The Jungle

Peter Kuper’s graphic novel adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s muckraking classic, published by NBM in 2004, distills the novel’s harrowing indictment of Chicago’s meatpacking industry into stark, wordless visual storytelling. With Kuper handling both art and co-writing alongside Emily Russell, this single-issue work translates Sinclair’s dense prose into a visceral, expressionistic sequence of images that captures the brutal exploitation of immigrant laborers. It matters as a bold, silent reimagining of a landmark text, proving that comics can carry the weight of social realism and historical critique.