Tribute: Elizabeth Taylor
Written by Dina Gachman and Nick Justus
Art by Warren Montgomery
Letters by Warren Montgomery
Colors by VJ Ruiz
Cover by Apri Kusiantoro
Bluewater Comics
Release Date: September 30, 2012
Cover Price: $7.99

Comics are a labor of love and a literary genre that receives far too little press, not to mention praise. So, in the spirit of “there is no such thing as bad or in this case mixed, publicity” let’s move on. Bluewater Productions is an independent publishing company who specialize in biography comics. Their latest offering in this genre arriving in late September appears to be a mixed bag, with its heart in the right place, and its tongue firmly planted in cheek. Elizabeth Taylor: Tribute is a 40 page short graphic novel in their ongoing Female Force series highlighting the important achievements of famous women from Hillary Clinton to Marilyn Monroe.

Writer Dina Gachman blends pop culture with historical facts to highlight what made Dame Elizabeth Taylor such a celebrated actress and public figure, but is a bit heavy on the fizzy pop.

Actress Elizabeth Taylor was one of the most respected and most recognized names to grace the Silver Screen. Lately she’s been in the news often as her rapidly declining health became apparent to the public eye, and early Wednesday morning the iconic actress passed away at the age of 79. Taylor’s cause of death was congestive heart failure, which she was first diagnosed with in 2004, and she was surrounded by her family at the time of her passing.

She started out young in the business, nabbing her first role at ten years of age in 1942’s There’s One Born Every Minute, and made her first big wave in 1944’s National Velvet. She went on to appearances in Little Women (1949), Father of the Bride (1950), Giant (1956), and her first three Oscar nominations in Raintree County (1957), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959).