Big Jim and the White Boy: An American Classic Reimagined

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been called "the best book we've had" (by Ernest Hemingway) and also been widely banned because of its copious use of the N-word. Here, this American classic is recast in a way where Jim becomes the central figure and Huck is more of a sidekick instead of vice versa. A big impetus for the switch is to bring dignity and humanity to a figure who is not given proper treatment in the original novel, but it is also made to explain some weirdness to the narrative, namely revealing why an escaped enslaved person would travel south instead of north to safety. Also, this book explains why Jim is so attached to Huck in the first place.

One major addition to this story is the revelation that Jim's family, who are referred to in the original but never named, have been illegally sold down the river by Huck's reprobate father Joe. So, Jim embarks on his odyssey to be reunited with them. Along the way, he is hunted, becomes a sort of racist bogeyman, assists with the Underground Railroad, joins the Union army, and has all sorts of adventures. He meets many people, telling all of them his story, and he becomes an almost mythic figure, an adventurer and beacon for freedom. 

What makes this narrative work is the fact that it is told across three different timelines. Some of the book focuses on the adventures from the book set in the 1850s, other portions show Jim and Huck as old men in the 1930s, telling tales of their adventures to Jim's grandchildren. The third storyline is set in 2022 and follows Jim's great-great-great-great-granddaughter Almena who is a history professor researching his life. The various viewpoints make for a rich, complex narrative, and the result is a grand epic. I cannot say enough good things about this book.

Big Jim and the White Boy was a collaboration between writer David F. Walker and artist Marcus Kwame Anderson, who previously produced the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel The Black Panther Party. Walker is a prolific author and is best known in comics for his work on the series Bitter Root, runs on Marvel Comics series such as Luke Cage and Power Man & Iron Fist, and the DC Comics series Naomi. He also wrote another nonfiction graphic biography of Frederick Douglass. Anderson also worked on his creator owned series Snow Daze. Walker and Anderson speak about their work on this book in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been glowing. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called it "a vital reconsideration of an American classic." Mike Rhode wrote that Walker and Anderson achieved what they "set out to do, providing readers with a work that strips away the minstrel mask that Twain placed on Jim and reveals reality." Carla Riemer declared that "this well-researched, well-written book belongs in all library collections."

Big Jim and the White Boy: An American Classic Reimagined was published by Ten Speed Graphic, and they offer a preview and more information about it here. There is also this 11-page preview available from Publishers Weekly.

The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History

 

Reading this book showed me how little I actually knew about the Black Panther Party. The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History is not a long book, but it is substantive and comprehensive. It touches on every major figure associated with the BPP, and heavily focuses on the pivotal years of 1967 - 1969. There are spotlights on people like Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, Fred Hampton, and Angela Davis as well as gripping, suspenseful portrayals of major events in the formation and social actions taken by the Black Panthers.

As you can see from the excerpt above, this book is about detailing the history of this group and also placing it in the broader context of US and civil rights history. It is one of the more information-rich graphic novels I have read, but it balances exposition with dramatic action scenes. It utilizes dynamic, iconic artwork full of bold imagery. I appreciated how well it captures both realistic depictions of the participants as well as a sense of the propaganda/visual messages broadcast by the BPP. Even in the passages that are more text heavy and dense, the images are vibrant and realistic, adding much context to the proceedings. 

As a common theme with other books I've read recently, like Big Black: Stand at Attica and Kent State, this book shows how US society has not progressed as much as we would like. The Panthers arose in a response to the racial violence being perpetrated by police forces. Their militaristic response was to show that they could not simply be intimidated and pushed around any more. This arm of the movement was coupled with more charitable ones I did not really know about, such as establishing a school and a program for feeding the hungry, though those aspects are largely overlooked today.

A sizable amount of the book is also devoted to J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI's many incredibly shady and illegal methods of infiltrating the BPP, sowing discord, and outright murdering some of its leadership. I know that not everyone approved of the methods for seeking equality, even within the various civil rights movements of the day, but the level of subterfuge and sabotage accounted here is shocking. I think this book is the perfect introduction for someone who knows nothing about the Black Panther Party, and an excellent resource for any US history, government, or language arts class studying African-American history or civil rights.

This book was created by writer David F. Walker and artist Marcus Kwame Anderson. Walker is a prolific author and is best known in comics for his work on the Eisner Award winning series Bitter Root, runs on Marvel series such as Luke Cage and Power Man & Iron Fist, and the DC Comics series Naomi. He has also written another nonfiction graphic novel, a biography of Frederick Douglass. Anderson is best known for his creator owned series Snow Daze and has also illustrated a number of projects for Action Lab.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been very positive. In their starred review, Publishers Weekly concluded, "This concise yet in-depth guide offers a timely resource for activists, history buffs, and students alike." Ed Park called it "ambitious and informative." In a rollicking review, S.W. Sondheimer wrote, "I learned more from this 98-page graphic novel history than I did from Chernow’s 818 page biography of Hamilton or anything I had to read for my college course on the WWII Pacific theater."

The Black Panther Party was published by Ten Speed Press, and they provide a preview and more here.

Bitter Root, Volume 1: Family Business

Bitter Root is a breath-taking piece of historical fiction/horror. It takes place during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's and stars the Sangeryes family, the world's greatest monster hunters. They are a motley bunch, including the hulking Berg, his diminutive cousin Cullen, elder stateswoman Ma Etta, and the disgruntled Blink, who feels she is being held back because she is a woman. There are other members of the family, too, and they are memorable both for their personalities and the unique roles they play in the family and the family business.

 

When humans become corrupted by fear and hate they devolve into creatures called Jinoo, and the Sangeryes specialize in battling and curing these monsters. However, in the course of this book they learn that there are things worse than Jinoos out there, things even more crafty and evil, and that is where much of the action and intrigue derive. This book contains the first five issues of the series, and I could not read it fast enough. Each chapter is a page turner, and each one ends with a compelling cliffhanger.

However, this book is multi-faceted. Not only does it feature superb action and plotting, it also provides a strong dose of scholarship. It contains bevy of historical analyses and essays from scholars in diverse discipline that give much context to the goings-on in the book. It offers much material to visit and revisit upon further readings, both in terms of an excellent story and its supplementary essays.

Bitter Root was written by David F. Walker and Chuck Brown with art by Sanford Greene and Rico Renzi. Walker is known for his work on multiple comic books series from different publishers, though I am partial to his runs on Power Man & Iron Fist and Luke Cage. Brown has been self-publishing comics for years now, and he also has worked for major publishers like Marvel and IDW. Greene has done lots of covers for Marvel Comics and has collaborated with Walker on the Power Man and Iron Fist series and with Brown on a webcomic called 1000. Renzi has worked as a colorist on a ton of comics series, most notably Spider-Gwen. Brown and Walker both share their thoughts on the Bitter Root series in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read have been glowing. Publishers Weekly concluded, "Comics fans will look forward to future volumes of this energetic dark fantasy that effectively mixes thrills and scares." Thomas Maluck wrote that the story "explodes off each page with thoughtful plotting, unique character designs, thematic color palettes, and shape-shifting lettering that always fits the bombastic and gentle moments alike." Tonya Pennington commented that "the characters won me over with their personalities, personal strengths, and weaknesses."

Bitter Root was published by Image Comics, and they offer more information about this trade paperback here. The series is ongoing, with a summer special already published and a sequel series promised to drop soon. Also, the series has been optioned for motion picture rights by Legendary Pictures.

The series does feature monsters, blood, and some gore, so I suggest it for readers mature enough to handle them.