Trying to Escape the Past in Christopher Cantwell and Tyler Crook‘s Out of Alcatraz
Christopher Cantwell and Tyler Crook’s Out of Alcatraz #1 is not an innocent book. Sure, it’s set in 1962 and evokes an innocence that is connected to the remnants of the 1950s but that’s a surface-level charm. Once upon a time, this would have been a movie starring Paul Newman or James Dean, the rugged Everyman escaping prison to find his destiny. It would have been hopeful, dreaming of a better life only to turn tragically dark. Newman or Dean would either end up back in jail or killed while on the run. Out of Alcatraz is that kind of story; it’s the American dream told through the dream of freedom but struggling through the morals of its time. As Cantwell and Crook’s story begins, we don’t know anything about these three men in the San Francisco Bay other than they’ve escaped the one prison no one escaped from— Alcatraz.
In real life, we don’t know what happened to these men. It’s assumed that they died in the icy waters and their bodies were swept out to sea. Cantwell and Crook build their story around the idea that at least two of them survived and were able to carry out their plan of crossing the bay, stealing a car, and getting out of the city. The third, the brother of one of the survivors, fell out of the raft and was presumed dead by the two who made it to shore. So for Frank Morris and Clarence Anglin, escaping may have been the easy part but now they have to deal with the people who helped them escape in the first place.
Out of Alcatraz then becomes of story about trying to hide our true selves. The two convicts are obviously trying to hide who they are from any authorities. The black woman who helps them might not be trying to hide strictly, but her fair skin could pass as white in a time still grappling with civil rights And then there’s the FBI agent and the US Marshall, two old friends who use the escape to catch up. And it’s strongly suggested that there’s something more than just friendship between these two men. Here the story is being suggestive but is still hiding the true nature of their relationship. Cantwell uses the repressive early 1960s to explore how people couldn’t be themselves back then and how they still need to hide parts of themselves today.
Crook’s art paints this image of Americana that clashes with these characters’ struggles. But it’s also an Americana that needs this kind of exploration. It’s easy to look at Crook’s golden, small-town streets and think everything is perfect there. It’s got the warm glow of nostalgia but he and Cantwell are shrouding so much pain and brokenness behind these American streets. Crook’s art radiates warmth in the daytime but chills you to the bone when the shadows of the night come out.
Beneath the suspenseful story that Cantwell and Crook are weaving, a rich layer of subtext exists. This is a gripping what-if story— what if the men who escaped Alcatraz survived? The narrative draws inspiration from real-life events which is speculative fun, to begin with, but they layer these questions and mysteries over the plot that make this an old-fashioned page-turner. Prison escapes are fun; they’re captivating. Out of Alcatraz captures all the essence of a great prison escape story. However, Cantwell and Crook take it a step further by exploring the characters’ inner demons and unraveling their doubts, making the story not just about escaping Alcatraz but also about America itself.