Review by Karl Verhoven

Unless you follow competitive swimming, Marc Evers is likely to be an unfamiliar name, and the challenge of a biography is to make it compelling for someone unaware of the subject while also pleasing readers who follow their exploits. In Gemma Plum’s case her subject alone is compelling.

Evers was born in 1991 to Frank and Gitty Evers and soon developed signs of intellectual disability. Parents of children with similar conditions will recognise the lack of understanding among the doctors his parents consulted during Marc’s infancy. However, when they were finally able to access the medical specialist Marc needed the prognosis was about as bleak as it could be short of death, at which point Plum cuts to an explanation of what autism is and misguided beliefs and treatments used as recently as the 1980s. Understanding the complexity is noted as important, and how autism can manifest differently in different people. Statistics quoted also reinforce the massive growth in diagnoses in the past thirty years.

Plum is adapting a work by Dutch journalist Ivo van Woerden, and whether down to his original idea or Plum’s adaptation, an initially clever aspect of The Great Marc Evers is attempting to convey the effects of Marc’s condition in more than words for greater appreciation. It’s mentioned that the sound of a door slamming would comfort him, and the sample art is just the first of five repetitive pages giving a mild insight into how that must be as experienced by Frank and Gitty. It’s a storytelling technique that recurs, establishing routine and repetition, both seemingly important to the young Marc. For a graphic novel, though, it’s a method used too often, artificially extending the page count.

Other techniques also work well from the casual nature of Frank and Gitty’s explanations delivered sitting at a table to Marc occasionally commenting himself, adding a personal touch to a narrative that’s otherwise observational. The first time this happens reading “What others learn easily can be hard for me to remember” is surprising as his swimming exploits take precedence over other development, and his parallel growth isn’t adequately explored.

From an early age Marc was always comfortable in water, and swimming was a natural progression. We see the repetition along with gradual understanding of how swimming was a constant confidence booster for Marc as he grew, and it eventually becomes apparent to professionals that he was a real prospect in paralympic swimming. The remainder of the story is more predictable given that success is pretty well a prerequisite for a biography. Where Plum succeeds is in revealing the routine and sacrifices Marc and those around him made to assure that success.

From the beginning Frank and Gitty are shown to have persevered through personal hardship and poor advice, and their determination to fight for Marc’s best interests is as inspiring as his story. They’re duly recognised in the afterword Marc supplies.

“Inspirational” is a term all too easily thrown around, but the bar would have to be raised immensely high to exclude Marc Evers. Plum’s diligence and techniques convey frustration and difficulty, but also the highlights to produce a very readable and informative biography.