African-American Classics

African-American Classics
Graphic Classics Volume 22

 

23 stories and poems by America’s earliest black authors,
illustrated by contemporary black artists:

• Two Americans –
A wartime parable of terror and redemption by Florence Lewis Bentley,
adapted by Alex Simmons and Trevor Von Eeden

• On Being Crazy–
by scholar and NAACP founder W.E.B. Du Bois,
illustrated by award-winning artist Kyle Baker
• The Negro and Danse Africaine –
Two poems by Langston Hughes,
illustrated by Stan Shaw and Afua Richardson
• A Carnival Jangle –
by Alice Dunbar Nelson,
illustrated by the volume’s co-editor, Lance Tooks
• Lawing and Jawing and Filling Station –
Two short plays by Zora Neale Hurston,
illustrated by Arie Monroe and Milton Knight
• Lex Talionis –
A tale of revenge by Robert W. Bagnall,
adapted by Christopher Priest and Jim Webb
• Becky –
by Jean Toomer
adapted by Mat Johnson and Randy DuBurke
• Buyers of Dreams –
A fantasy by Ethel M. Caution,
illustrated by Leilani Hickerson
• The Goophered Grapevine –
by Charles W. Chesnutt,
adapted by Alex Simmons and Shepherd Hendrix
• Sanctum 777 N.S.D.C.O.U. Meets Cleopatra –
An historical comedy by Leila Amos Pendleton,
illustrated by Kevin J. Taylor
• Shalmanezer –
by Frances E.W. Harper
adapted & illustrated by Lance Tooks
• Plus poems by Claude McKay, Paul Laurence Dunbar, James D. Corrothers, Effie Lee Newsome, James Edwin Campbell and James Weldon Johnson, with art by Keith Mallett, Larry Poncho Brown, John Jennings, Jeremy Love, Glenn Brewer, Mac McGill, Titus V. Thomas, Masheka Wood and Kenjji
• Front cover art by Afua Richardson,
Back cover art by Jimmie Robinson

SEE ADDITIONAL PREVIEWS

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CLASSICS:
Graphic Classics Volume 22
144 pages, FULL COLOR
Retail price $17.95
only $15


As always, Graphic Classics picks a theme and usually produces a gem of a book.  No change here. It is nice to see so many differing styles and some very good use of bright colours.

I can’t find any story or artist in this book that hasn’t done a great job.From the comic to the tragic, this is a great exposure to African-American classics that most of us might be unfamiliar with -even in the U.S.!

Seriously, if you haven’t tried a Graphic Classics book yet do.  There are many available and if you can’t find them in a shop order online (make sure you ask your local comic store if they can order a copy in first).
A link to Graphic Classics home page can be found on the blog roll.