The Puerto Rican War is a graphic novel that tells the story of Puerto Rican revolutionaries fighting American colonialism in 1950, a part of history willfully omitted from U.S. education. The PR Nationalist Party Revolts of 1950 were uprisings to claim state independence from the U.S. Leading up to this, Ley de la Mordaza (Gag Law, technically “Law 53 of 1948”) attempted to suppress Puerto Rico identity and independence. Among many violations of civil liberty, this law made it a crime to display a Puerto Rican flag. The story notably includes an assassination attempt on President Truman.

Vasquez Mejias is an incredible artist and a lively storyteller. His obsessively crafted woodcuts recall both Lynd Ward and Joe Sacco, but are very distinctively his own. Everyone should have this book in their library.