The Good Fight

It’s August 1933, and Toronto is all about “beaches, boardwalks, breadlines, and broken heads.” Amidst the summer heat and growing Depression, racial tensions are at an all-time high as pro-Nazi groups are multiplying across the city with the rise of Anti-Semitism in Europe.

Sid Klein, 13, and his best friend Plug Venditelli are just trying to stay afloat by busking, catching cockroaches, selling newspapers, and picking pockets, until one fateful night they get caught pick pocketing at a local baseball game. Their gang of pick pockets, which consists mainly of Jewish and Italian immigrants living in extreme poverty, is known to the cops so the police decide to make a deal: if the boys steal a piece of paper from a communist sympathizer, all their problems will disappear. Sid and Plug are hesitant at first but decide to go ahead with the plan.

The theft goes down at another baseball game on the night of August 16, 1933. As Sid and Plug get a hold of the paper, a riot ensues as a group of pro-Nazi sympathizers display a swastika banner at the baseball game. Amidst all of the commotion, Sid is able to see what the cops are after– a list of names of union organizers, a list which includes Sid’s father and Plug’s mother. With their very lives at stake, Sid takes action to fight for what he believes is right.

Set amongst the backdrop of the Christie Pits Riot in Toronto, The Good Fight is a very timely graphic novel that shows the very true history of a very dark period in our country. It is written simply, in an age-appropriate manner, but without glossing over the facts or realities of the time. However, it is Rosen’s illustrations that really stand out here. His choice of a muted palette pairs well with the desperation and fear that was prevalent in the Thirties. Overall, The Good Fight is an engaging read that shines the spotlight on Canadian history.