di Hank Kraychir
As a young man I grew up eating spaghetti and meatballs, and pizza. As a young adult I watched Rocky, Rita Pavone’s Little Rita of the West and Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti western movies. I learned about Roman mythology in high school and university; and I even studied Roman military tactics for my Master’s in Military History. In essence, I readily admit my interest for everything Italian. So it should not come as a surprise to any reader of this blog when I praise the comic drawings of Masonic Brother Sergio Sarri from Italy.
I actually saw his drawings on the internet over the past several years, but became more interested in his comics when I stumbled upon his twitter site @SARRIfumettista. I became one of his followers, and within a few days he responded and became a follower of mine. We eventually corresponded through a few tweets, which led me to purchasing his three books, Piccolo Dizionario Massonico Illustrato: Prontuario Per Neofiti O Profani, loosely translated, Masonic Dictionary Illustrated. Checklist for Newbies or Uninitiated (2013); Abracadabra, Le Vignette Di Fratel Pisquano, loosely translated, Abracadabra: Masonic Cartoons of Sergio Sarri (2013); andAntologia Di Fumetti Di Fratel Pisquano, loosely translated, Comic Anthology of Brother Pisquano (2014).
Here is my disclosure statement: I paid full retail price for three signed copies of his books, plus shipping from Italy. In fact, this product review of his books was my idea, and I received no reciprocation for doing it. The only thing Sarri offered me was his time in answering my questions, which was greatly appreciated. I know his books can be purchased on various online books sites; however, if you are going to buy any of them, I highly recommend you contact Brother Sarri directly in order to get it or them signed. In my opinion, It makes no sense to pay for his comic drawings and not have a signed copy or copies for your personal library.
Upon receiving the books in the mail, I was pleased to see them well packaged, which protected them from damage. I have a growing Masonic library myself, thus I appreciate them even more because they were received in good condition. As such, adding Sarri’s works to my personal library gave me a great deal of pleasure.
At first I did the usual quick glance through the books to get a general feel for them. I was overwhelmed with the countless comical illustrations. Most of the drawings that had comments were self explanatory, and did not require me to use Google translator, a tool I often use when communicating with Brethren around the globe. Nevertheless, I was told that Brother Sarri is currently working on English language versions of his books, which will certainly help his sales in this part of the Masonic world. So you can wait for an English version of his comic book drawings or contact him directly and get his Spanish and Italian versions right now; the choice is yours to make.
In short, Brother Sarri’s comic drawings are reminiscent of 18th and early 19th century Masonic postcards, which can still be seen on the internet today. These old postcards poked fun at the Craft, similar to Sarri’s more contemporary works. It is actually a good thing to step back from our more serious side and laugh at ourselves from time to time; and who better to make fun of Masonry than a Brother of the Craft.
Brother Sarri has been a member of the Craft since 1981, and has attained the 30th degree within the Italian Scottish Rite Order, AASR. Keep in mind, Masonry is a little different in each country, just like it is a little different in each of our own states and jurisdictions. Although, the basic tenants of the Craft remain the same, which are Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.
In conclusion, if your looking for a unique addition to your Masonic library, I highly recommend Brother Sarri’s books, Piccolo Dizionario Massonico Illustrato: Prontuario Per Neofiti O Profani (2013); Abracadabra, Le Vignette Di Fratel Pisquano (2013); and Antologia Di Fumetti Di Fratel Pisquano (2014). If you have to select just one, my first recommendation is to purchase, Piccolo Dizionario Massonico Illustrato: Prontuario Per Neofiti O Profani (2013), which is perhaps his nicest looking and well produced piece. In any case, no matter which book you buy, his illustrations will most certainly bring a great many smiles to your face, and continuous laughter to your heart.
So Mote It Be!!!
Hank Kraychir
PS: In the first 24 hours of this blog posting, a record amount of people from 18 different countries read about Brother Sergio Sarri. This is a new single day record for visitors and countries to this blog. From highest to lowest, these countries include, United States, Italy, Great Britain, Canada, Spain, Brazil, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Norway, Greece, Turkey, Mexico, Germany, Austria, Serbia, Ecuador and Poland; and even several visitors from the European Union, which I don’t think is a country yet (*Smile*)?