Now on to the reading for week eight. March by John Lewis is a book that will challenge you, that will make you think, and that will hopefully leave you a bit better after you've read it. This is a book that everyone should read, and then reread again. And then pass on to others to read. This is a part of history that we should not let die, remember, and honor those that created it.
Congressman John Lewis is an iconic figure within the Civil Rights movement, and the last surviving member of the “big six leadership.” He rose from being the son of sharecropper, to marching with Martin Luther King, and to the halls of Congress. This first book in a planned trilogy covers John Lewis’s youth in rural Alabama, his first meeting with Martin Luther King, the birth of the Nashville Student movement, and the battle for desegregation on the steps of City Hall. And it comes to an end all to quickly. I finished the book saying "but, but...I want more! I need the rest of the story now!" And that's such a great way to leave readers, clamoring for the next part of the story. It’s a powerful and moving story to see a firsthand account of the triumphs and sorrows of being involved in this time period in history.One of the problem that I normally see with autobiographical stories, is that they often try to give the reader to much information or even sometimes not enough information. They forget that we aren’t all familiar with the history of an individual. But this book doesn’t suffer any such problem. We move expertly between past and present, as John Lewis gives a tour to children from his district and explains his past. It’s a great way to set up the story. And more importantly you don’t ever feel like you’re missing out on something.
Nate Powell’s artwork is absolutely gorgeous. It’s done in his typical grace/style of capturing the human form oh so perfectly and it seems like this time he’s gone even further in his use of shading to give us the beauty of all different types of skin tones, each character’s is unique. His artwork is perfectly suited for this story capturing the range and intensity of emotions--the sorrow, the joy, and the fear that sends chills down your spine. That intensity, that feeling of life that he captures in their faces really makes them come alive.
You can’t help but feel moved by this story and you can’t walk away unchanged. The combination of story and art works perfectly in capturing this event and this time period. I’m predicting this book will be one of the best graphic novels of the year, perhaps even one of the best books of the year. I started recommending it to my faculty as soon as I heard about it. And one that I can’t wait for them to teach from. I defiantly recommend the book for someone to read, ten out of ten.
Exit wounds by Rutu Modan was another read I did for this weeks comics. Now this comic is one comic that I was kinda like meh with. Nothing really empowering and nothing really memorable about it. I am not bashing about on it, it was a good book, but compared to what I have read in this class it is probably on the bottom of the list. What happens in the comic is that a taxi driver in Tel Aviv is confronted with a mystery involving the potential death of his estranged father. In the process he gets to know a young woman who is the daughter of wealth.
Something that I did really enjoy about the comic were the illustrations. Modan's illustrations are crisp, and clean, with bright, stark color work. The characters are well fleshed out and absolutely imperfect. In some ways the story feels inevitable. In other ways it takes some unexpected turns. The character of the father comes to life in a somewhat surprising way. I would not really recommend this book, I would recommend reading the March over Exit Wounds.
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