But dirty, sad, disturbing actions from real people. That's what Truman Capote decided to use for IN COLD BLOOD—his bold experiment in the realm of the non-fiction "novel." Following in that legacy is CAPOTE IN KANSAS, a fictionalized tale of Capote's time in Middle America researching his classic book. Capote's struggles with the town, the betrayal, and his own troubled past make this book a compelling portrait of one of the greatest literary talents of the 20th century.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Crime, Fiction, True Crime, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

120 pages, Paperback

First published July 13, 2005

About the author

Ande Parks has worked on several projects with Phil Hester, including Nightbreed (Marvel), Rust (Malibu), Fringe (Caliber), and Freaks Amour (Dark Horse). Currently he inks Anima, Steel and Superboy, all for DC.

Ande Parks (born October 1, 1964) is a professional American comic book artist, known for his work as an inker and writer in the industry. His greatest notoriety has come from his stint with fellow artist Phil Hester on DC Comics' Green Arrow series from 2001 to 2004 and writing the graphic novels Union Station and Capote in Kansas by Oni Press. He grew up in the suburbs of Kansas City and currently lives in Baldwin City, Kansas with his wife and two children.

Parks began his professional career as an inker in comic books with Dark Horse Comics. He has inked the penciled artwork of such titles as Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Superman, Daredevil and Spider-Man. His artistic style has won him praise in the comic books industry, including an industry Harvey nomination as best inker. His idols and influences include Neal Adams, Klaus Janson, Jack Kirby, Dick Giordano, and Mike Grell. Parks has stated in at least one on-line interview that he inks with Hunt 102 and Brause 511 pens and a Raphael #3 brush. For characters from the comic books, Parks has acknowledged he has most enjoyed Batman and Captain America as his favorite characters.

He is probably best known for his work on the relaunched Green Arrow comic book series beginning in 2001, which he inked over his frequent collaborator Phil Hester. On Green Arrow, Hester and Parks worked with writers Kevin Smith, Brad Meltzer, and Judd Winick over their approximate 40-issue run. The book has been collected into several volumes. The American Library Association called it one of the best books for young adults. Parks and Hester have also done work on DC Comics' Nightwing with writer Devin Grayson, allowing Parks to work within the Batman family of characters, and the new revamped Ant-Man comic book for Marvel Comics in 2006-2007.

Although better known for his artwork, Parks considers himself to be more of a writer than artist. He has contributed several articles in comic book trade magazines, such as Draw!, geared towards critiques of artwork and professional tips for inkers. Parks' combined his inking style with his fondness for writing when he created the superhero spoof Uncle Slam & Fire Dog for Action Planet Comics, based to a certain extent on his love of Marvel Comics' Captain America. Uncle Slam appeared in three issues of the Action Planet anthology book series, and in two issues of his own book in the early- to mid-1990s. The character also appeared in a completely on-line comic book for Komicwerks. A new Uncle Slam book, "Uncle Slam Fights Back", was released in the summer of 2008.

For graphic novels, he has often turned to his neighboring region in the Midwest as source material for his writing projects. To date Parks has steered towards writing what is best classified as historical fiction. He has credited Alan Moore's From Hell as being a large influence in his decision to pursue writing in the historical fiction genre. In 2004, Oni Press published Park's first original graphic novel, Union Station. The book dealt with the events surrounding the Kansas City massacre, which took place in 1933 in Kansas City, Missouri, and helped J. Edgar Hoover make the F.B.I. a powerful organization in law enforcement and government for decades to come. Eduardo Barreto provided the artwork, done in black-&-white to give the piece more of a Depression-era period look.

In 2005 Parks returned to the genre of historical fiction with Capote In Kansas, drawn by Chris Samnee. The book details the time Truman Capote spent in Kansas while he worked on his literary masterpiece, In Cold Blood.

Continuing on with the Marvel Universe of characters, Parks co-plotted with Ed Brubaker and wrote "Blood of the Tarantula" fo

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

"You know the 'non-fiction novel' I've been aching to do? I think I found a good crime. A family in Kansas was slaughtered in their home. I know it would make for a sensational piece." -- Truman Capote, page 10

Capote in Kansas - uniquely advertised as 'a drawn novel' on the cover - criss-crosses some of the same ground as Capote's influential bestseller In Cold Blood (which revolutionized the true crime genre in America, focusing on two ex-convincts and their shocking murder in 1959 of a respected farm family and then the subsequent police investigation and court trial), plus a more generous helping from the acclaimed 2005 film Capote, in which the late Philip Seymour Hoffman took home Oscar gold for his excellent portrayal of Capote during his research for said book. Also, I find it a bit suspicious that this 'drawn novel' just so happened to be released during the same year as the aforementioned film. As such, the pulp fiction-ish quality of the stark black & white illustrations are effective in setting a tone, but the whole thing - even at a scant 120 pages - feels unnecessary. Arguably your time would instead be better spent reading Capote's book and/or viewing the biopic.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

In November 1959, two ex-convicts, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, murdered four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, a crime for which they would eventually be executed in 1965. The murders caught the attention of writer Truman Capote who would go on to immortalise the matter in his masterpiece, In Cold Blood.

You might remember a couple of exceptional films that came out 10 years ago - Capote and Infamous (the former was the film that the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Best Actor Oscar for that year) - that chronicled Capote researching and writing his book. So now we have Capote in Kansas, a “drawn novel” (that’s definitely not pretentious…) because I guess this story hasn’t been told in comics form yet?

If you’ve not read In Cold Blood or seen those movies, I highly recommend them - they’re dark but tell a riveting story. And if you haven’t then Ande Parks and Chris Samnee’s Capote in Kansas might be a bit puzzling as it doesn’t explain what happened very well. The crime is presented in a way that makes it feel a bit obscure and events are very choppy - Harper Lee (who had a profound effect on the final book) disappears suddenly early on, the murderers are caught, and Capote very quickly goes from being shunned by the townsfolk to being welcomed.

But as Parks says in his afterword, he didn’t set out to retell the story, he just wanted to show the difficulties Capote had in writing it. Parks does one thing differently which is adding the character of Nancy Clutter, the teenage girl who was murdered, who appears as a ghost to talk with Capote. It’s a little hokey and the premise of seeing Capote struggle with the writing is a bit flimsy, but it’s not a bad read, especially if you’re familiar with the case and the people involved.

Superman artist Chris Samnee swaps fictional Smallville, Kansas, for real Holcomb County, Kansas bringing the small town atmosphere to life and presents brilliant black and white pages, a suitably gritty and noir-ish approach for such a grim story. The characters’ faces look very naturally expressive showing great skill from Samnee.

Capote in Kansas is a fine supplement to those readers who’ve read In Cold Blood and seen the many films associated with the book and case - but it adds nothing of note that hasn’t already been covered in other media. Sure Capote struggled in writing it but that’s clear in all biographies of the writer and all the movies - did it need an entire comic, sorry, “drawn novel” to repeat that? Not really. It’s a decent book but it’s wholly peripheral.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ande Parks (writer) delivers a (fictionalized) rendition of Truman Capote’s life-altering escapades as he researched and wrote his first (and last) nonfiction, In Cold Blood.

While the backstory of Capote’s classic is now threadbare fodder for playwrights and screenwriters and budding graphic novelists, the drawings of Chris Samnee are exceptional. An impressive first outing for an artist who would later go on to ink Thor and Daredevil and The Shadow.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another interesting look at In Cold Blood. I liked the art, which fit well with the tone of the Clutter murder investigation. I also liked how this came at the story from a new perspective, insinuating here that Capote built a bigger relationship with the murdered Nancy than her murderer Perry, which is suggested by In Cold Blood and the movie Capote. I also liked seeing more of Capote's relationship with his partner Jack. It was a nice place to end my recent experiences with In Cold Blood and its adaptations.

[BellaGBear · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm I liked this one, but it was not terribly good. Immedeatly after finishing this novel I wanted to give it more stars, but then I started thinking about the story. My conclusion is that it lacks a lot of information vital to make the comic comprehensive.

The art is beautifull though and I would certainly recommend people interested in writing and journalism to read it. And I am going to add Truman Capote on my to-read shelve.

[Ill D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since Watchmen arrived on the scene and pretty much obliterated all puerile preconceptions of the medium, comics have had something of a rebirth and a backlash all rolled into one. Opening up the thin parameters of the spandex-laded cape to greater imaginative workings, a far greater width of storytelling has been met with an even greater scope of set and setting. However, changing from the traditions that have worked for decades is not necessarily always a good thing. Most of these successive comics have ranged between good, bad, and just meh. I thought a fictionalized take on Capote in comic book form would be something fresh, but it definitely leans more toward the latter end of the spectrum.

Ostensibly a whodunit type of affair as evinced by a particularly macabre murder at the beginning dissolves into something so much less. With our titular writer of Breakfast at Tiffany’s fame showing up at the scene of the crime not to solve but to seek inspiration for his next leather-bound work, already the book shows its true colors. Playing it cards way too early, not really mystery but mere insular travelogue with an internalized author at in the driver’s seat, there’s little in the way of a Sherlock Holmes inspired affair here.

With the bad guys already tossed behind bars there is little to discover in this post-crime scene setting. Only amplifying the decidedly non-whodunit take on things, there is no reason to investigate the crime scene, discover other potential criminals, or to even pore through crime records for contravening evidence. Which is ironic to the last point because when Capote actually does get his finely manicured hands on these reports, they have nothing to do with proving/disproving innocence/guilt but rather intellectual fodder for illusory inspiration and nothing else. With something of a PostModern tinge, the acquired material is ultimately meant to be manipulated to fit the artist’s vision, no matter how ultimately divorced and altered from the sources themselves.

Without an ounce of danger to be savored, or a time-clock propelled impetus, Capote in Kansas is disappointingly devoid of a single scintilla of tension. With only mediocre conversations between the who’s who of this tiny town and our fabulous protagonist, character developments feel as cardboardy as they are ultimately unimportant to the book. Whether it’s the local detective, relatives of the deceased or even multiple lovers (which include his own partner) their characters develop into little more than molehills of salt – unflavored, bland, and ultimately infinitesimal.

Only graced by a surely talented but definitely anything but spectacular art-style, the limits of the quality can be derived from the visuals alone. While the illustrations are certainly of an above average quality, there’s nothing to write home about. Unmemorable on the seen level, an already meh story can barely keep afloat to the third eye’s critical facilities. So even when the (already kinda guessable) plot-twist is revealed at the end, it doesn’t matter because we’ve been bored for some ~150 pages.

(For the most part) Nothing to see here folks, move along.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second read of this book, now read in conjunction with my teaching of In Cold Blood for my Postwar Novels course. I also re-viewed Capote with Philip Seymour Hoffman this past week, and saw the 1967 black and white version of In Cold Blood with Robert Blake as Perry Smith. All three of these are great and have something in common: the inputs to non fiction while fictionalizing elements they don't make clear are fictional. Capote calls his work a "non fiction novel," but what's new about that? He makes a book he calls non fiction about actual events but to cover critiques of his making stuff up he calls it also a novel. There are remarkable things about all these works, they are all excellent in their own ways, one could make a study of all them, together, call it the Capote project, but they are in my opinion not excellent because they are entirely factually "true." They are all interesting because of the ways they fictionalize and become "true" in the ways Tom O'Brien calls fictional truth more true than happening truth.

This graphic novel is good, but it pales in comparison to all the above. It is slight, in comparison, and doesn't bring us much new, as either factional or artistic reflections on either In Cold Blood or Capote, though it does work from the perspective that Capote consorts with the ghost of the murdered teenaged Nancy in the project of empathizing with the victims. This is something he needed, as he comes to Kansas with the idea of writing his Next Great Novel versus coming to understood these traumatized folks. He even says to them, "I don't care who the killers are or whether they get caught. I just want to see what the effects of the murders are on the community," when he shows up… so this book, pretty well crafted, better drawn than written, shows his process of empathizing… and though he does finally create a sympathetic portrait of the murdered Clutter family, even possibly stretching sympathy for the authoritarian Herb, the Dad, for possibly fictional purposes, to create more pathos, it is actually Perry, one of the killers, he comes to sympathize with most. And after seeing Capote, seeing the anguished author connected with the killers and also needing them to die, this graphic novel portrait seems almost shallow in comparison, creating too much empathy for Capote himself.

So, finally, I think this is a good project, and the more the merrier, we can see that this story and series of stories continues to capture the public and literary imaginations.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I totally picked this one based on the title. Was it some re-telling of 'In Cold Blood'? I had no idea but somehow knew I would like it. I actually loved it. Like watching a great movie loved it. Of course this has a lot to do with the fact that In Cold Blood was one of my favorite novels. And Capote in Kansas tells the story of how Capote was able to gain the trust of a small Midwestern town and write a true classic. It's also about the toll that creating great art takes out of the artist -- it might explain why Capote never really reached these heights again, something I've always wondered.

[Andrew Shaffer]

Unless you’re already familiar with the book IN COLD BLOOD or the case itself, this might not make much sense. Interesting narrative device to cast one of the murder victims as a ghost who talks to Capote.

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original take on a well known tale. Foreknowledge of Mr Capote and his circle makes this quite plausible and very insightful. Nice piece snd a good read.

[Hal Brodsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice black and white drawings. No shades of gray. no cross hatching.
Otherwise, it is a story we all know.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is the cost of great art? That is the theme of this graphic novel, both according to the notes at the end of the book and Ande Parks himself in a couple of talks I've seen. It's a theme that is very important to me, considering that I have spent my entire life chasing one art or another. The book treats the theme pretty subtly, showing changes in Captote's appearance over time and mentioning what the writing is doing to him, but perhaps the biggest sacrifice was Capote's choice to ensure the ending his book demanded, rather than give the man who he had begun to love a better chance at an appeal. Imagine that. These were people he became personally involved with over the course of months of interviews. In the end, he chose his book.

Living in Kansas, I can tell you that the cost for Capote was much greater than just Percy's death. News came out a couple of years ago that called in to question the truthfulness of Capote's account. It was quite the scandal. Ultimately, Capote was going after something that we hadn't seen before, that we still don't really understand, a strange blend between fact and fiction, when so many of our modern conventions demand clear definitive lines.

Parks makes creative choices in his book that cause deviation from literal "truth." This includes the removal of Harper Lee from the equation early on (though Parks apologizes for that in the notes) and the introduction of a ghost. Whether this is a true ghost or simply Capote's way of dealing with the stress of writing the book, that isn't important. Sometimes, we have to make choices because our creations demand it. I think Harper Lee, being friends with Capote, would surely understand that.

The book does its job, and it does it well. The ghost subplot brought in a story arc that could only be done in a graphic novel format. It's very important to me that a graphic novel does something that a novel could not accomplish. They are totally different formats and work in different ways. I thought the drawings were beautiful and told the story in a way that mere words could not have done justice.

For a book about the cost of the creative process, I was also very happy to see the notes sections following the story. A deleted scene in script form, the proposal, sketches, etc. I think it was important to show Parks's creative process in dealing with a fictionalized portrayal of a real-life event that was a fictionalized(?) portrayal of another real-life event. Without getting too meta, I liked being able to see in to Parks's creative process.

Art costs something. I think anyone who has performed well within any art form could agree to that. Maybe great, immortal art costs something more, maybe even a bit of our lives. There is a danger, because of the timing and the amazing performance of Phillip Seymore Hoffman, that this book gets tied too closely to the Capote film. I think that is a mistake. There is a lot that this book can show us that that film didn't. I think Parks hits the nail on the head when he deals with Nancy and her reasons for wanting to see the book published.

[Kristen Fiore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fist asked the librarian to recommend a crime or mystery book for me to read. I didn't realize the one she recommended was one based off of a true story and the novel about a murder in Kansas. A writer from New York wanted to write a new book, and he needed inspiration. He had two choices for a story, but he chose the one in Kansas. Once in Kansas, he interviewed people that were family of the deceased, police officers, and the man who was actually part of the killing. I was surprised he was able to interview him. The way the criminal’s mind worked was crazy. He was so calm in the cell. He asked Capote to take care of his family for him. He had a wife and kids. I couldn’t understand why a man would put his own family’s life on hold to hurt someone else. In the end, capote had a story, and the reader was, hopefully, glad they read the graphic novel. I was glad I read this book because I saw the other side of a murder. I saw the after effects of it. It was almost like watching a Criminal Minds episode, but without the FBI and the police. Capote was the only one interrogating.

[Dustyloup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in French.
Ce livre n'était pas vraiment pour moi. Il n'y avait pas assez de substance pour moi. Tout joué sur le ton et thème de noir et blanc. C'est drôle mais dès que j'ai écrit cette phrase j'ai commencé à apprécier ce livre un peu plus parce que derrière les images il y a le personnage de Capote qui n'est pas facile à comprendre. Ce livre me donne envié de lire, enfin, In Cold Blood. C'est un livre que je connais en général - comme la plupart des américains mais je ne l'ai jamais lu. Aimerais-je ce bd plus si j'aurais lu le livre avant? Je ne sais pas...

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not at all sure that this graphic novel would work for a reader unfamiliar with In Cold Blood, Capote's famous true crime novel. But if you have read the book - and I've just finished it, myself - this is a very poignant consideration of what my have happened behind the scenes.

The art is lovely, although the style didn't seem a perfect fit for the material.

[Timothy Volpert · Rating 3 out of 5]

well written and beautifully drawn, but ultimately felt redundant since it doesn't really add much to a story that's already been told several times over

[Sally Kilpatrick]

Interesting after reading In Cold Blood.

[Zare · Rating 4 out of 5]

First and foremost this is not retelling of Truman Capote's book about gruesome murder of entire family in 1959. Goal here is to present the Capote, novelist and story writer from New York as he tries to talk with the both police and incarcerated murderers in Kansas to collect the materiel necessary to write one of his most famous books - "In Cold Blood". Capote with his extravagant clothes and big-city attitude was so much out of place in Kansas that it took some time for him to acclimatize and finally be able to openly talk about the murders with police, people in the city and murderers themselves. Faced with gruesomeness of the murder itself and grief of relatives and friends of murdered family Capote was scarred forever.

Authors decided to concentrate on Capote himself. To do this they removed from the picture people that worked very closely with Capote (especially here I mean Harper Lee) and concentrate solely on Truman.

With this approach the investigation of the murder is put out of the focus in this graphic novel- as a matter of fact if you don't know anything about the case you will definitely be puzzled. This is story of Capote and his internal struggle with murder and everything around it. Everything else is removed.

Art is very good and manages to present the reader with those minutiae that are essential for a story like this but often present quite a challenge for the graphic presentation.

So if you are looking for investigative journalism like story this will not be it. If you are looking for a insight into the psyche of a very interesting person then this is book for you.

[Shawn Robare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, and there are parts of it that I do. I came to this after seeking out all of the work by artist Chris Samnee after falling hard for his work on Daredevil, Batman & Robin Year One and the Black Widow series, all of which he did with writer Mark Waid. This book jumped out at me because I recently dove head first into all of the Cutler Family murder stories (Capote’s In Cold Blood, the film adaptation, and the movie Capote.)

Samnee’s artwork is great, and I basically enjoyed the narrative, but the author, Ande Parks, took some liberties in the narrative, playing fast and loose with some of the facts and choosing to add Nancy Cutler as a spirit that is driving Capote’s emotional attachment to writing the book about the case. Because of this there are things that are downplayed (Capote’s relationship to the murderers or his reliance on Harper Lee to help him in his investigation/research of In Cold Blood.) I’m not a fan of putting thoughts and words into the mouthes of actual people who have departed. From a creator/writer’s perspective this is kind of the height of arrogance, and it bugs me. It becomes a tool to put one’s own spin on the story, and when it comes to non-fiction, this is just a very slippery slope.

In this story in particular it adds a nobility to Capote that I’m pretty sure is highly exaggerated.

[Paul Spence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shadowy, dark, brooding artwork sets the mood for the story as Truman Capote, assisted at times by Nelle Harper, researches and writes In Cold Blood. If you've seen the movie Capote, you know the story. Some of Capote in Kansas, in fact, comes across as storyboards for the movie. While both the movie and the graphic novel tell a compelling story about the creation of a compelling book, the movie has significantly greater depth. It showcases the manipulative techniques that Capote used to gain trust, while the graphic novel adds those aspects of Capote's character only at the end, almost as an afterthought.

Capote in Kansas has an abbreviated feel. I'm not sure it balances the material it covers very well, but it would probably need to be a 500 page work to do justice to Capote's meticulous research, his personal struggles, and the time he spent with the two murderers (the most significant part of Capote's research but oddly shortchanged here). This isn't a perfect story, but it's a good introduction to Truman Capote (and to In Cold Blood) for readers who are unfamiliar with the author or his work.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I've been aware of the existence of In Cold Blood for a long time, I've never managed to read it or see any of its adaptations or "making of" stories. When this graphic novel showed up in a Humble Bundle, I figured that, since I enjoy the novelty of non-genre-based comics, this was as good a place as any to start. Turns out I was right -- it's a quick read and an interesting story, using short scenes and sharp black and white art to tell a lengthy story and introduce a large number of characters in a condensed (but not rushed) fashion. It gives the reader enough information to understand what's going on and appreciate the personal story that is being told here, but it also leaves enough open to encourage further exploration. I realize that Capote is a somewhat controversial figure, and I'm sure his portrayal has varied in similar works; this one seems to present a largely positive characterization that doesn't completely paper over the flaws. Regardless of how this relates to reality or other works, it gets the job done here. I'll definitely keep an eye out for other works by this creative team.

[Hope Breighner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Capote's "In Cold Blood" left me mesmerized for months after I read it for the first time in high school and it made me spend a ton of time thinking about the victims, the killers, and everyone involved. Capote was able to make you relate and sympathy with the killers as well as the town and it's victims. I would recommend everyone read it. This drawn novel did not do the book or Capote justice.

Some reasons why:

The art work is compelling but there aren't any transitions so it makes it difficult to notice a scene change.

There isn't much background information so you already have to be familiar with the novel and the crime to understand complete what is going on. You also have to know background information on Capote (you would think a book about Capote would give more information about his life and career as a writer)

Capote's work is filled with emotion and understanding to all involved and this drawn novel really lacks that depth. You don't get to know those involved with the crime, the family, or Capote.

I really wanted to enjoy this but it left a lot to be desired.

[Immigration Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take it or leave it. It isn't a waste of time reading this graphic novel, but . . .

The book raises intriguing lines of inquiry into the logistics of HOW Truman Capote, a flamboyant homosexual from NYC, the "big city," fit-in and successfully interviewed the regular, church going, small town, meat and potay folks in Kansas (the setting for "In Cold Blood" -- which Capote called a "non-fiction novel).

But, does it successfully pursue the lines of inquiry it raises in the first place? Not to my satisfaction.

In my case, because I have read "In Cold Blood" decades ago, and because I am familiar with the Capote Biography by Gerald Clarke (called "Capote: A Biography"), reading this little graphic novel didn't hurt. I knew enough to fill in the missing details of the inquiry into the methods of Capote on the scene in Kansas.

BUT IF YOU DON'T KNOW MUCH about Truman Capote, then instead of this sparse, short graphic novel, read "In Cold Blood," or the Gerald Clarke biography, or the George Plimpton collected recollections of the career of Capote, as shared by Capote's friends, enemies, detractors, and acquaintances.

Overall . . . *meh* . . . take it or leave it.

[John Mihelic · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I pulled this off the shelf, I figured it was tied in with one of the movies about Capote that came out a while back. But it’s not. It is an independent graphic novel take on Truman Capote writing “In Cold Blood”. What’s interesting is that the book has one of the victims of the crime as a character who Capote talks to as he’s trying to figure out how to tell the story of the Clutter family, who was killed. There’s also some speculation about Capote and his feelings towards one of the killers that makes the book push the edge of nonfiction.

Overall, it works even with the supernatural element (though I must admit that I thought the character was alive for most of the time she was in scenes and then once I realized what was going on I had to reevaluate things). It does make me wonder in the bigger picture we are fascinated with the story of Capote’s writing of the book. Is there any other text that gets similar treatment in the culture? I can’t think of one offhand. I should also note that I did like the art, a strong use of the black and white to aid in the storytelling.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel (they call it "a drawn novel" but that's just fancy New York words for comic book) about how things might have gone while Truman Capote was researching his famous, genre starting book In Cold Blood. You do not need to have read In Cold Blood beforehand. Capote talks with his good friend Nell about the choices he has for his next piece--a brand new type of book exploring the murders of a family in Kansas, or following around a maid and doing an article about her bosses through the eyes of those who work for them. Nell (also known as Harper Lee) helps him figure out what to do and accompanies him to Kansas.

This was so good! While it isn't a totally true telling of Capote's time in Kansas, it was really interesting to read. The graphic format lets you immerse yourself in the story, travelling from New York City to Kansas, to the house where the murders took place, to the jail cells the accused murderers were held in. A great book if you liked In Cold Blood or just are interested in Capote in general.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm starting to make my way through a selection of graphics that I grabbed from my mum's shelves. I haven't read "In Cold Blood" (though according to the postscript, the author of this reflection says that is crazy and I should run out and read it right now), or any other Capote frankly, but he's always been a literary figure who has interested me. This "drawn novel" is a reflection (as I called it) on Capote's research into the murders that form the basis for his "nonfiction novel" (a term that has always bugged me, frankly). He gets to know the townspeople in the Kansas community where the murders happened, as well as the two suspects, and the novel also describes Capote's relationships with his lover Jack and his friend Harper (Nelle) Lee. There's a lot going on with spare dialogue and atmospheric drawings, but this didn't capture me. However, I guess I should go read some Capote now!

[Sharon Moores · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are gorgeous, 5 stars for them. But Parks makes weird story choices, like eliminating Harper Lee from most of the events because he wants to focus on Capote. If you want to focus on him, fine, but don't pick a Capote book that was significantly worked on by someone else -- "In Cold Blood" wouldn't have happened without Lee.

I also wasn't a huge fan of making Nancy Clutter a ghost that Capote communes with to find the humanity of the story. But it makes more sense than the Lee decision (and necessary because of the Lee decision -- Capote needs someone to normalize him now that Lee isn't around to do it).

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful graphic novel about Truman Capote investigating the murders of the Clutter family in Greenway, KS for his book In Cold Blood. Ande Parks does a wonderful job drawing out the key elements in getting characters to connect with each other. This is not a literal dramatization of Capote's time in Kansas, but life is breathed in to the struggle of making connections with an outsider who wants to understand this tragedy.

Chris Samnee's art evokes the noir feel necessary to convey the gravity of the story. It complements the theme perfectly.

[Aalaa Hussein · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me like 2 hours to finish this drawn novel. I was confused at first, but somehow I managed to gather all the information at the middle.

I really like crime novels, however the plot and the actions didn't surprise me.

Capote in Kansas is about a novelist who wants to write a novel about a crime that happened in his city. He keeps going to the jail to question the criminals and somehow he builds a relationship with one of them. It's not gonna last anyway.

I recommend reading this book for light reading.

[Dylan Dinh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first ever mystery novel so I didn't have a lot of expectations heading in, but I did enjoy this book. Nothing in this book stood out to me, but I really enjoyed how deep this book got. One specific moment that really stuck out to me was when Truman was speaking to the family of the victim and the words that came from the victim really shook me, which was an aspect of the book I really liked. I liked the art style of the book and I loved how the author was able to use it to accommodate the book.