Mike's Place: A True Story of Love, Blues, and Terror in Tel Aviv

by Jack Baxter, Joshua Faudem, Koren Shadmi (Illustrator)

Overview

There's a rule at Mike's Place: never, ever talk politics or religion. At this blues bar on the Tel Aviv beachfront, an international cast of characters mingles with the locals, and everyone is welcome to grab a beer and forget the conflict outside. At least, that's the story Jack and Joshua want to tell in their documentary.
But less than a month after they begin filming, Mike's Place is the target of a deadly suicide bombing. Jack, Joshua, and the Mike's Place family survive the only way they know how-by keeping the camera rolling.
Written by filmmakers Jack Baxter and Joshua Faudem and illustrated by award-winning cartoonist Koren Shadmi, Mike's Place chronicles the true story of an infamous terrorist attack in painstaking detail. Rarely has the slow build to tragedy, and the rebirth that follows, been captured with such a compassionate and unflinching eye.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596438576
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	06/09/2015
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jack Baxter is a filmmaker and freelance journalist from New York City. He wrote, produced, and directed the controversial and critically acclaimed 1995 film Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X. He and his wife Fran Strauss-Baxter are the co-producers of the award-winning documentary Blues by the Beach.

Joshua Faudem is an American-Israeli documentary filmmaker who studied at the prestigious film program at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). He has filmed, produced, and directed notable documentaries and television shows in Israel, Europe, and North America. He is the director of the award-winning documentary Blues by the Beach.

Koren Shadmi is an illustrator and cartoonist whose graphic novels have been published in France, Italy, Spain, Israel, and the US. His illustrations have won several awards from the Society of Illustrators, and Charles Burns selected his work for The Best American Comics 2009 anthology.

Editorial Reviews

06/08/2015
This comic opens in 2003 Israel, where filmmaker Baxter (Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X), has just picked up a new story: Mike's Place, a blues bar in Tel Aviv that eschews all political debate, even in the tense environment. With the first stages of the Iraq War winding down, and everyone looking over their shoulder, the loves, friendships, and interwoven lives of everyone who hangs out at the cafe begin to come into focus. Soon a suicide bomber detonates in front of the cafe and shatters everything. This is a comic that wears its intentions on its sleeves, and its writing frequently verges on the stiff, but its attempts to grapple with the emotional and physical fallout of the bombing include empathy for all sides. Shadmi's (In the Flesh) supple illustration captures the day-to-day life of the cafe, the horror of the bombing, and the slow, uneven recovery of the survivors. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Mike's Place is beautiful and true, exciting and tragic--a perfect non-fiction saga that helps expand what the graphic novel can do. Start reading it now; you'll miss your subway stop.

author of Half a Life: A Memoir Darin Strauss

Mike's Place is an astonishing achievement; a remarkable insight into Israeli youth culture and the deep ironies of politics and war. An incredibly rich, absorbing and passionate account of a harrowing event and its aftermath.

author of Freedom Fries Steve Brodner

Jack seeks to make a documentary about life in Tel Aviv. He wants to capture true grit of the Barghouti trial but is scooped before he even arrives. He happens upon a local bar named Mike’s Place. Here they do not talk politics or bombings—it is all about the music and the drinks. Jack decides to make his documentary about this wonderful oasis from the violence. Mike thinks it is a good idea. They start filming the employees and getting their background stories. There are soldiers and caterers. Every walk of life is welcome in Mike’s. Little do they know that the club is being targeted by terrorists. Two bombers scope the place out and plan to attack. The night that they are filming at the club, one of the suicide bombers attacks, blowing up the building and injuring people. Jack is gravely injured, and a female employee is killed. The other bomber chickens out and takes off his jacket and runs. The story then goes through the healing process of the group and how they deal with the tragedy. Even the peaceful places can be wracked with violence. This is a well-written and drawn graphic novel that brings home the violence that the people in Israel face daily. Just when they think it might be safe, they are attacked again. The senseless violence is brought to life. The truth of the situation in Israel is brought to life in the pictures and words of Baxter, Faudem, and Shadmi. Reviewer: Barbara Allen; Ages 12 to 18.

VOYA, August 2015 (Vol. 38, No. 3) - Barbara Allen

Mike’s Place is a blues bar in Tel Aviv, a refuge to natives and many worldwide travelers as it insists on being a place for listening to good music and celebrating peace over a round of drinks. Arguments stirred by political opposing viewpoints are off limits.Independent filmmaker Jack thinks he has found a positive story to bring back from a place infamous for terror. To produce his unique film, he and his cameraman visit sites and conduct interviews, learning that those who reside in Tel Aviv are the last to know about attacks and bombings. Ironically, the family of Mike’s Place experiences just such an unforeseen devastating event that changes their lives forever. This graphic novel is highly recommended for all readers at the high school level. The magnificent story encompasses the deep passion and support between lovers, boiling conflict over politics matters, and self-sacrifice and murder in the name of religion. Reviewer: Erika Clark; Ages 12 up.

Children's Literature - Erika Clark