Banksy

How do you write and illustrate a biographical comic book about an artist whose identity is unknown?

You make the real person(s) the centerpiece of a fictional graphic novel, interspersing the non-fiction information in the framework of fiction.

Banksy is an internationally known street artist who is known for his/her/their works that juxtapose serious statements within the context of the absurd.

While Banksy’s name and art have appeared around the world, the artist’s identity is unknown. People assume Banksy is a man – and the people suspected of being Banksy are mostly men – but Banksy could be a man, a woman or a group of artists.

What’s ironic is a comic book having to deal with a character whose identity remains a mystery. In most comics, the creators and readers know the identity of the main character while the world within the comic book pages have no idea of the hero’s “secret identity.” “Banksy” deals with a person with a real secret identity.

To get around this, creative team of writer Francesco Matteuzzi and artist Marco Maraggi place Banksy’s known story in the context of a woman trying to find Banksy at work, instead encountering a young street artist spray-painting graffiti on a wall. They are caught and sentenced to community service together, cleaning walls.

While working together, she pulls him into a project she’s creating about Banksy. and he comes around and gets her involved in creating Banksy-type art.

While “Banksy: A Graphic Novel” is engaging, educational and entertaining, it has the feel of a religious tract espousing the gospel of Banksy. It often seems to be preaching rather than telling a story.

The book is part of publisher Prestel’s prestige, hard-cover series of graphic novels about modern artists.