“Do you ever think maybe thinking positive doesn’t mean being happy while you’re getting screwed by the system.  Maybe it means being positive about your ability to change it.”
- Bruce Paine a.k.a. Unemployed Man

Look!  Up in the sky!  It’s a comic book!  No, it’s an economics text!  No, it’s… “The Adventures of Unemployed Man,” by Erich Origen, Gan Golan, and a hero team of artists.

This unique book explains the causes of the Great Recession, touches on several longstanding societal problems, and presents it all in a way that is accessible and fun to read.  Did I mention it’s a comic?

The story follows Bruce Paine, wealthy exec by day, but by night a superhero who believes he can solve the problems of the world by pitching empty motivational materials at the masses.  It’s not until he comes face to face with an impoverished young mother that he begins to question the economic system he’d been endorsing.  When Bruce Paine finds himself suddenly unemployed and penniless, he meets several heroes who have all been cheated by the same group of corporations, er, supervillains.  The story then cuts to the supervillains’ plot to… well, make a ton of money.  It’s the Recession, but with capes and funny names.  The plot follows recent real-life events up until about now-ish, at which point the heroes return to set things right.

I highly recommend this book, as it presents the current economic predicament via the big picture.  Whereas most coverage I’ve seen tends to focus only on the past few years, this book discusses long-term inequalities so we can understand the whole situation.  What’s more, it offers advice as to how we can get out of it.  Despite the depressing subject matter, the story ends on a high note.  The story is told as a dialogue, not as an economics report, so it’s easy to understand.  Combine that with great art and just the right amount of humour (I admit, I LOL’d), and you have a super book.

In summary, this book is a geek’s dream: current events, humour, stats, comic book art, and characters that riff on existing Marvel and DC heroes.  Read it, enjoy it, and have a better understanding of the world before you get out there and change it.

-Tamara Hecht