Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for providing me an advanced reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

As expected, this is a difficult book to read. It contains multiple perspectives and stories from people who worked at Guantanamo, people who were indefinitely imprisoned there, and those who offered them legal counsel. Every piece of information was fact-checked extensively to ensure credibility, and the artists referenced photographs whenever possible. I was aware of some elements of what happened, and continues to happen, to those imprisoned at Guantanamo but I had no idea of the extensity of legal maneuvers required to creative these "detainment centers". Once reading these accounts it is impossible to remain ignorant of the depravity the United States government purposefully allowed in the name of a war that was designed to never end. 

Most people my age have no personal memories of 9/11. Yet the racist and Islamophobic anger that perpetuates the violence displayed here is still taught to many in my generation on the basis of honoring the victims of 9/11. They have been presented a purposely skewed view of reality that ignores the terror our own institutions have inflicted on communities in the Middle East. They do not feel the outrage they should when described state-sanction torture methods, because propaganda justifying these acts of unforgivable brutality have been drilled into their minds for almost as long as they've lived. Books such as this one are so important not just because they tell the facts of what has occurred at Guantanamo, but because they return the humanity of these people who have been imprisoned and falsely portrayed as monsters over the course of a generation. Their humanity and trauma should not have to be laid bare for others to feel empathy and anger for them, but ideally, those are the emotions this book will cause anyone who encounters it. 

I hope this book is circulated widely and utilized in education curriculums. It took ten years to make its publication a reality and unflinchingly display truths that have been deliberately hidden from or misconstrued to the public over the course of the last eighteen. I do not take the opportunity to read it and listen to the voices of Guantanamo survivors lightly. Tragically, forty people still remind imprisoned there today, even though some were ready to be released before the results of our last election. Evidence indicates that their danger to the world was likely entirely exaggerated, so I hope to soon see them welcomed back into it.

It was interesting to learn more about the history of mini-comics, since I love comics for many of the same reasons these creators claim they do. Independent comics are a medium where it is possible to tell highly cinematic and personal stories without compromising one's artistic vision, which creates an intimacy between the creative and the reader than I find really unique. 

However, many of these stories and their creatives either did not interest me, or repulsed me. To be specific, the inclusion of casual transmisogyny and one line that a creative was "proud of their Aryan heritage" made me want to slam down the book in disgust. It is difficult to respect those who originally worked on those pieces, or an editor that would include them without criticism or reflection as to how those words may impact readers. It is an oxymoron to praise independent comics for being diverse, while also praising work that echos a message "you're not welcome here" to marginalized readers. 

In continuation from my last criticism, I was disappointed that almost all of the contributors to this anthology were white. I find it difficult to believe that people of color have not been contributing equally valuable work to medium of mini-comics throughout the six decades that this collection encompassed. I know that is it difficult to locate creatives and their work in this field, that point was stressed multiple times by multiple people throughout the treasury. However, if one is prepared for undertaking that challenge, I don't see why they shouldn't put equal effort into ensuring they don't almost exclusively network with and highlight the work of white men. 

To end on a more uplifting note, it was nice to be reminded that creating comics is a matter of personal determination, and most creators begin with work that aren't necessarily proud of once further developing their artistic and storytelling abilities. Reading this treasury also reminded me to participate more in circulating the work of the creators I do feel mutual respect with. I think this collection has value as an educational and historical resource, though I'm not sure I would recommend it to others.