REVIEW: He’s Not Gonna Take It

THE STORY

Dee Snider, the front man of 80s heavy metal band Twisted Sister recounts his rise, fall and rise again in his own words. Now I was aware of Twisted Sister back in the day and while they were not even close to my favorite metal band I did enjoy a number of their songs back in the day. So it was really interesting to read this comic and enjoy Dee’s point of view on the events of his life.

So Dee and his writing partner Frank decide to be more playful in the telling of this tale than in the more straightforward, documentary style approach I’ve seen other comics take when recounting the history of other rockers. As noted this comic is clearly from the POV of Snider, so the story is told in narrative style and is very much in Dee’s voice including his sense of humor. This goes a long way to adding to the enjoyment to the comic as we both watch Dee as a character in his own story but he also breaks the fourth wall like a heavy metal Deadpool whenever it suits.

I didn’t know much about Snider or Twisted Sister outside of the videos I watched (back in those long lost days when MTV actually played music videos) and music I’d hear on the radio or cassette tapes. Ironically I became a fan of Snider post Twister Sister days as an actor, director, filmmaker, radio host and podcaster. So I know Dee is a very intelligent and well spoken individual but getting this backstory in his own words of his rise to rock stardom and his ultimate clash with a bunch of Congress Karen’s was quite eye opening as well as entertaining.

I’ve come to understand him as a person and a performer as I never had before thanks to this periodical offering. I have a new perspective on his music and videos, I see the forces and people that shaped his journey to rock stardom and free speech advocate. While I still don’t empathize with everything is his story, I have come to see him as not just a terrific entertainer but as a real American hero. Being able to read the climactic account of Dee’s battle on Capitol Hill while flanked by Frank Zappa as a stalwart ally and even John Denver as an unlikely wingman is worth the price of this book all by itself.

THE ART

The art places Dee in a world that often reflects his inner life at any point in his life. So it comes across as both realistic and equal parts Tim Burton extremes. It was a wise take to try and capture the bombasity of Snider in art form as well as prose. This comic could have been very boring visually but by taking the visuals to cartoonish proportions (an aesthetic Dee was known to use in his music videos) gives the book the sort of wild energy that one wants in a comic book story.

Dee is allowed through the art not only to be the hero of the story but to look the part and face off against menacing villains as he does so. It all works beautifully.

My only criticism with the art is that no matter what age we see Dee in this comics (from 9 in 1954 to now in 2023) that Kurth always manages to make Dee look middle aged. There’s always an abundance of lines on the face that steal away any youth Dee is supposed to have in a given scene.

The colors by the teams of colorists are all quite splendid. Nothing is muddy and everything is vibrant, jumping right out at you. Very appropriate for both a comic and 80s metal when everything was loud and gaudy visually and audibly.

THE LETTERS

I absolutely must commend Peteri on his lettering. He is a real hero here! As a narrated book this sucker is wordy! Thankfully the script is never dull and I never lost interest thanks to Dee’s perspective on the events but this could have ruined the book. Peteri proves to be an artist in his own right, skillfully placing boxes and balloons that both lead the eye and keep all the art uncluttered for the reader to fully enjoy.

SCORE:
5 out of 5

WRITERS: Dee Snider, Frank Marraffino

ARTIST: Steve Kurth

COVER ARTIST: Erik Rodriguez

PRINT ARTISTS: Rey Burdine, Javier Aranda, Carlos Olivares

COLORISTS: Giada Marchisio, Alessandra Alexakis, Valerio Alloro, Paolo Raiteri, Nicola Righi

LETTERER: Troy Peteri

PUBLISHER: Z2 Comics