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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | GRAPHIC 921 KING | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | GRAPHIC 921 KING | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In King , Ho Che Anderson rendered Martin Luther King Jr.'s life fromhis childhood in Atlanta to his tragic assassination in an expressionisticvisual style that propelled King's story with cinematic momentum: in doing so,he created a monumental graphic biography that liberated King from the saintly,one-dimensional, hagiographic image so prevalent in pop culture. Out of printsince 2006, Fantagraphics Books is publishing a newly designed volume, King:The Special Edition , that includes the original 240-page book as well asnearly a hundred additional pages of "extras," including:"Black Dogs," a 14-page prelude which features a dialogue between ayoung black couple expecting a child, living in LA in the aftermath of theRodney King riots; excerpts from the author's work diary; sketches; excerptsfrom the draft of the script; and an all-new epilogue titled"Assassin," written and drawn especially for this new edition. Thisbook is a must-have for libraries and is a wonderful educational resource forhigh school-aged-and-up students, as well as African-American Studiesprograms.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Adult/High School-Basing his graphic-novel biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., on a combination of primary-source research and editorial reflection, Anderson takes up the narrative in 1959 and carries it through the 1963 March on Washington. King's womanizing, President Kennedy's lukewarm support of civil-rights activism, Bull Connor's storied racial hatred, J. Edgar Hoover's political corruption, and the united protest efforts of college students and working-class African-American Southerners all appear on these pages. Each topic is given a scope that balances the portrait of King as both admirably brave and brilliant as well as human and single-minded. The glossy paper carries Anderson's scratchboard-influenced, black-and-white illustrations with little dimensional detail. Color appears rarely and with great significance: most dramatic is the realistic full-color spread accompanying the delivery of King's "I Have a Dream" speech that closes this volume. As with the previous one (1993), readers need to have some working knowledge of American history of the period to appreciate both foreground and background narrative and images here. However, Anderson's interpretation gives readers a compelling focal point for reviewing King as both man and as legend.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Comics artist Anderson has produced a grand, interpretive biography of Martin Luther King Jr. that seeks to probe the man, his accomplishments and America's racial dilemma. Powerfully cinematic, the work opens with a series of anonymous characters, the attestors, speaking of their personal attraction to, or disdain for, King. Then a short sequence focuses on four urban black communities, presenting a contemporary sampling of racial conflict and violence, before introducing King's childhood in Atlanta, Ga., in 1934. From there he plunges into King's life with a passion: graduate studies in liberal Boston; meeting Coretta; his collaboration with Ralph Abernathy; Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott; and the ever present physical danger. This first of a projected three-volume series ends with King's stabbing at a boycott in 1960. Anderson has produced a vividly complex portrait of a legendary American figure, detailing King's flaws--his woman-chasing and domineering personality--as well as his courage and moral vision. The stark black-and-white illustrations erupt from the page, perfectly capturing the visual force of a violent and heroic period in American history. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Anderson embarked on his ambitious, multivolume comic-strip biography of Martin Luther King Jr. more than 10 years ago. The second part begins in 1958, with King recovering from the knife attack that ended the first volume, and takes the story through the Birmingham protests to a stirring conclusion with the march on Washington and the "I Have a Dream" speech. Anderson compellingly conveys the obstacles facing the civil rights movement as it struggled to achieve even the most basic goals, and he honestly depicts King's foibles and misgivings. Some passages reflect Anderson's interpretations--no one really knows, for instance, what transpired between King and President Kennedy in the Rose Garden--and his boldly expressionistic, high-contrast, black-and-white drawings accentuate the drama inherent to King's life, even in the static, talking-heads sequences that Anderson's basic faithfulness to events necessitates. The straightforwardness of Anderson's treatment also gives this comics-format account an integrity and a verisimilitude greater than any filmed docudrama could hope to achieve. --Gordon Flagg
Library Journal Review
Anderson's classic comics biography delves into the life and political struggles of Martin Luther King Jr. honestly and without idolizing this famous figure. (LJ 8/04) (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
