Review by Karl Verhoven

The Man in the McIntosh Suit begins with an appalling racist article written in 1928 by Paul Scharrenberg, then Secretary of the California State Federation of Labor, a position he held between 1910 and 1936, so a very influential man. Rina Ayuyang then proceeds to show the reality of life for Filipino immigrants to the USA in the late 1920s.

Her focus is initially a group working long hours for little money on a farm in unsafe conditions, prompting thoughts of this becoming an alternative Grapes of Wrath, with an additional racial subtext, but that’s wide of the mark. Among the labourers is Bobot, who becomes the lead character. He writes letters to his wife back home, but it’s been some while since he’s had any reply, and matters come to a head after a couple of friends are attacked and he offers some unsolicited advice, only to receive some home truths in return. “All your toiling for someone who probably doesn’t love you anymore,” hits home, and Bobot begins his quest.

This opens into a weird and wonderful exploration of the times, but Ayuyang’s art makes it very difficult to appreciate fully, and in some cases it could prevent the pages being cracked in the first place. Any individual panel has the look of naive fine art, often featuring a troubled person expressively captured, but four or five such illustrations to a page with little variation in viewpoint or approach followed by a dozen more pages of the same, then a dozen more, makes for a dull looking book.

It’s such a shame, as The Man in the McIntosh Suit progresses in a genre-mashing way one suspects never would occur under an American creator as Bobot’s luck takes a turn for the better. It’s also an extremely dense read as Ayuyang decompresses every scene, but their nature ensures a comprehensive tour of how life was for Filipino immigrants in San Francisco. They also reveal Bobot has some surprising talents as he works his way around wearing his borrowed suit until believing he’s found his wife singing in a night club.

Part crime noir, part social observation and stunningly unpredictable, provided you can get past the art, The Man in the McIntosh Suit will prove very rewarding.