All the Answers opens in June 2015, with Michael Kupperman alone, staring out the window of his parents’ house, where his wife has dropped him off so he can do some work. Kupperman is a cartoonist, researching for his newest project, a memoir about his father, the once-famous Joel Kupperman--the Quiz Kid.
Quiz Kids, in case you don’t know--I didn’t--was a wildly popular radio and television program that ran from roughly 1940 -1956. It was, as the name indicates, a quiz show populated by children, albeit unusually intelligent ones, who answered trivia questions sent in by the listening (and later viewing) audience. Of the contestants, the most famous by far was Joel Kupperman, a six-year-old math prodigy who’s adorable lisp and precocious intelligence turned him, overnight, into a national sensation. There were books, poems, cameo appearances, and even a movie, and Joel met with many of the biggest stars of the era--he was everywhere. But like most child stars, Joel’s draw eventually waned, as he stayed on the show well past the normal 15 year old cut off, and, as Kupperman puts it he was “a contestant on a never-ending game show with no prizes. And he was overstaying his welcome.”
Finally, Joel left Quiz Kids, no one knows quite why or when, and found that, as a teenager known for being smart and compliant, he’d become a laughingstock among his peer group. Bullying and ostracism followed until he finally left the country, returned (narrowly avoiding disgrace amid the $64,000 Pyramid scandal, and reinvented himself as a philosopher, and a well-regarded one--dozens of his books are still in print and active use.
Alongside the history of Quiz Kids and Joel himself, Kupperman is examining a second, more pressing subject, the impact of his father’s history on his own life. Joel refused to speak about those years at all for most of Kupperman’s life, and it’s only when Kupperman is reestablishing his relationship with Joel, who is now falling into dementia, that he begins to piece together the puzzle of his father’s disconnection and how it relates to his exploitation as one of the original child stars.
The conversations between Kupperman and his father are the real backbone of the book, as interesting as the history is, providing answers that Kupperman manages to assemble into something coherent but which Joel, in spite of his quiz kid acumen,can’t quite put together himself. Kupperman, in the end, recognizes the irony that must have inspired the title--there is no secret chest where all the answers can be found, unless that chest is found in excavating ourselves and moving forward. Kupperman has this realization on the subway, just before entering a dark tunnel, having released the hope of finding answers and speeding, willingly or not, into the darkness to see what’s next.
With these graphic novels I’ve reviewed, I’ve spent little time on the art, not because I don’t think it’s important or meaningful, but because I feel like I lack the ability to really analyze the visuals the way they deserve. However, I’ve been a fan of Kupperman’s comics for a while, and the art here is a masterclass in adapting a style that looks simple on the surface to the situation. The conversations between Kupperman and Joel are rendered starkly, mostly tight drawings of faces against empty backgrounds, while the Quiz Kid years are busy, full of detail and historical color. But even in these years, Joel himself is often presented in small panels by himself, rarely with other faces present, emphasizing his isolation. All the Answers is rarely funny--most of Kupperman’s work is--but there’s a joy to the draftsmanship here in spite of the complex subject matter.
Kupperman has a Patreon, which I support, so I’m adding a link to that here as well. It’s a real treasure trove of his work, including a great piece about his years working for the New Yorker.
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