Turner Family Stories: From Enslavement in Virginia to Freedom in Vermont

Turner Family Stories is one of the most unique and interesting books I have read in recent times. It is a collection of comics that adapt an oral history recounted by 100-year-old Daisy Turner in 1983. These stories explored her family history, from her ancestors being abducted from Africa to her parents being slaves who eventually found freedom, as well as their way to New England, to her own struggles with equality throughout her life.

Of particular note, she spoke extensively of her legal battle with a white man who had promised to marry her but reneged and tried to destroy her life and reputation. Such first-hand accounts of history are powerful enough on their own, but here are made even more potent by translating them into comics.

As a collection of stories, this book employs a number of artists. I was highly engaged by the framing narrative, about two youth who speak to Daisy, leading to  separate accounts about her and her family, including the tale of how her parents made their way to Vermont, an adventure where her dad showed off his prodigious strength, and a supernatural episode when her mother needed help. The varying art styles, some more cartoonish and others more realistic, complement each other, lending a wide arrange of expression to the book. I think this collection is an excellent book as a teaching tool or for a fan of US or civil rights history. I hope that it is read far and wide.

Turner Family Stories was edited by Jane Beck and Andy Kolovos and features comics by Marek Bennett, Francis Bordeleau, Lillie Harris, Joel Christian Gill, and Ezra Veitch. The cover was drawn by Robyn Smith. It also couched well in history, with a foreward by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, introduction by Julian Chambliss, and preface by Jane Beck. There are interviews with artists Bordeleau, Harris, and Veitch about their work on this volume here.

I was not able to locate any reviews of this book online, though it did have a 5 (out of 5) star rating on Goodreads as of this writing. This superb book certainly deserves more attention!

Turner Family Stories was published by Vermont Folklife Center, and they offer previews and much more about it here.

Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History

Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History does exactly what its title says. I was shamefully unfamiliar with most of the stories recounted in this volume, even that of the Noyes Academy. I single that one out because it was located in Canaan, NH, and it's a small town where I used to teach summer school. I had no idea that once a landmark school was located there.

There are many other stories told here in a straight-forward, semi-humorous fashion. These stories feature much courage and strength in the face of injustice, heartbreak, and misery. Some of these stories are about collective people, such as the shameful, racially motivated eviction of an entire community from Malaga Island. Most though are about exceptional individuals. There is the tale of Henry "Box" Brown who was literally mailed north to freedom.

Also, many forgotten figures are celebrated, like Bass Reeves, the most successful US Deputy Marshal; chess master Theophilus Thompson; magician Richard Potter, and bicycle champion Marshall Taylor aka "The Black Cyclone."

Like I noted above, there is an undercurrent of humor running through these sometimes difficult stories. One recurring funny feature is the flying baby birth, as seen in the "Box" Brown excerpt. Many of these tales start that way, and there are small jokes and asides from time to time. There is also the visual motif of the crow, which delineates the presence of Jim Crow enforcers and ways of thinking. Racial slurs are similarly represented pictorially, to good effect. These are stories directed toward a younger audience, but it does not hold back on showing the difficulties and hatred folks had to endure, as well as the will power needed to persevere through such conditions.

The artwork might seem too simple for some, but I think it is very expressive. Another critique I have seen from multiple sources that I agree with is that this book is very male-centered and also not so delicate about depicting Native Americans.

This book's creator Joel Christian Gill is the the Chair of Foundations at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Since publishing this book, he has embarked on creating and publishing extended biographies of African-Americans in his Tales of the Talented Tenth series. Thus far he has two volumes, on Bass Reeves and Bessie Stringfield, and he is working on at least a couple more. He speaks about his work on Strange Fruit in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Rob McMonigal called it "a wonderful addition to non-fiction comics." Allyce Amidon called it " visually witty, engaging, and well researched." And Megan Purdy called it "a great book that deserves to be read, discussed, shared and celebrated."

Strange Fruit was published by Fulcrum Publishing, and they have an excerpt and more available here.

The Underground Abductor

If you have been reading my blog and paying attention, you pretty much know that I think Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales are some of the best historical graphic novels I have read EVER. This volume, The Underground Abductor, continues that tradition. It tells the story of Araminta Ross, better known to most of us as Harriet Tubman, a civil rights activist and conductor on the fugitive slave network called the Underground Railroad. The book spans her whole life, from her time as a young slave through her adulthood when she accomplished a great many brave and cunning deeds.

Aside from the expert storytelling and excellent artwork, which is full of affect, action, and meaning, there are two things I really admire about this book. One, it takes a very broad consideration, that of slavery, and puts a very human and personal face on it. Two, it has shown me that I pretty much knew nothing of this remarkable woman's life. It even has a couple of sizable digressions to give the tale more context, one about Frederick Douglass and the other about Nat Turner. A great book informs as well as entertains, and this is a great book, in my estimation.

In addition to creating the first four entries in this series, the prolific Nathan Hale also has drawn two other graphic novels, Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel Calamity Jack. He has also worked on a variety of children's books, including Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody and The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas. He shares a lot of fun artwork and news via his blog, and he speaks about his career in this interview.

The reviews I have read about this book have been very positive. Sarah wrote, "I learned so much about Tubman's life - I actually got chills while reading this story as I thought about what a truly exceptional woman she was." JediKermit praised how it "honors the pain and condemns the horrors of slavery, but is still appropriate for the target audience of 5th - 8th graders." Kellee called it her favorite in the series so far, "the most intense of his stories" of "one person’s resilience in the face of pure doom."

The Underground Abductor was published by Amulet Books, and they have a video preview, teaching guide, and more information available here.