I See a Darkness

Despite Johnny Cash being the definite authority on his life, having written autobiography Cash: The Autobiography in 2000 and Oscar-winning film Walk the Line doing a fine line in preserving his legacy, I See A Darkness is a welcome addition to the canon, with its depiction of his early reckless years all the way to his final days recording with Rick Rubin. Stunningly told in celluloid black'n'white and referencing the music at every opportunity (there's even an iPhone app to sync the songs with a motion comic), this graphic novel presents Cash as we know him: dangerous, possessed and full of music.

Rheinhard Kleist depicts Johnny Cash's eventful life from his early sessions with Elvis, through the concert in Folsom Prison, his spectacular comeback and the final years before his death, and though the telling of the story demands a cursory knowledge of the broadstrokes of Cash’s life, it’s still accessible enough for the Johnny Cash novice to immerse themselves in. Cash’s journey- as a loner, a patriot, an outlaw, a music business rebel and a drug addict- is compelling in the most rock’n’roll way possible. This book is a burning ring of fire (sorry).