Et Tu, Brute?: The Deaths of the Roman Emperors

by Jason Novak

Overview

A cartoonist’s wry and bloody romp through Roman history.

A work of cartoon history with a touch of Edward Gorey’s dark wit, Et Tu, Brute? is an irreverent, illustrated compendium of the deaths of all the Roman emperors, from Augustus to Romulus Augustulus. Here in all their glory are Nero (stabbing himself in the throat), Tiberius (smothered in his sleep by his successor), Caligula (killed by his own praetorian guard), Claudius (fed poisonous mushrooms by his wife), Commodus (strangled by his wrestling partner), Antoninus (died of a surfeit of cheese), and many more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393635737
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	06/12/2018
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 6.80(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jason Novak is a cartoonist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, the Paris Review, the Rumpus, and the Believer. He lives in Oakland, California.

Editorial Reviews

03/12/2018
New Yorker and Harper’s cartoonist Novak, who previously illustrated Ron Padgett’s How to Be Perfect, turns his eye to the Roman Empire in this witty collection of cartoon vignettes depicting each of its rulers’ demises. Novak’s style is well-suited to the task; attacking the page with savage brush strokes, he creates stark black-and-white art that recalls Larry Gonick’s Cartoon Histories at their messiest and most expressive. Entertaining though it might be, the book’s historical value is somewhat suspect. Novak admits in his introduction that a few of his cartoons are “utter fabrication,” and his text can be questionable as well; in briefly relating the death of Zenobia, for example, Novak rejects the common theory that the rebellious Palmyrene warrior queen married a senator and died peacefully, instead relying on one account that claims she was publicly humiliated and beheaded. Still, despite the fabrications and inaccuracies, Novak’s bite-sized nuggets of history “retold” go down easy—making even rectal gangrene a reliable source of humor. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"A witty and delightfully morbid book that will make you wonder why on earth anyone would want to be a Roman Emperor."

Mike Duncan

"This twisted and fantastically illustrated survey of the brutal fate of every Roman Emperor is a strong reminder to study history—because we sure as hell don’t want to repeat it."

Wendy MacNaughton