Putin’s Fortune

Historian Denoël (Vatican Spies) and artist Java dramatize Russian president Vladimir Putin’s shrewd accumulation of wealth and power in this uneven graphic narrative. Moving rapidly from the fall of the Soviet Union through roughly 2023, Denoël tracks Putin’s rise from East Germany, where he was a KGB officer stationed with the Stasi, to local government in St. Petersburg, then through his ascent in Moscow to head of state, cataloging along the way how he neutralized his perceived enemies. The focus is less on Putin’s character and more squarely on the mechanics of state-sanctioned corruption, the global companies that were willing to play along, and the oligarchs who backed Putin, many of whom were later burned by him. Denoël’s detail-packed exposition via dialogue dominates (he eschews other narration), with characters on occasion sounding like monologuing supervillains (“In the meantime, since we’re affected by sanctions, we’ll compensate ourselves by buying up the assets of western companies leaving the Russian market at bargain prices and distribute them to our friends!”). It’s also tricky to keep straight who’s who among Russia’s complex web of scheming elite. Java’s art is stylish and distinctive, with a strong command of color, but it can’t transcend the static and didactic scenarios Denoël has scripted for Putin and his cronies. As far as takedowns go, it’s a bit of a slog. (Mar.)