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Save it for later : promises, parenthood, and the urgency of protest
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2021
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Publishers Weekly Review
In a series of deeply felt comics essays, Powell (the March series) chronicles his efforts to maintain and pass on progressive political beliefs in a regressive political climate, effectively summing up the conflicts and battle scars of the Trump era for those shocked by his election. As the parent of two young daughters (presented here as anthropomorphized creatures, a fox-puppy-unicorn combo), Powell strives to teach them the value and importance of activism in the face of systemic racism, the threat of white supremacy, and the devastation wrought by Covid-19: "We all march now or else we'll have no choice but to march later." In "Promises" he recalls the pain of explaining to his daughter the election of Trump over Hillary Clinton, while in the powerful "About Face" he unpacks how various symbols--including the death head from the Punisher comic book series--have been coopted by right-wing militias as icons of intimidation. "Tornado Children," meanwhile, captures the slow-motion grief of the Covid pandemic. Powell perfectly sums up his mission: "It is we, together, who will determine what kind of society our kids grow into, by what we each choose to do, or not do." This sincere volume carries off parenting inspiration with gravitas. Agent: Charlie Olsen, InkWell Management. (Apr.)
Booklist Review
Powell states up front that this book isn't about parenting or activism, but it illuminates where the two intertwine. Weaving through Trump's presidency, his election, and the cultural history that led to it, Powell navigates minefield conversations on such diverse subjects as policing and the depiction of Nazis in the 1970s Wonder Woman TV show, while reckoning with the lessons of his own childhood. Beginning with the poem "Tornado Children," much of this work feels like visual poetry: the line-by-line sentences mirrored by stacked horizontal panels that become image-stanzas; spare, nuanced colors punctuated by fearsome splashes of aggression and encompassed by expressionistic darkness. Though that poetry eventually bogs down somewhat in a dense analysis of how the infinitely cyclical nature of war empowers a militarized culture of toxic masculinity, this eventually gives way to his activist rallying cry: when you see injustice, "find a way to get in the way." This is a deeply personal, deeply partisan book, distinctly not a call for national unity, and as such, isn't likely to win converts among conservatives or even moderates. It can, at times, skate close in tone to the aggrieved airing of resentments Powell accuses his political opponents of, though readers who align with Powell's sentiments are not likely to see it that way. A virtuoso work of artistry with important content that might alienate some but powerfully stir others.
Summary

From Nate Powell, the National Book Award-winning artist of March, a collection of graphic nonfiction essays about living in a new era of necessary protest

In this anthology of seven comics essays, author and graphic novelist Nate Powell addresses living in an era of what he calls "necessary protest." Save It for Later: Promises, Protest, and the Urgency of Protest is Powell's reflection on witnessing the collapse of discourse in real time while drawing the award-winning trilogy March, written by Congressman John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, this generation's preeminent historical account of nonviolent revolution in the civil rights movement. Powell highlights both the danger of normalized paramilitary presence symbols in consumer pop culture, and the roles we play individually as we interact with our communities, families, and society at large.

Each essay tracks Powell's journey from the night of the election-promising his four-year-old daughter that Trump will never win, to the reality of the Republican presidency, protesting the administration's policies, and navigating the complications of teaching his children how to raise their own voices in a world that is becoming increasingly dangerous and more and more polarized. While six of the seven essays are new, unpublished work, Powell has also included "About Face," a comics essay first published by Popula Online that swiftly went viral and inspired him to expand his work on Save It for Later. The seventh and final essay will contextualize the myriad events of 2020 with the previous four years-from the COVID-19 pandemic to global protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder to the 2020 presidential election itself-highlighting both the consistencies and inversions of widely shared experiences and observations amidst a massive social upheaval.

As Powell moves between subjective and objective experiences raising his children-depicted in their childhood innocence as imaginary anthropomorphic animals-he reveals the electrifying sense of trust and connection with neighbors and strangers in protest. He also explores how to equip young people with tools to best make their own noise as they grow up and help shape the direction and future of this country.

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