''Macedonia'' is a

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

, published in June 2007 by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

. The book was written by

Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a ...

and

Heather Roberson Heather may refer to: Plants *The heather family, or Ericaceae, particularly: **Common heather or ling, ''Calluna'' **Various species of the genus ''Cassiope'' **Various species of the genus ''Erica (plant), Erica'' Name * Heather (given name) ...

, with illustrations by

Ed Piskor Ed Piskor (born July 28, 1982)''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107 is an alternative comics artist operating out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is a former student of The Kubert School and is best known for his artistic collab ...

. It is based on Roberson's travels through the

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

Plot

''Macedonia'' opens with Heather Roberson, a student of Peace and Conflict Studies at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

, arguing with a professor about the inevitability of war. Roberson argues that it is avoidable, while the professor argues that it is not. Roberson cites Macedonia, which avoided civil war unlike some other former states of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, as an example. Roberson decides to make this the subject of her thesis, and travels to Macedonia to carry out her research. Once inside the country, Roberson sees the tense relationship between the majority Macedonians and the

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...

, the largest minority. She travels to the cities of

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

(in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

, and

Tetovo Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...

, conducting interviews with an

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

, professors, and a police trainer.

Production

Inspiration

Roberson was inspired to start on the project as a result of an argument with a professor about the inevitability of war. She wanted to know what had saved Macedonia, while other former Yugoslavia states around it were in civil war.

Collaboration

Roberson was in her hometown in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, stopping there before going to Macedonia to carry out research for her thesis when she met Pekar. Pekar was there on the invitation of Roberson's sister, speaking at a showing of ''

American Splendor ''American Splendor'' is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular interva ...

'', a film based on his comics. Roberson described her project to Pekar, who expressed interest in collaborating on a comic book. He expected a short story, but ultimately ended up with 150 pages of material. Describing the collaboration, Pekar said "It was one of the best working relationships I've ever had". Pekar would create preliminary drawings of each page, then passed them on to illustrator Piskor in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Reception

''Macedonia'' received mixed reviews. A reviewer in

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

stated the Pekar "skillfully prepared the book’s text and basic layout", but complained that Piskor's illustration was "stiff". Other reviewers however responded positively to Piskor's illustration, citing its "stylish, crisp feel". Some reviewers complained that the text overwhelmed the illustrations, leading it to feel more like a "lecture" than a graphic novel.

References

{{reflist 2007 works Villard (imprint) books