On the Ropes

James Vance (1953—2017) was an American comic book writer and author of the graphic novels Kings in Disguise and On the Ropes. Dan E. Burr has been an illustrator for DC Comics’s Big Book Series. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"[A] Depression-era story as layered and encompassing as the classics of Steinbeck or James M. Cain." "More than twenty years in its construction and worth every moment of the wait, James Vance and Dan Burr's On the Ropes is that most rare of animals, a sequel that's as powerful, as vital and as necessary as the work which it continues. A quietly epic human tale that beautifully and expertly employs the comic medium in its telling, On the Ropes is very possibly the most affecting graphic narrative that you will read in the next couple of decades." -- Alan Moore "Vance's complex, heartfelt writing and Burr's earnest, detailed drawings humanize the plight of all those caught in the ravages of the Great Depression. On The Ropes is a refreshing take on the turmoil and politics of the era-and a gripping, dramatic, and frightening tale." -- Josh Neufeld "Every bit as visceral and hypnotic as its award-winning predecessor, On the Ropes is a tour-de-force of fluid, yet detailed storytelling." -- Dave Gibbons