Grace: Based on the Jeff Buckley Story

by Tiffanie DeBartolo, Pascal Dizin (Illustrator), Lisa Reist (Illustrator)

Overview

A moving graphic biography for music lovers, Grace: The Jeff Buckley Story is painstakingly researched and created in collaboration with Jeff Buckley's estate.

California, 1991. All his life, people have told Jeff Buckley how much he looks like his father, the famous ’60s folksinger he barely knew. But Jeff believes he has gifts of his own: a rare, octave-spanning voice and a songwriting genius that has only started to show itself. After he falls in love with a mysterious girl in New York, he sets out to make a name for himself outside his father’s shadow.

What follows are six turbulent years of music, heartbreak, hope, and daring—culminating in a tragedy that’s still reverberating in the music world today. Written by Tiffanie DeBartolo and with art by Pascal Dizin and Lisa Reist, this graphic novel biography uses archival material provided by Jeff’s mother, Mary Guibert, to reveal the young songwriter in the process of becoming a legend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250259363
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	04/30/2019
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	175 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Tiffanie DeBartolo is the author of How to Kill a Rock Star (2005) and God-Shaped Hole (2002) and the writer and director of the Columbia Tristar movie Dream for an Insomniac (1996). She is the cofounder and CEO of San Francisco Bay Area record label Bright Antenna Records and lives in California’s Marin County with her two dogs, Kazoo and Dipsea, and her husband, Scott Schumaker.

Pascal Dizin is a comic book artist and illustrator. His first graphic novel, City of Spies, was published by First Second in 2010. His illustrations have appeared in Time Out New York, on the covers of Jack Gantos’s Joey Pigza book series, and more. You can find him on the web at dizin-art.

Lisa Reist is an illustrator and colorist based in New York City. When she’s not drawing or reading, she’s probably knitting. This is her first graphic novel.

Tiffanie DeBartolo is the author of How to Kill a Rock Star and God-Shaped Hole and the writer and director of the Columbia Tristar movie Dream for an Insomniac. She is the cofounder and CEO of San Francisco Bay Area record label Bright Antenna Records and lives in California’s Marin County with her two dogs, Kazoo and Dipsea, and her husband, Scott Schumaker.
Pascal Dizin is a comic book artist and illustrator. His first graphic novel City of Spies was published by First Second in 2010. His illustrations have appeared in Time Out NY magazine, as the covers for the Joey Pigza series, and more.

Lisa Reist is an illustrator and colorist based in New York City. When she’s not drawing or reading, she’s probably knitting.

Grace: Based on the Jeff Buckley Story is her first graphic novel.

Editorial Reviews

03/18/2019

This effervescent graphic biography of singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley (1966–1997) brims over with creative intensity, avoiding the typical excavation of morbid details. Self-proclaimed “white trash from Anaheim,” with a sweet, rich voice and soul-searching lyrics to match, Buckley struggled in the shadow of his father, Tim Buckley, a singer-songwriter with a cult following, whom he barely knew. An earnest guy with a guitar on the New York club circuit, Buckley attracted record label attention in 1992, and while his first album notched up strong sales and positive reviews, Buckley bristled at the industry’s attempt to turn him into just a “pretty-boy darling of the adult contemporary charts.” Unsure of his direction and increasingly anxious, Buckley moved to Memphis, where he tried to clear a serious bout of writer’s block. The buildup to the fateful nighttime swim that ended Buckley’s life is handled delicately and without speculative psychological profiling. The narrative by DeBartolo (How to Kill a Rock Star) only fitfully tracks Buckley’s flashpan moods, leaving it mostly to the grin-heavy and high-energy Archie-inflected illustrations by Dizin and Reist to tell the story of the soaring highs that powered Buckley’s music and the dark lows that may have silenced it. This alternately tragic and manic story argues strongly for the emotive singer-songwriter to be remembered as more than another casualty of the 1990s.(Apr.) Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly identified Jeff Buckley's father as an avant-garde composer.

Publishers Weekly

"...brims over with creative intensity..." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

08/30/2019

This illustrated biography of singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley (1966–97), from DeBartolo (How To Kill a Rock Star), Dizin (City of Spies), and newcomer Reist, marks the 25th anniversary of his signature album, which provides the book's title and remains beloved by admirers including Bono and David Bowie. Made with love and care, the work incorporates archival material from Buckley's mother while acknowledging his failures alongside his successes. It isn't a cradle-to-grave account, but rather the story of Buckley's music, from his participation in the 1991 tribute concert for his late father to his tragic death during the making of his second album. However, Grace convincingly argues that music was Buckley's life, and that even the circumstances of his untimely demise demonstrate his fearlessness in his quest to follow his heart wherever and whenever it moved him. The empathetic black-and-white artwork resembles Scott Pilgrim, drawn by Daniel Clowes: often funny and whimsical, dark and gritty when necessary, and colored throughout in shades of Ghost World's TV-light blue. VERDICT Passion and sincerity make this take on Buckley's tale stand out--just as with Buckley's music. Recommended not just for Buckley enthusiasts but also for fans of music and biographies of all stripes; some profanity and sensual imagery, suitable for all but the youngest readers.—J. Osicki, Saint John Free P.L., NB

Library Journal