Incognegro (2008)

The author was inspired to write this story after reading about NAACP leader Walter White posing as a white man and going undercover in the early 20th century to investigate lynchings in the deep south. It's a disturbing, painful, and sometimes funny story. ( )

A graphic novel about a "noble passer" with a few funny moments. ( )

Warren Pleece's black and white panels unfold Mat Johnson's compelling story of an undercover African American journalist in the Harlem Renaissance--the Incognegro. Passing for white, Zane Pinchback is able to attend and report on Klan lynchings to try to bring those murderers to justice. ( )

A New York City reporter passes for white, going around the South and reporting on lynchings as Incognegro. When he goes to one small Southern town before the lynching, it’s not to report—it’s to save his brother, who’s in jail for the murder of a white woman. Intrigue and all kinds of passing, lies, and betrayal ensue. A good read (can you say that about a graphic novel?), without either triumphalism or despair. ( )

The Short and Sweet of It
Zane is a reporter in Harlem. He is black, but he can pass as a white man, and this skill allows him to infiltrate the south and reveal the horrors of lynch mobs. When an assignment goes bad, he barely escapes with his life, and he returns to Harlem determined to stop his incognegro work. But when Zane's brother is arrested for murdering a white woman down in Mississippi, Zane has to go undercover once more.

A Bit of a Ramble
I went into this graphic novel expecting an education on race relations in the 1930s and what I got was an entertaining mystery which was also powerfully informative and moving. The author, Mat Johnson, "grew up a black boy who looked white" and dreamed of using his appearance to promote racial equality. While in college, he read about Walter White, a pale-skinned black man who went undercover to investigate lynchings in the deep south. This is the inspiration for Incognegro.

It would be very difficult to read this graphic novel and not admire and fear for the protagonist, Zane. I would hazard a guess that everyone picking it up comes in to the story with negative feelings about lynchings and a deep understanding of the hate, sorrow, despair, and fear surrounding race relations in the 1930s. For most, it requires very little prompting to call up the emotions necessary to access the book.

I do want to stress that while the book is certainly evocative, it is also entertaining. The plot is a well-crafted mystery with unique characters. My mind continually strayed from thinking about the "message" to wondering whodunit and how.

Drawn in stark black and white panels, the artwork really makes apparent the difficulty of assigning race and the fluidity of race. The characters don't have skin tones, so the distinction between the black and white characters is practically non-existent. ( )