SuitabookCorpse Talk: Dead, Famous and Very Chatty
Adam Murphy
- Reading
- Read a few interviews together, pausing to separate information about each person from the comic invention of speaking with them after death. Follow up on any figure who prompts curiosity, using the book as a starting point.
- Themes
- History through comic interviews: Historical figures including Nero, Frida Kahlo and Aristotle are presented as interview subjects in a comic-book history format. The book appears to use humour and invented interviews to convey information about real historical figures; its factual precision and balance are not established.
- Playful treatment of death: The premise brings famous people “back to life” and interviews them from beyond the grave. Death is framed as a tongue-in-cheek comic premise rather than described as a subject of grief-focused exploration.
- Worth knowing
- The central joke depends on dead people being brought back for interviews. Before reading, consider whether a child would enjoy that playful treatment of death, particularly if they prefer historical figures presented more seriously.