African American History & Culture: Comics and Graphic Novels

A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge is a masterful portrait of a city under siege. Cartoonist Josh Neufeld depicts seven extraordinary true stories of survival in the days leading up to and following Hurricane Katrina. Here we meet Denise, a counselor and social worker, and a sixth-generation New Orleanian; "The Doctor," a proud fixture of the French Quarter; Abbas and Darnell, two friends who face the storm from Abbas' family-run market; Kwame, a pastor's son just entering his senior year of high school; and the young couple Leo and Michelle, who both grew up in the city. Each is forced to confront the same wrenching decision--whether to stay or to flee. As beautiful as it is poignant, A.D. presents a city in chaos and shines a bright, profoundly human light on the tragedies and triumphs that took place within it.

Based on an 1876 court transcript of a West African woman named Abina, who was wrongfully enslaved and took her case to court. The story of Abina Mansah - a woman "without history" who was wrongfully enslaved, escaped to British-controlled territory, and then took her former master to court - takes place in the complex world of the Gold Coast at the onset of late nineteenth-century colonialism. Parts II-V provide detailed historical context for the story, a reading guide that reconstructs and deconstructs the methods used to interpret the story, and strategies for using Abina in various classroom settings. Focusing on such important themes as the relationship between slavery and gender in pre-colonial Akan society, the role of marriage in Abina's experience, colonial paternalism, and the meaning of cloth and beads in her story, this section also includes a debate on whether or not Abina was a slave, with contributions by three award-winning scholars - Antoinette Burton, Sandra Greene, and Kwasi Konadu - each working from different perspectives.

Academy Award winning author John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Three Kings) presents an alternate U.S. history with the Civil Defense Corps, a team of superheroes, and their handlers the FDAA (Federal Disaster Assistance Administration). The FDAA stages showdowns between "superheroes" and "supervillains", who are in reality little more than superpowered actors that front for the public. What will the manufactured "superheroes" do when real danger arrives at the door? Collects THE AMERICAN WAY #1-8.

It's been a decade since the Civil Defense Corps was exposed as a fraud created by the U.S. Government for propaganda purposes. While most of the heroes who survived the catastrophe have retired or disappeared, the New American still carries on, trying to keep communities safe amid the social turmoil of the 1970s. But with the nation split in two over civil rights and the changing political landscape, this isn't easy. Some of the American's former colleagues are on opposite sides of the law: Amber Waves joined a group of domestic terrorists, while Missy, a.k.a. Ole Miss, has thrown her hat into the political ring. As the ground shifts beneath his feet and new threats arise, which side will the American choose? This graphic novel sequel unites the original creative team of Ridley and Jeanty, as well as moves the story forward in history, factoring in how real-life events might be affected by the presence of superheroes, and how those events change the heroes in turn. Collects THE AMERICAN WAY #1-6.

An independent kingdom of runaway slaves founded in the late 16th century, Angola Janga was a beacon of freedom in a land plagued with oppression. In stark black ink and chiaroscuro panel compositions, D'Salete brings history to life: the painful stories of fugitive slaves on the run, the brutal raids by Portuguese colonists, and the tense power struggles within this precarious kingdom. At turns heartbreaking and empowering, Angola Janga sheds light on a long-overlooked moment of resistance against oppression.

The dazzling, provocative work of Jean-Michel Basquiat would come to define the vibrant New York art scene of the late '70s and early '80s. Punk, jazz, graffiti, hip-hop: his work drew heavily on the cultural trappings of Lower Manhattan, to which he fled (from Brooklyn) at the age of 15. Writer Julian Voloj and illustrator Søren Mosda capture the dramatic life and exhilarating times of this archetypal New York artist, covering everything from the SAMO project to his first solo show, from his early meetings with Andy Warhol to the development of the addiction that would eventually cost him his life.

In the summer of 1971, the New York's Attica State Prison is a symbol of everything broken in America - abused prisoners, rampant racism and a blind eye turned towards the injustices perpetrated on the powerless. But when the guards at Attica overreact to a minor incident, the prisoners decide they've had enough - and revolt against their jailers, taking them hostage and making demands for humane conditions. Frank "Big Black" Smith finds himself at the center of this uprising, struggling to protect hostages, prisoners and negotiators alike. But when the only avenue for justice seems to be negotiating with ambitious Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Big Black soon discovers there may be no hope in finding a peaceful resolution for the prisoners in Attica. Written by Jared Reinmuth and Frank "Big Black" Smith himself, adapted and illustrated by Ameziane, Big Black: Stand At Attica is an unflinching look at the price of standing up to injustice in what remains one of the bloodiest civil rights confrontations in American history.

When Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray met at church bingo in 1963, it was love at first sight. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid-'60s, Hazel and Marire unite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage.

The full truth of the People's revolution -- and the power players supporting it -- has been revealed! Now, T'Challa must fight like never before for the fate of his nation -- and one of his most trusted allies is back to stand by his side. As the final battle begins, the entirety of Wakanda's glorious history may be their most potent weapon. But even if the People fall, can the monarchy still stand? COLLECTING: BLACK PANTHER 9-12.

You know them as the Midnight Angels, the breakout characters from Ta-Nehisi Coates' best-selling Black Panther. But before they became rebel leaders, they were just Ayo and Aneka - young women recruited into the Dora Milaje, an elite task force sworn to protect Wakanda's crown. But what if their burgeoning love for each other interferes with that oath? And when the crown fails to protect Wakanda's people, are Ayo and Aneka ready to step up - even at the cost of their own lives? COLLECTING: BLACK PANTHER: WORLD OF WAKANDA 1-6.

Black Panther, Storm, Luke Cage, Misty Knight and Manifold band together to take on a dangerous wave of street-level threats in a new series by co-writers Ta-Nehisi Coates and Yona Harvey, and legendary artist Butch Guice! The death of a Harlem activist kicks off a mystery that will reveal surprising new secrets about the Marvel Universe's past - and set the stage for a huge story in the near future! Fear, hate and violence loom, but don't worry, The Crew's got this: They are the streets. COLLECTING: BLACK PANTHER AND THE CREW 1-6.

Founded in Oakland, California, in 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was a radical political organization that stood in defiant contrast to the mainstream civil rights movement. This gripping illustrated history explores the impact and significance of the Panthers, from their social, educational, and healthcare programs that were designed to uplift the Black community to their battle against police brutality through citizen patrols and frequent clashes with the FBI, which targeted the Party from its outset. Using dramatic comic book-style retellings and illustrated profiles of key figures, The Black Panther Party captures the major events, people, and actions of the party, as well as their cultural and political influence and enduring legacy.

Struggling musician Erik Dieter returns home for his mother's funeral and, under strange circumstances, finds a photograph of a late sixties jazz musician. The search for this musician's identity will soon become an obsession that will take Erik down the spiraling depths of his ambitions--a journey that will erode his faith in reality, forcing him to confront the horrors of his own great expectations.

Once a thriving working class neighborhood on Chicago's south side, the 'Bottomyards' is now the definition of urban blight. When an aspiring fashion designer named Darla and her image-obsessed friend, Cynthia, descend upon the neighborhood in search of cheap rent, they soon discover something far more seductive and sinister lurking behind the walls of their new home.

Cub reporter Madison Jackson is young, scrappy, and hungry to prove that she deserves her coveted college internship at the premiere newspaper in town, The Boston Lede, where she fetches coffee for the night crew and dreams of her own byline. So when her police scanner mentions a brutal murder tied to a prominent Boston family, Madison races to the crime scene, looking for the scoop of the century. What she finds instead is the woman who'll change her life forever: Dahlia Kennedy, celebrity socialite, now widow, covered in gore and the prime suspect in the murder of her husband and child. When Dahlia refuses to talk to anyone but Madison, they begin a dangerous game of cat and mouse that leads the young journalist down a twisted path.

Between 1965 and 1973 the inhabitants of the Chagos archipelago were forcibly removed from their homeland and dumped in Mauritius and Seychelles. Diego Garcia, the largest island, was leased to the USA by the UK to accommodate the largest US military air base outside the US mainland. Grosset's account of the eviction, and the harsh life faced by the Chagossians after their displacement, looks back to the first generation of slaves who arrived on the archipelago and the lives of their descendants.

Eighth grader Drew Ellis recognizes that he isn't afforded the same opportunities, no matter how hard he works, that his privileged classmates at the Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted, and to make matters worse, Drew begins to feel as if his good friend Liam might be one of those privileged kids and is finding it hard not to withdraw, even as their mutual friend Jordan tries to keep their group of friends together.

Inspired by West African folklore and stories handed down over centuries, follows the adventures of Mansour Keita, last prince of a dying kingdom, and Awa Kouyaté, his loyal Djeli, or 'royal storyteller' as they journey to meet the great wizard who destroyed their world and then withdrew into his tower, never to be seen again. On their journey they'll cross paths with friend and foe, from myth and legend alike, and revisit the traditions, tales, and stories that gave birth to their people and nurture them still. But what dark secret lies at the heart of these stories, and what purpose do their tellers truly serve?

Gene Luen Yang understands stories--comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins. But Gene doesn't get sports. As a kid, his friends called him "Stick" and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it's all anyone can talk about. The men's varsity team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that's been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championships. Once Gene gets to know these young all-stars, he realizes that their story is just as thrilling as anything he's seen on a comic book page. He knows he has to follow this epic to its end. What he doesn't know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragons's lives, but his own life as well.

In late May 1918 in Valdosta, Georgia, ten Black men and one Black woman--Mary Turner, eight months pregnant at the time--were lynched and tortured by mobs of white citizens. Through hauntingly detailed full-color artwork and collage, Elegy for Mary Turner names those who were killed, identifies the killers, and evokes a landscape in which the NAACP investigated the crimes when the state would not and a time when white citizens baked pies and flocked to see Black corpses while Black people fought to make their lives--and their mourning--matter. Included are contributions from C. Tyrone Forehand, great-grandnephew of Mary and Hayes Turner, whose family has long campaigned for the deaths to be remembered; abolitionist activist and educator Mariame Kaba, reflecting on the violence visited on Black women's bodies; and historian Julie Buckner Armstrong, who opens a window onto the broader scale of lynching's terror in American history.

The first murder in 500 years. Twenty billion suspects. One Hope. The City Enduring, a booming metropolis at the edge of the universe, hasn't experienced a violent crime in generation. The Emotion Exploit has erased its citizens' full range of feelings, allowing three resident races to overlook their turbulent history and coexist peacefully-until now. Rookie Green Lantern Sojourner "Jo" Mullein is still adjusting to her assignment to protect this strange world when a brutal crime rattles its social order, threatening to undo centuries of controversial progress. As the populace rises up against the legacy of the Emotion Exploit and leaders grapple for power under threat of a new war, Jo must rely on her unique instincts--as a Green Lantern and the only human in this sector--to solve the crime and guide the City Enduring toward a more promising future.

Presents a graphic adaptation of Geoffrey Canada's memoir of a Bronx, N.Y. childhood, along with an analysis of how a chain of events set in motion by 1960s drug laws has led to the child violence on the streets today.

Marlene loves three things: art, her cool tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend, Camilla. But according to her mother, Paola, the only things she needs to focus on are school and growing up. That means straightening her hair every weekend so she can have "presentable," "good" hair. But Marlene hates being in the salon and doesn't understand why her curls are not considered pretty by those around her. With a few hiccups, a dash of embarrassment, and the much-needed help of Camila and Tía Ruby -- she slowly starts a journey to learn to appreciate and proudly wear her curly hair.

Our story begins in the squalid corridors of a maximum-security housing project, where a young girl will rise from the war-torn streets of Chicago to battle injustice in a world insane with corruption. She will be called a hero, a traitor, and nearly everything in between, but all along the way, her courage, her integrity, and her unwavering commitment to that most valuable of right - liberty - will inspire a movement that will never surrender.

This encyclopedic comics history of the formative years of hip-hop captures the vivid personalities and magnetic performances of old-school pioneers and early stars like DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, plus the charismatic players behind the scenes like Russell Simmons, Debbie Harry, Keith Haring and other luminaries make cameos.

Book 2 covers the early years of 1981-1983, when Hip Hop has made a big transition from the parks and rec rooms to downtown clubs and vinyl records. The performers make moves to separate themselves from the paying customers by dressing more and more flamboyantly until a young group called RUN-DMC comes on the scene to take things back to the streets. This volume covers hits like Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock," Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message," and the movie Wild Style, and introduces superstars like NWA, The Beastie Boys, Doug E Fresh, KRS One, ICE T, and early Public Enemy. Cameos by Dolemite, LL Cool J, Notorious BIG, and New Kids on the Block(?!)! Featuring an introduction by Wild Style director Charlie Ahearn.

Book 3 highlights Run DMC's rise to fame and introduces unassailable acts like Whodini, The Fat Boys, Slick Rick, and Doug E Fresh. The Beastie Boys become a rap group. Rick Rubin meets Russell Simmons to form Def Jam. The famous TV pilot to the dance show Graffiti Rock and the documentaries Style Wars and Breakin' and Enterin' are all highlighted in this comprehensive volume spanning 1983-1984.

Book 4 charts the rise of Dr. Dre and Def Jam records, and introduces new branches on the "tree": Will Smith, Salt-N-Pepa, Rakim, and Biz Markie. This volume is also jam-packed with films Hollywood released in an attempt to cash in on the phenomenon, like Breakin', Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo, Beat Street, Krush Groove and more.

Hot Comb offers a poignant glimpse into black women's lives and coming of age stories as seen across a crowded, ammonia-scented hair salon while ladies gossip and bond over the burn. The titular story 'Hot Comb' is about a young girl's first perm--a doomed ploy to look cool and to stop seeming 'too white' in the all-black neighborhood her family has just moved to. In 'Virgin Hair', taunts of 'tender-headed' sting as much as the perm itself. It's a scenario that repeats fifteen years later as an adult when, tired of the maintenance, Flowers shaves her head only to be hurled new put-downs. Realizations about race, class, and the imperfections of identity swirl through Flowers' stories and ads, which are by turns sweet, insightful, and heartbreaking.

By the delicate hand of Didier Kassaï (Storm Over Bangui) comes a graphic documentary about the street children of Bangui, told in a style that mixes photos and illustrations. In the Central African Republic, children grow up in a state of insecurity, poverty, and malnutrition. The land has become what many call "a house without windows." Through illustrations, photos, and videos (activated via QR codes), this comic takes readers into the heart of this "forgotten crisis." Central African artist Didier Kassai and British photojournalist Marc Ellison guide readers through the harsh stories of Bangui's children--slaving in diamond minds, housed in refugee camps--and showcase their inspirational courage in the face of unimaginable poverty.

This tenth anniversary edition of the acclaimed and fearless graphic novel features enhanced toned art, an afterword by Mat Johnson, character sketches, and other additional material. In the early 20th Century, when lynchings were commonplace throughout the American South, a few courageous reporters from the North risked their lives to expose these atrocities. They were African-American men who, due to their light skin color, could "pass" among the white folks. They called this dangerous assignment going "incognegro." Zane Pinchback, a reporter for the New York-based New Holland Herald, is sent to investigate the arrest of his own brother, charged with the brutal murder of a white woman in Mississippi. With a lynch mob already swarming, Zane must stay "incognegro" long enough to uncover the truth behind the murder in order to save his brother-- and himself.

Presenting an illustrated horror tale for the twenty-first century and a modern update to the class haunted house story, Infidel follows a young American Muslim woman and her multi-racial neighbors who move into a building haunted by entities fueled by xenophobia.

Between the 1940s and 1980s, Chicago's Black press--from The Chicago Defender to the Negro Digest to self-published pamphlets--was home to some of the best cartoonists in America. Kept out of the pages of white-owned newspapers, Black cartoonists found space to address the joys, the horrors, and the everyday realities of Black life in America. From Jay Jackson's anti-racist time travel adventure serial Bungleton Green, to Morrie Turner's radical mixed-race strip Dinky Fellas, to the Afrofuturist comics of Yaoundé Olu and Turtel Onli, to National Book Award-winning novelist Charles Johnson's blistering and deeply funny gag cartoons, this is work that has for far too long been excluded and overlooked. Also featuring the work of Tom Floyd, Seitu Hayden, Jackie Ormes, and Grass Green, this anthology accompanies the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's exhibition Chicago Comics: 1960 to Now selected and edited by Dan Nadel, and is an essential addition to the history of American comics.

On a planet Earth bursting with integrated extraterrestrial life, pregnant doctor Future Nwafor Chukwuebuka is fleeing Nigeria under mysterious conditions. Her fiancé doesn't know she's left, and she's smuggling an illegal, sentient plant into NYC. There, she'll be thrown into a vibrant immigrant community of humans and aliens, fighting for social justice and facing her past and her unexpected future.

Taking you from Douglass's life as a young slave through his forbidden education to his escape and growing prominence as a speaker, abolitionist, and influential cultural figure during the Civil War and beyond, The Life of Frederick Douglass presents a complete illustrated portrait of the man who stood up and spoke out for freedom and equality. Along the way, special features provide additional background on the history of slavery in the United States, the development of photography (which would play a key role in the spread of Douglass's image and influence), and the Civil War. Told from Douglass's point of view and based on his own writings, The Life of Frederick Douglass provides an up-close-and-personal look at a history-making American who was larger than life.

Márcia is a nurse in a hospital near Rio and lives in a favela with her boyfriend, Aluisio, and her daughter, Jaqueline, whom she had very young with another man. Jaqueline, a troubled young adult, makes life difficult for her mother and Aluisio and rebelliously hangs out with members of a neighborhood gang, leading to violent altercations between mother and daughter. The situation degenerates even more when Jaqueline is arrested. Márcia and Aluisio, distraught, realize that Jaqueline is in deeper trouble than they ever thought. Marcello Quintanilha's first English-language graphic novel is a tour de force -- a tightly wound drama filled with masterful suspense and a deep love for family and character.

For the first time, Livewire takes center stage! Accomplice. Mentor. Savior. And now, Enemy of the State. Seeking to protect other vulnerable super-powered psiots like herself, Livewire plunged the United States into a nationwide blackout with her technopathic abilities, causing untold devastation. After choosing the few over the many, she must now outrun the government she served - and those she once called allies. With the whole world hunting her, what kind of hero will Livewire be...or will she be one at all? Collecting LIVEWIRE #1-4.

Livewire finds herself face-to-face with a brand-new foe! Investigating the disappearance of a young psiot girl, Livewire stumbles upon OMEN's answer to the psiot "problem," a facility where young psiots are taken and taught to control their powers. Is this facility the safe haven Livewire's dreamed of or is there something more sinister to this sanctuary? One of the Valiant Universe's most powerful heroes continues down the road to redemption right here with rising star writer Vita Ayala (Supergirl) and artist Kano (Gotham Central)! Collecting LIVEWIRE #5-8.

As fifteen-year-old Will sets out to avenge his brother Shawn's fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know.

This graphic novel is Congressman John Lewis' first-hand account of his lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Book One spans Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a climax on the steps of City Hall. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington D.C., and from receiving beatings from state troopers, to receiving the Medal of Freedom awarded to him by Barack Obama, the first African-American president.

By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights Movement has penetrated deep into the American consciousness, and as a chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, John Lewis is guiding the tip of the spear. Through relentless direct action, SNCC continues to force the nation to confront its own blatant injustice, but for every step forward, the danger grows more intense: Jim Crow strikes back through legal tricks, intimidation, violence, and death. The only hope for lasting change is to give voice to the millions of Americans silenced by voter suppression: "One Man, One Vote." To carry out their nonviolent revolution, Lewis and an army of young activists launch a series of innovative campaigns, including the Freedom Vote, Mississippi Freedom Summer, and an all-out battle for the soul of the Democratic Party waged live on national television. With these new struggles come new allies, new opponents, and an unpredictable new president who might be both at once. But fractures within the movement are deepening ... even as 25-year-old John Lewis prepares to risk everything in a historic showdown high above the Alabama river, in a town called Selma.

After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence -- but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the Deep South, they will be tested like never before. Faced with beatings, police brutality, imprisonment, arson, and even murder, the young activists of the movement struggle with internal conflicts as well. But their courage will attract the notice of powerful allies, from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy ... and once Lewis is elected chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, this 23-year-old will be thrust into the national spotlight, becoming one of the "Big Six" leaders of the civil rights movement and a central figure in the landmark 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Martha Washington -- prisoner, runaway, lunatic, soldier, and now seditionist -- has seen the future. It looks great on paper, but it doesn't work. The U.S. government is controlled by power-hungry nutcases. The ecology is a shambles. Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it ... nobody, that is, except PAX and the very expensive weather-control satellite, Harmony.

Nearly sixty years after its creation, a little-known landmark of comic book history returns! This 16-page comic is a simple but revolutionary account of the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, in which Rosa Parks, Dr. King, and 50,000 others used the power of nonviolence to battle segregation on city buses - and win. First published in December 1957 by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, it went unnoticed by the mainstream comic book industry, but spread like wildfire among civil rights groups, churches, and schools, helping to mobilize a generation to join the global fight for equality - nonviolently. Personally endorsed by Martin Luther King, Jr. himself, over time this comic book has reached beyond his time and place to inspire activists in Latin America, South Africa, Vietnam, Egypt, and beyond... as well as inspiring MARCH, the new graphic novel trilogy by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell.

Depicted as a graphic history and informed by newly discovered primary sources and years of archival research, Monumental resurrects, in vivid detail, Louisiana and New Orleans after the Civil War, and an iconic American life that never should have been forgotten. The graphic history is supplemented with personal and historiographical essays as well as a map, timeline, and endnotes that explore the riveting scenes in even greater depth. Monumental is a story of determination, scandal, betrayal-and how one man's principled fight for equality and justice may have cost him everything.

Welcome to beautiful Nova Honda, the racing capital of the world. It is the home of the prestigious World Grand Prix, the illegal street race The Cannonball, and the racer caught between both of them, Domino Swift. Domino is one of the best racers on any circuit. By day, she competes for fame and fortune in the WGP. By night, she cracks heads of rival gangs in brutal bike wars to gain possession of a rare, valuable contraband: an engine-boosting machine stimulant known as Crush. Collects issues 1 through 5.

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?

A soaring graphic biography that casts new light on the first African-American fighter pilot. On the eve of World War I, Eugene Bullard was a refugee of the Jim Crow South who was determined to find a place where a Black man would be treated as a fellow human being. His search took him from rural Georgia to the streets of Paris, from the vaudeville stage to the boxing ring, and finally, from the muddy trenches to the open skies. In 1914, Bullard joined the fight to defend France--and made history as the world's first African American fighter pilot. In this candid but sensitive portrait of Bullard, author Ronald Wimberly balances the personal and the historical to interrogate concepts of cynicism, idealism, fear, glory, and the pervasiveness of anti-Black racism.

Can you be a hero...if society doesn't see you as a person? Nubia has always been a little bit...different. As a baby she showcased Amazonian-like strength by pushing over a tree to rescue her neighbor's cat. But despite her having similar abilities, the world has no problem telling her that she's no Wonder Woman. And even if she were, they wouldn't want her. Every time she comes to the rescue, she's reminded of how people see her--as a threat. Her moms do their best to keep her safe, but Nubia can't deny the fire within her, even if she's a little awkward about it sometimes. Even if it means people assume the worst. When Nubia's best friend, Quisha, is threatened by a boy who thinks he owns the town, Nubia will risk it all--her safety, her home, and her crush on that cute kid in English class--to become the hero society tells her she isn't.

Home is a new house with a loving husband in 1970s California that is suddenly transformed into the frightening world of the antebellum South. Dana, a young black writer, can't explain how she is transported across time and space to a plantation in Maryland. But she does quickly understand why: to deal with the troubles of Rufus, a conflicted white slaveholder - and her progenitor. Her survival, her very existence, depends on it. This searing graphic-novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler's science fiction classic is a powerfully moving, unflinching look at the violent, disturbing effects of slavery on the people it chained together, both black and white - and made kindred in the deepest sense of the word

In the year 2024, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher's daughter living in Los Angeles, is protected from danger by the walls of her gated community. However, in a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny ... and the birth of a new faith.

Adapted from the landmark essay Enforcing Order, this striking graphic novel offers an accessible inside look at policing and how it leads to discrimination and violence. What we know about the forces of law and order often comes from dramatic episodes that make the headlines, or from sensationalized versions for film and television. These gripping accounts can obscure a crucial aspect of police work: the tedium of everyday patrols and paperwork, under a constant pressure to meet numbers. Around the time of the 2005 French riots, anthropologist and sociologist Didier Fassin spent fifteen months observing up close the daily life of an anti-crime squad in one of the largest precincts in the Paris region. His unprecedented study, which sparked intense discussion about policing in the largely working-class, immigrant suburbs, remains acutely relevant in light of all-too-common incidents of police brutality against minorities. This new, powerfully illustrated adaptation clearly presents the insights of Fassin's investigation, and draws connections to the challenges we face today.

The first volume of Princeless as it's never been available before, in a special edition hardcover volume. This edition includes the full first volume written by Jeremy Whitley and illustrated by M Goodwin. Additionally, it includes the Skullkickers Crossover written by Jim Zub and illustrated by M Goodwin, as well as the first two Princeless short story collections including work by Jules Rivera, Quinn Larsen, Kelly Lawrence, and Nancy King.

The second deluxe Princeless hardcover takes Adrienne, Bedelia, and their dragon Sparky deep into the Grasslands to find Adrienne's sister Angelica, the most beautiful princess in all of the land. Little does Adrienne know that Angelica has gained a small army of admirers and might not be so keen to leave. Meanwhile, the King has hired a group of deadly knights to track down and kill the knight he believes is responsible for Adrienne's death, unaware that he's putting out a hit on the daughter he already believes to be dead.

An African American who performed in blackface to challenge racial stereotypes; a woman whose song, "I Don't Care," became emblematic of the modern "New Woman"; and a female impersonator whose act was created to uphold the traditional values of American femininity. These stories are at the center of David Hajdu's new work of graphic nonfiction, which recounts the lives and careers of Bert Williams, Eva Tanguay and Julian Eltinge, three of the most popular and influential vaudeville performers at the turn of the twentieth century. Hajdu's history reveals how popular American entertainment as we know it first took form in vaudeville, and the ways these three artists challenged conceptions of race, gender, and what it meant to be an American during a pivotal time in the nation's history. Hajdu and the artist John Carey intertwine the stories of Williams, Eltinge, and Tanguay with sections that focus on subjects relating to their lives and careers, such as the histories of minstrelsy or gender-bending in American theater. The book tells how the West Indian Bert Williams found a balance in his act that at once played to and challenged ideas of Blackness in American life. Eva Tanguay, who was known as "The Queen of Vaudeville," embodied a fiercely radical challenge to the prevailing conceptions of female propriety. Julian Eltinge, to whom Tanguay was briefly "engaged," created a precise impersonation of the dainty, graceful proper woman, while maintaining an offstage persona of hypermasculinity. Hajdu and Carey conclude the book by examining how these artists influenced the acts and personas of later performers ranging from Elvis Presley to Prince to Nikki Minaj.

The sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novel series March--the continuation of the life story of John Lewis and the struggles seen across the United States after the Selma voting rights campaign. To John Lewis, the civil rights movement came to an end with the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. But that was after more than five years as one of the preeminent figures of the movement, leading sit-in protests and fighting segregation on interstate busways as an original Freedom Rider. It was after becoming chairman of SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and being the youngest speaker at the March on Washington. It was after helping organize the Mississippi Freedom Summer and the ensuing delegate challenge at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. And after co-leading the march from Selma to Montgomery on what became known as "Bloody Sunday." All too often, the depiction of history ends with a great victory. But John Lewis knew that victories are just the beginning.

Run for It--a starkly stunning graphic novel by internationally acclaimed illustrator Marcelo d'Salete--is one of the first literary and artistic efforts to confront Brazil's hidden history of slavery. Seen through the eyes of its victims, Run for It tells of ordinary slaves who rebel against their masters. Run for It's vivid illustrations and magical realism engage the reader's poetic imagination through stories of individual suffering caused by the horrors of slavery. Originally published in Brazil--where it was nominated for three of the country's most prestigious comics awards--Run for It has received rave reviews worldwide. These intense tales offer a tragic and gripping portrait of one of history's darkest corners. It's hard to look away.

In the heat of June in 1943, a wave of destructive and deadly civil unrest took place in the streets of Detroit. The city was under the pressures of both wartime industrial production and the nascent civil rights movement, setting the stage for massive turmoil and racial violence. Thirty-four people were killed, most of whom were Black, and over half of these were killed by police. Two thousand people were arrested, and over seven hundred sustained injuries requiring treatment at local hospitals. With Run Home If You Don't Want to Be Killed, Rachel Marie-Crane Williams delivers a graphic retelling of the racism and tension leading up to the violence of those summer days. By incorporating firsthand accounts collected by the NAACP and telling them through a combination of hand-drawn images, historical dialogue, and narration, Williams makes the history and impact of these events immediate, and in showing us what happened, she reminds us that many issues of the time--police brutality, state-sponsored oppression, economic disparity, white supremacy--plague our country to this day.

Jordan, Drew, Liam, Maury, and their friends from Riverdale Academy Day School are heading out on a school trip to Paris. As an aspiring artist himself, Jordan can't wait to see all the amazing art in the famous City of Lights. But when their trusted faculty guides are replaced at the last minute, the school trip takes an unexpected--and hilarious--turn. Especially when trying to find their way around a foreign city ends up being almost as tricky as navigating the same friendships, fears, and differences that they struggle with at home. Will Jordan and his friends embrace being exposed to a new language, unfamiliar food, and a different culture Or will they all end up feeling like the "new kid"?

Since its inception as an African-American theater in 1934, the Apollo, and the thousands of entertainers who performed there, have led the way in the presentation of swing, bebop, rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel, soul, funk and hip-hop--along with the latest in dance and comedy. The Apollo has nurtured and featured thousands of artists, many of whom have become legends. The beauty they have given the world--their art--transcends the hatred, ignorance, and intolerance that often made their lives difficult. Today, the Apollo enjoys an almost mythical status. With its breathtaking art, this graphic novel adaptation of Showtime at the Apollo brings to life the theater's legendary significance in music history, African American history, and to the culture of New York City.

A comprehensive history of anti-Black racism in graphic-novel format focuses on the lives of five major players in American history (Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois and Angela Davis) and highlights the debates that took place between assimilationists and segregationists and between racists and anti-racists.

Still I Rise is a critically acclaimed work with an impressive scope: the entire history of Black America, told in an accessible graphic-novel form. Updated from its original version--which ended with the Million Man March--it now extends from the early days of colonial slavery right through to Barack Obama's groundbreaking presidential campaign. Compared by many to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Still I Rise is a breathtaking achievement that celebrates the collective African-American memory, imagination, and spirit.  

A splashy, contemporary middle grade graphic novel from bestselling comics creator Johnnie Christmas! Bree can't wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees--until she's stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she's forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help. With Etta's training and a lot of hard work, Bree suddenly finds her swim-crazed community counting on her to turn the school's failing team around. But that's easier said than done, especially when their rival, the prestigious Holyoke Prep, has everything they need to leave the Mighty Manatees in their wake. Can Bree defy the odds and guide her team to a state championship, or have the Manatees swum their last lap--for good?

Darrin Bell was six years old when his mother told him he couldn't have a realistic water gun. She said she feared for his safety, that police tend to think of little Black boys as older and less innocent than they really are. Through evocative illustrations and sharp humor, Bell examines how The Talk shaped intimate and public moments from childhood to adulthood. While coming of age in Los Angeles--and finding a voice through cartooning--Bell becomes painfully aware of being regarded as dangerous by white teachers, neighbors, and police officers and thus of his mortality. Drawing attention to the brutal murders of African Americans and showcasing revealing insights and cartoons along the way, he brings us up to the moment of reckoning when people took to the streets protesting the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And now Bell must decide whether he and his own six-year-old son are ready to have The Talk.

An unforgettable portrait of race and class, innocence and injustice, hypocrisy and heroism, tradition and transformation, in the Deep South of the 1930s, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird remains as important today as it was upon its initial initial publication in 1960, during the turbulent years of the civil rights movement. Now this most beloved and acclaimed book is reborn as a graphic novel of rare artistic intelligence and visual skill by artist Fred Fordham. Scout, Gem, Boo Radley, Atticus Finch, and the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, are all faithfully captured in vivid detail. Life-time admirers and new readers alike will be touched by a rendition of this classic novel that allows readers to experience some of the most memorable scenes and characters in American literature in an entirely new way.

When C.L.R. James's play 'Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History' opened in London featuring Paul Robeson in 1936, it marked the first time Black actors starred on the British stage in a play written by a Black playwright. But after this groundbreaking play ended its run, the script was lost for almost seventy years. Then a draft copy was found among James's archives, and now this extraordinary drama has been turned into a graphic novel by artists Nic Watts and Sakina Karimjee.

This book tells the true stories of five brave teens fleeing their home countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guinea, on their own, traveling through unknown and unfriendly places, and ultimately crossing into the US to find refuge and seek asylum. Based on extensive interviews with teen refugees, lawyers, caseworkers, and activists, Tracy White shines a light on five individual kids from among the tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors who enter the US each year. In stark black and white illustrations, she helps us understand why some young people would literally risk their lives to seek safety in the US. Each one of them has been backed into a corner where emigration to the US seems like their only hope.

For their 45th anniversary, Hank and Molly Nonnar decide to undergo an experimental rejuvenation procedure, but their hopes for youth are dashed when the couple is faced with the results: severely disfigured yet intellectually and physically superior duplicates of themselves. Can the original Hank and Molly coexist in the same world as their clones? In Upgrade Soul, McDuffie Award-winning creator Ezra Claytan Daniels asks probing questions about what shapes our identity--is it the capability of our minds or the physicality of our bodies? Is a newer, better version of yourself still you? This page-turning graphic novel follows the lives of Hank and Molly as they discover the harsh truth that only one version of themselves is fated to survive.

A thought-provoking and hilarious romp through time and space from debut creator, Tyrell Waiters that explores what it means to be human in a world fraught with uncertainty. On the edge of burnout, Vern decides to return to his family in the Sunshine State to start over. Starting a new dead-end job as a custodian at Quasar--a local science facility with a shady motive--he shrugs on his uniform, grabs a mop and bucket, and trudges off to clean up... Black holes? Space-time anomalies? Galactic ooze? Things aren't entirely what they seem at Quasar, and when Vern accidentally plugs in a mysterious machine and finds himself standing on the brink of the destruction of every planet in the Multiverse, he's presented with the greatest question of all: what is the point? Fans of Ben Passmore's personal and political comics--as well as classic sci-fi comedies like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Rick and Morty--will enjoy this world of hyper fantasy with a touch of humor, as told by a Black creator.

Part graphic novel, part memoir, Wake is an imaginative tour-de-force that tells the story of women-led slave revolts and chronicles scholar Rebecca Hall's efforts to uncover the truth about these women warriors who, until now, have been left out of the historical record. Women warriors planned and led slave revolts on slave ships during the Middle Passage. They fought their enslavers throughout the Americas. And then they were erased from history. Wake tells the story of Dr. Rebecca Hall, a historian, granddaughter of slaves, and a woman haunted by the legacy of slavery. The accepted history of slave revolts has always told her that enslaved women took a back seat. But Rebecca decides to look deeper, and her journey takes her through old court records, slave ship captain's logs, crumbling correspondence, and even the forensic evidence from the bones of enslaved women from the "negro burying ground" uncovered in Manhattan. She finds women warriors everywhere. Using in-depth archival research and a measured use of historical imagination, Rebecca constructs the likely pasts of Adono and Alele, women rebels who fought for freedom during the Middle Passage, as well as the stories of women who led slave revolts in Colonial New York. We also follow Rebecca's own story as the legacy of slavery shapes life, both during her time as a successful attorney and later as a historian seeking the past that haunts her.

In expanding the story of Kim and her friends, the authors pay tribute to Black sisterhood through portraits of shared, yet deeply personal experiences of Black hair care. From self-care to spilling the tea at an hours-long salon appointment to healing family rifts, the stories are brought to life through beautifully drawn characters and different color palettes reflecting the mood in each story.

Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there : never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar's nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future...but it would also mean leaving his brother, his only family member remaining, every day. Heartbreak, hope, and gentle humor exist together in this graphic novel about a childhood spent waiting, and a young man who is able to create a sense of family and home in the most difficult of settings. It's an intimate, important, unforgettable look at the day-to-day life of a refugee, as told to New York Times bestselling author/artist Victoria Jamieson by Omar Mohamed, the Somali man who lived the story and went on to help so many other refugees.

Brandon-Croft appraises popular opinion through nine distinct women in constant dialogue. From diets to daycare to debt to the dreaded microaggressions of everyday racism, no issue is off-limits

Told in colorful graphic novel form, this is the story of four pioneers of feminist art: Judy Chicago, Faith Ringold, Ana Mendieta, and the Guerilla Girls. Each made their mark in their own powerful way. Judy Chicago made us reassess the female body, Faith Ringold taught us that feminism is for everyone, Ana Mendieta was a martyr to violence against women, while the Guerilla Girls have taken the fight to the male-dominated museum. This graphic novel tells each of their stories in a unique style.

Your Black Friend and Other Strangers is a collection of culturally charged comics by cartoonist Ben Passmore. Passmore masterfully tackles comics about race, gentrification, the prison system, online dating, gross punks, bad street art, kung fu movie references, beating up God, and lots of other grown-up stuff with refreshing doses of humor and lived relatability.

A graphic novel based on the life and death of Robert 'Yummy' Sandifer, an 11-year-old gang member from Chicago's Southside who was killed by his own gang. 11-year-old Roger is trying to make sense of his classmate Yummy's death, but first he has to make sense of Yummy's life. Was he some sort of monster, or just another kid? A compelling graphic dramatisation based on true events, this gritty exploration of youth gang life will prompt teen readers to question their own understandings of good and bad, right and wrong.