David F. Walker

A fairly engrossing history about a very complicated group of people. It's a graphic novel that relies heavily on giant blocks of text, but still reads fairly quickly due to the subject matter.

My passing impression of the Black Panther Party reduces them to violent militants, so I was surprised to find that their initial 1966 Ten-Point Program of wants and beliefs is actually a very reasonable starting point for discussion of Black Americans' issues and civil rights. Most of them are rightly show more still debated today. Indeed, it's amazing how little progress has been made on some of them, such as police brutality, and how that leads directly to the protests we saw last year.

There is strong irony in how quickly California passed gun control legislation when Black Panthers showed up at the state capital with guns and how little action we have taken in the last year despite armed White militants parading and protesting.

This introduction to the Black Panther Party was very enlightening and leaves me wanting to pursue more information about the topic. show less

A retelling of Huckleberry Finn in graphic novel form and from the perspective of Jim and his descendants.
This is an excellent read. I’ve never been a huge fan of Twain, but I do love this treatment of his story, which exposes the parts of the South that he chose to ignore and adds fascinating layers of historical and ongoing cultural context. The artwork is great, and I think this version of Huck and Jim is much more interesting than the original.

A terrific retelling of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn puts Jim at the center of the story, letting him drive his own life and explaining why he bothered to let Huck tag along on his main quest and side adventures.

Actually, this is less a retelling of the novel and more the "true" events that inspired Samuel Clemens to write his novel. Indeed, the graphic novel dumps us into Twain's book at Chapter 12 -- when Jim and Huck explore the riverboat wreck -- and then sharply turns show more away from Twain's embellishments and hijinks to introduce Jim's family and their need for rescue. Jim's mission to reunite with them leads him through Bloody Kansas, meetings with John Brown and other historical figures, and even enlistment in the Union Army during the Civil War -- Huck pulled along in his wake the whole time. There are also time jumps to Jim as an old man in the 1930s, and to a professor in the 2020s lecturing about the gaps between fact and fiction.

Having finished this, I then learned that James by Percival Everett came out the same year and offers another revamp of Jim's story, and I'm putting a hold on that book today. It should make for a very interesting comparison.

(Best of 2024 Project: I'm reading all the graphic novels that made it onto one or more of these lists:
• Washington Post 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2024
• Publishers Weekly 2024 Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• NPR's Books We Love 2024: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels

This book made the Post and PW lists.) show less

Love!
7:21 pm 2 November 2016
Power Man and Iron Fist (2016-) #3 - David F. Walker, Sanford Greene
Danielle Cage is so cute! Yup, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones have an adorable baby named Danielle. Luke is particularly adorable in this series: he admits that Jessica is the boss (which is why she can swear in front of Danielle and he has to use 'fiddle-faddle'), why she gets to tell him which shirt he's allowed to wear when fighting, and why he lets her yell and swear at him. (Well, that, and he show more tells Danny it's how she shows affection when he thinks she hates him.)

Danny and Luke together are the most epic bromance I can think of, too. They work against each other perfectly, too, and I happen to love their banter in this run. Along with that, Luke is drawn as the cutest hulk of a man ever, and he towers over both Danny and especially Jessica. To see him be calm when she yells at him, a man about twice her size, just makes me love him more. (She's been through a lot, and he clearly is head over heels in love with her. He isn't passive; he just accepts the way she is and loves her not for but despite her faults.)

Jessica is angry at this new team up, mostly because she's worried about her husband. Clearly she should be worried: Danny and Luke get into trouble, especially when they're together. Like when they get tricked into stealing a necklace and giving it to their friend. She said it was stolen for her, and instead it's a very powerful force that might corrupt her.

This is mostly Luke and Danny getting permission from Jessica to go out, then trailing their friend, and former employee, Jennie Royce. Danny insists that Jennie must be innocent, and Luke isn't so sure, not anymore. It causes some minor tension that they deal with by betting on the likelihood and teasing each other, instead of allowing it to seep into their interactions. Overall, this feels like such a reaffirming series. Not only is the art and story equally tight and excellent, but it's all about love. The central bromance is the most obvious, and Danny and Luke do love each other. It's completely platonic, but it's more than a partnership or friendship: they care deeply for each other.

That being said, it's less clear cut, but there's the love that Luke has for his family and they have for him. It's clear in the way he stands up for Jessica, in the way she's so protective of him and Danielle. There's a brief scene where Danny lays down and plays with Danielle, too, and it's clear that he not only cares for Luke, but for Luke's family as well. (Despite his belief that Jessica hates him, he does seem to care for her if only because Luke loves her. He tries to help Luke by saying it's all his fault, and despite his desire to team up with Luke, he doesn't press the issue. At least not in front of Jessica. He tries to protect her as much as he can, and again, I believe it's because he loves Luke dearly and t's not only because doesn't want Luke to get in trouble with his wife. Danny knows upsetting Jessica would upset Luke - and that bothers him.)

I love this series so much! I don't know why I'm not subscribing. Even though I'd have to give up another series, I think it'd be worth it and I probably will next week if it doesn't show up in a sale on Comixology again.
Marvel Graphic Novel favorite character i ship this read in 2016 show less