Joe the Pirate
Hubert’s grand graphic biography Joe the Pirate profiles a rich, eccentric figure known for her colorful life.
Marion Carstairs, later known as “Joe,” was born into a wealthy but dysfunctional family. Sent to boarding school, she felt attracted to women. Later, she developed her trademark style of dressing as a man. Though she was notable for dalliances with the likes of Tallulah Bankhead and Marlene Dietrich, her success in speed boat racing, and her purchase of an island in the Bahamas, the book suggests that perhaps Joe’s most unusual quirk was her bizarre, lifelong attachment to a doll, Lord Tod Wadley.
The black and white art uses light and dark contrasts in an effective and appealing manner, emphasizing and deemphasizing key visual elements while maintaining a pleasing balance between positive and negative space. Throughout, the book showcases the reputation for independence and charm Carstairs developed, but also explores her intriguing imperfections. She established herself as ruler of her island, Whale Cay, creating draconian rules for the inhabitants, including insisting that she have final approval over the names of newborns. So, too, are Carstairs’s noble and heroic moments held up, like her daring service in World War I and World War II. By showing Carstairs at her best and worst, the book provides a rollicking, entertaining, and unpredictable story.
Joe the Pirate is the engrossing graphic biography of a woman who lived her life to the fullest, uncontained by social expectations.
Reviewed by
Peter Dabbene
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
