Kings in disguise

Name: Kings in disguise
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

by James Vance

1990

5.0(1)

avg. reader rating

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About

This award-winning tale, set in the height of the Great Depression, received rave reviews long before graphic novels became the phenomenon they are today. Hailed as one of the top 100 comics of all time by The Comics Journal, Kings in Disguise now reemerges as a classic. It is January 1932, and movie-loving Freddie Bloch is trading his father's liquor bottles for the cost a matinee: "Dreams were only a dime, but empty bottles [only] brought a penny apiece." When his father disappears and his brother gets arrested, Freddie finds himself homeless and adrift, trying to survive during the Detroit labor riots and amid the furor of violent, anti-communist mobs. Winner of the Eisner Award and the Harvey Award for Best New Series and an additional Eisner Award for Best Single Issue. First book in the Kings in Disguise series. Book #2 is On the Ropes by James Vance

Discussion questions for Kings in disguise

Bring these to your book club — or discuss them with readers on Readfeed.

1
How does James Vance use Freddie’s love for the movies as a coping mechanism, and how do these cinematic fantasies contrast with the harsh realities of the Great Depression he experiences?
2
In what ways does the title "Kings in Disguise" reflect the dignity, pride, and hidden identities of the homeless men and hobies Freddie encounters on the rails and in the camps?
3
Freddie is forced to grow up with terrifying speed after his father disappears. How does the loss of his childhood shape his worldview and his survival instincts?

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