Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography

by Randy DuBurke (Illustrator), Andrew Helfer (Editor)

Overview

The age of multitasking needs better narrative history. It must be absolutely factual, immediately accessible, smart, and brilliantly fun. Enter Andrew Helfer, the award-winning graphic-novel editor behind Road to Perdition and The History of Violence, and welcome the launch of a unique line of graphic biographies.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, these graphic biographies qualify as tomes. But if you're among the millions who haven't time for another doorstop of a biography, these books are for you.
With the thoroughly researched and passionately drawn Malcolm X, Helfer and award-winning artist Randy DuBurke capture Malcolm Little's extraordinary transformation from a black youth beaten down by Jim Crow America into Malcolm X, the charismatic, controversial, and doomed national spokesman for the Nation of Islam.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781429998130
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	11/14/2006
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Andrew Helfer, as group editor at DC Comics, launched its Paradox Press imprint and the award-winning Big Books series, and worked on everything from Batman to The History of Violence.

Randy DuBurke's illustrations have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Mad Magazine, DC and Marvel comics, graphic novels, and science-fiction magazines. He is the winner of the 2004 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award for illustration. He lives in New York.

Andrew Helfer has written everything from Batman to Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography.

Read an Excerpt

Malcolm X

Text copyright © 2006 by Andrew J. Helfer Illustrations copyright © 2006 by Randy DuBurke

Table of Contents

Contents

Title Page,
CHAPTER ONE: HARD TIMES,
CHAPTER TWO: RECKLESS YOUTH,
CHAPTER THREE: EYES WIDE OPEN,
CHAPTER FOUR: THE HUSTLER LIFE,
CHAPTER FIVE: A DOWNWARD SPIRAL,
CHAPTER SIX: ONE LAST HUSTLE,
CHAPTER SEVEN: SATAN BEHIND BARS,
CHAPTER EIGHT: FREE AT LAST,
CHAPTER NINE: A NEW LEADER,
CHAPTER TEN: SINS OF THE FATHER,
CHAPTER ELEVEN: HAJJ,
FURTHER READING,
Copyright Page,

Editorial Reviews

"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything." Though cut down by an assassin's bullet just months before his 40th birthday, Malcolm X (1925-65), a.k.a. Malcolm Little, had already left a powerful imprint on American history. This "novel graphic" recapitulates the dramatic path of Malcolm's life, from his early experiences with racism through his political and religious conversions. Graphic and unforgettable.

Helfer and DuBurke tell the story of Malcolm X's short life—his meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the two leaders describing the opposite ideological ends of the fight for civil rights; and his eventual assassination by other members of the Nation of Islam (NOI)—in narration and detailed b&white drawings, sharp as photographs in a newspaper. The portrait is frank and at times unflattering, pointing out the inconsistencies in Malcolm X's own autobiography. From his slow slide into the criminal—moving from hustler to dealer to the head of a ring of thieves for which he was finally sent to prison—to his jailhouse conversion to Islam, Helfer and DuBurke don't shy from any part of their subject's life. Unfortunately, as the story gets into the complicated dynamics within the NOI and Malcolm X's eventual break from the group, the narrative becomes tangled. The same drawings that make Malcolm X's youth so vivid can't portray the political in-fighting with the same clarity, giving instead a glance at the last few years of his life. Nevertheless, Helfer and DuBurke have created an evocative and studied look at not only Malcolm X but the racial conflict that defined and shaped him. (Nov.)

Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 10 & Up - This brief novelization opens with a dramatic image of Malcolm posing with a rifle, highlighting the conflict that defined his short life. The story begins shortly before his death, and the sense of tension established by his looming assassination is maintained throughout the book. Those already familiar with Malcolm X's autobiography will find a compelling retelling of his life, and those new to the subject will be introduced to a whirlwind tour of mid-20th-century history through the eyes of an influential figure in the Civil Rights Movement. The defining moments of Malcolm's life are presented here in a condensed format-his upbringing in the Midwest, his rowdy teenage years as a hustler in Boston and Harlem, and his time in prison, leading ultimately to his public life as a member of the Nation of Islam and the Black Muslim movement in the 1960s. The black-and-white illustrations give shape to the figures depicted through the use of shadows and high-contrast silhouettes. Many of the drawings have the quality of photographs that have been repeatedly photocopied until fine details disappear, lending a documentary feel to the imagery.-Heidi Dolamore, San Mateo County Library, CA

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

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