Joyce Brabner

Second Avenue Caper: When Goodfellas, Divas, and Dealers Plotted Against the Plague Joyce Brabner

A triumphant memoir of grassroots activism and change in New York City

In Second Avenue Caper, the renowned graphic-book author Joyce Brabner brings to life the true story of a male nurse, a jazz piano player, a drag queen, an actor, an author, and others, who were living in New York City in the early 1980s when they were suddenly affected by a new, mysterious illness. At the center of this emotional, character-driven memoir of the AIDS crisis as it emerged in the city are a small group of friends who gathered at a Second Avenue apartment on the Lower East Side late one night to come up with a new way to respond to the crisis.
     Struggling to understand what exactly this disease was, how they could alleviate the suffering of those afflicted, and how to combat the terrible discrimination they all witnessed and faced, the friends hatched a plan that set in motion an underground pharmaceutical drug smuggling deal to bring illegal drugs across the border?drugs that a rogue group of doctors believed would help their patients.
     Selling marijuana to help with their real business of getting illegal pharmaceuticals into the hands of those in need, this group of brave, selfless, caring young men and women fought to make grassroots change. Fast-paced, poignant, and beautifully illustrated by the award-winning cartoonist Mark Zingarelli, Second Avenue Caper is both witty and wise, a book that will be cherished by fans of graphic memoirs for years to come.