Capote In Kansas | 
| Authors: Ande Parks, Chris Samnee
Publisher: Oni Press
Category: Book
List Price: $11.95
Buy Used: $3.83
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Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 774765
Media: Paperback
Pages: 136
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.5
ISBN: 1932664297
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.59781
EAN: 9781932664294
ASIN: 1932664297
Publication Date: July 27, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Good exlibrary softcover; moderate wear to cover and book edges;t reader wear.minor bumps to corners covered in clear library cover plastic
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Product Description
Murder. Not an intricately plotted "whodunit" or fiery passionate fury. But dirty, sad, disturbing actions from real people. That's what Truman Capote decided to use for In Cold Blood - his bold experiment in the realm of the non-fiction "novel." Following in that legacy is Capote in Kansas, a fictionalized tale of Capote's time in Middle America researching his classic book. Capote's struggles with the town, the betrayal, and his own troubled past make this book a compelling portrait of one of the greatest literary talents of the 20th century.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Very poor December 11, 2007
L. C Lipko
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is a joke. It is a cartoon book.
Don't waste your money or your time.
Quite Bizarre April 11, 2006
Cecilia Sheppard (Atlanta, GA United States)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
As an avid fan of the book "In Cold Blood" and the movie "Capote", I looked forward to reading this. I should have stuck to Gerald Clarke's biography. This was okay, although I don't think it advanced my knowledge of Capote, the crimes, the Clutters, or the killers. Nancy Clutter's utilization as a plot device was odd--I kept wondering what her two surviving sisters would have thought of this.
 Eisner-Worthy? Maybe. (Warning: Contains Some Spoilers) August 18, 2005
EisigEyes (St. Louis, MO USA)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Murder, ripped straight from the pages of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, begins Capote in Kansas, the engaging work from writer Ande Parks and illustrator Chris Samnee. Based on the research period of Capote's "non-fiction novel," the story introduces the reader to Capote, the flamboyant, arguably-overconfident, writer who steps into a world of brutal homicide, centered around the deaths of four members of a prominent Holcomb farming family-Kansans Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon Clutter.
In his story, Parks takes the reader cyclically from death to death, filling it in with what perhaps is his strongest talent, the ability to create telling human relationships. It's not the believability of Capote as a socialite character that draws readers in, but rather his vulnerability. While it becomes difficult to believe some of Capote's actions (the naive waltz into the police station, the expectation of assistance from the police) one does not question the more intimate moments of his life, especially not Capote's childhood. Capote's solid friendship with Harper Lee only reinforces the strength of this scene creating a relationship that foreshadows Capote's later one with Perry.
Still, for all the success of Parks' characters, one cannot help but find fault in Nancy Clutter, the ghost who seems no more than a device for sentimentality. While she might have been a powerful illustration of Capote's psychological struggle to unravel the history of the Clutter family, Nancy comes off more as a confidante and a contrivance to humanize Capote. It appears, at times, that Parks' may have intended Nancy to be something closer to the illustration of the struggle, but it never quite settles into that. This sentimentality goes on to haunt Parks' narration, especially in the scenes with Capote and Nancy in the rain, and Capote hugging Perry in prison.
Still, applause should certainly follow Parks' depiction of homosexual relationships. Not only does he shy away from overt stereotype, but in the letters and back-and-forthing between Capote and Jack, readers have the opportunity to see love. Parks does not dwell on Capote's infidelity either, acts which may not make for a likeable character, but nevertheless a believable one (Capote having had several relationships with arguably-heterosexual men). That he treats homosexuals as people, however, and not types exploitable for comic value is a testament to Parks' maturity as a writer.
And accompanying Parks' tale, Samnee lends his talents for stunning illustration. With careful attention to negative space, and a degree of control that would make Frank Miller proud, Samnee creates highly-detailed images with particular expertise at group scenes (the funeral, arrest of the suspects), parties, banquets, and landscapes. His depictions of anticipation, remorse, happiness, and sly wit are unquestionably authentic with his management of sequencing tracking the progression of emotion beautifully in scenes like Capote's childhood, Capote's advance at Perry, and at the story's conclusion, Nancy's beautiful dance into oblivion.
One encounters trouble, however, in scenes like Capote's seduction of the teacher, where, arguably, it would seem that Capote is making love to himself. The character differentiation simply isn't clear enough, as opposed to other points in the novel, which are crystal (Capote inspecting the Clutter home, the beginning murder scene). Though, Samnee should receive no fewer congratulations than Parks on his depiction of homosexual relationships, especially in the scene between Capote and the teacher. The kissing appears natural with the teacher showing just enough shame and apprehension one might expect from a small-town person concerned about the discovery of a secret. Only in a few places does the sequencing seem shaky, most notably when Capote attempts to demonstrate a handstand to Nancy, which results in him falling over, and knocking a phantom chair to the ground-a chair that seems to appear out of thin air just for the sake of one panel.
Overall, though, the work is successful, conveying powerful images to compliment the grim tale. Parks keeps the reader focused upon Capote without overloading them with information. Background history works smoothly into the plot, and Samnee is there to keep the horrors on the page bound in ink.
 Capote Classic! August 16, 2005
Denny M. Haynes (Lexington, KY United States)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Capote in Kansas is a perfect companion piece to In Cold Blood. Ande Park's graphic novel parallels Capote's work providing interesting details and the inner most thoughts of the main character(s) while developing the supporting characters, showing how their lives are touched and how their lives touch the main character, yet carves its own path along the way.
This is a gorgeously illustrated novel with an eye catching cover. How Ande was able to get Chris Samnee is beyond me, I'm thinking he lost big to Ande in a poker match and this was the only way he could pay his debt.
Ande Parks has provided his readers with a hundred and twenty pages of solid writing with no wasted page or panel leaving the reader wanting another hundred and twenty.
I highly recommend Capote in Kansas. This graphic novel and its creators are definitely worthy of an Eisner nomination.
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