"Does this make me a good son, or a bad one?" All the Answers review

As a fan of Michael Kupperman's comic book work on Snake 'n' Bacon and Tales Designed to Thrizzle, stumbling across a new work by him immediately piqued my interest. However, unlike Kupperman's usual comics work, his latest title, All the Answers is not an off-the-wall surrealist humour book; it's the biography of his father. Normally that would kill my interest in the work, but, as I surprised to learn, Michael Kupperman's father was someone else I had an interest in: Joel Kupperman.

It's strange to discover this link between my hobbies of old-time radio and comics; Joel Kupperman appeared on the radio for many years as one of the panelists on the series Quiz Kids. Although Quiz Kids isn't really a show for me (give me Information Please), I have heard various episodes and I knew Joel Kupperman in particular from an appearances he made on the Jack Benny Program in 1946. You can hear that one right here.

Joel Kupperman had a reputation even in his childhood for being difficult and it seems as though he remained somewhat-difficult for all of his life. His past as a Quiz Kid was something he spent a long time trying to bury and Michael Kupperman considered the subject unapproachable - until near the end of his father's life when Joel suddenly began giving up information on his Quiz Kids years. From this, All the Answers was born and depicts Michael grappling with his father's history and the fact that so much time has passed that his father can't even be considered fully reliable on the details.

A large part of the book is much of what you'd expect from a graphic novel biography of a child looking back on their parent; if you've read Maus or Fun Home you'll have an idea of what to expect from Kupperman as he opens up on his personal frustrations with his father. Michael Kupperman is in a different position than those well-known books, however, because his father was a celebrity and is already known to people like me at least some people in the audience have some knowledge about the subject.

If you're principally a fan of Kupperman's humourous works you might still find it interesting to learn about his famous father's life; the story briefly links up into the 1950s quiz show scandals as well, which is a fascinating piece of history. Kupperman himself is represented by a comic book avatar who looks like he just stepped out of a Chris Ware comic; it might be an homage, but, unlike the homages seen in his other books, it isn't a joke. All the Answers is a strong piece of work, worth seeking out.