Comix with footnotes--hubba hubba! But of course one's enjoyment is tempered by the fact that the facts presented about the prison industry are infuriating.
The book is comprised of three separate comics and also a long intro, preface, reader commentary, footnotes, and glossaries. Honestly I skipped all of the non-graphic material, which made the case for me just fine on their own. Each comic is available for download as a very large pdf.
- Prison Town: Paying the Price by Kevin Pyle and Craig Gilmore
- Prisoners of the War on Drugs by Sabrina Jones, Ellen Miller-Mack and Lois Ahrens
- Prisoners of a Hard Life: Women and Their Children by Susan Willmarth, Ellen Miller-Mack, and Lois Ahrens
The one that spoke to me the most was the last, "Prisoners of a Hard Life," which profiled five different women who ended up with harsh prison sentences for little more than having committed the crime of being poor, and in most of the cases abused as children.
These prisoners are now seen as an economic opportunity. "When legislators cry 'Lock 'em up!,' they often mean 'Lock 'em up in my district!'"
"Prison Town: Paying the Price" by Kevin Pyle and Craig Gilmore
On average 80% of new prison jobs go tot folks who don't live, or pay taxes, in the prison town.
"Prison Town: Paying the Price" by Kevin Pyle and Craig Gilmore
African Americans make up 13% of the U.S. population
And 13% of drug users
35% of drug arrests
55% of drug convictions
74% of those sentenced to prison for drugs.
"What's Race Got to Do with It?" by Sabrina Jones, Ellen Miller-Mack, and Lois Ahrens