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King: a Comic Book Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

August 3rd, 2008

King: A Comics Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

King: A Comic Book Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • Ho Che Anderson
  • ISBN: 1560976225

Anderson’s work chronicles the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., from boyhood as a son of a pastor to his increasing prominence as an agitator for civil rights, to his assassination in Memphis. Unlike many works on King, this one does not present him as a saint, instead painting him as a bold and eloquent speaker who is also a womanizer, more than a little vain, and occasionally forced to compromise against his better judgment.

The story is somewhat episodic, presenting relevant events and maintaining them long enough to give a sense of history and import, then leaving them as soon as the purpose is served–in many cases in the middle of a conversation or even the middle of a sentence.

The book is notable not only for its even treatment of King but also for its considerable research and its general historical accuracy, including its mention of COINTELPRO and police brutality and its representation of schisms with strikingly different views on how to proceed towards civil rights and even whether the struggle is worth it.

Still I suspect that at least one of the conversations in the book is fictionalized–the private discussion between JFK and MLK while walking through the gardens at the White House–but the work as a whole remains both educational and entertaining as well as emotionally involving.

Anderson’s art takes a number of different styles, starting off fairly stark and realistic (as shown above) and introducing splashes of color and increasing experimentation as the story continues. The layouts become more fluid and vivid as the artwork ranges from iconic, approaching abstract, to paintings made over photographs. The final section of the book is remarkable for its intensity as the Memphis hotel nears: the art is impressive but also very much in service of the story.

In spite of these strengths the book does have its flaws, including a half-dozen typos, mostly in the middle of the book, and one of them inexcusably during the “I Have a Dream” speech (specifically, the mention of “farmer slaves”).

The book remains worth reading: the writing is compelling and the art shows a talented and creative mind at work taking no artistic choice for granted.

graphic novels presentation

July 31st, 2008

The thing at UF for Dr. Lamme’s class went well, though Dr. Lamme couldn’t make it because she was sick.  Her daughter showed up, took roll, and read a chapter from a very interesting book (whose title I forgot to get) about a boy and a girl whose parents argue a lot and whose father is impulsive and temperamental.

I started my presentation at 5:30 and wrapped it up at 5:50.  There were a few questions after, one about Alan Moore’s disparaging of Marvel and DC (I explained that he was known for being a good writer but also cranky and opinionated).

That was a good question which led into a question about Marvel and DC’s place in comics history, which was something I chose to leave out of the exceedingly short section on comics history.  In short–yes.  Marvel and DC are both very important to comics history in the U.S.: for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, The X-Men, The Hulk….  They’ve certainly helped popularize comics; no question of it.  I left their works out of the recommendations as well because most people in the group I first presented to had the idea that comics consisted almost entirely of tights, capes, and biff-bam-boom.

The final question was about Calvin and Hobbes (I explained that I loved it but decided that, in addition to leaving out manga and almost every superhero comic, I should also leave out comic strips).

The final slide in the presentation was about other sources for reviews of comics and graphic novels, which typically include the subject matter, recommended age groups, and a few panels of art.  I hope that it served as a decent reminder that a 20-minute presentation on such a big subject is no more than a Cook’s tour, and certainly not a decade in Europe.

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