Comanche Moon [Paperback]

Jack Jackson (Author), Calvin Reid (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2003

Jack Jackson’s Comanche Moon is the extraordinary story of Cynthia Ann Parker, a white settler child kidnapped by a band of Comanche Indians in 1836 in Texas. Brought up as a Comanche, she became the wife of a feared Comanche warrior and gave birth to Quanah, a warrior-son who became chief of the Comanches and eventually led them in their last great battles against the relentlessly encroaching white settlers. This is the story of their defeat and the end of the Comanche Nation’s dominance of the Texas plains.

Jackson is one of the original figures of the American underground comics movement of the 1960s. Unlike his peers, whose comics celebrated the counterculture, Jackson instead created lively, detailed and historically accurate works that chronicle the bloody, fascinating history around the founding of Texas. Told against a rich backdrop of 19th century life and the complex historical and political conflicts that fueled the brutal wars between Native Americans and settlers, the story of Naduah the white Comanche represents non-fiction comics at its best.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This story recounts the last days of the war-loving Comanche tribe, their nomadic existence and their eventual concession to white settlers. Illustrated and written by noted underground cartoonist Jackson, whose previous works chronicled Texas's founding history, this work is a rare combination of historical writing and compassionate storytelling in the graphic novel form. Jackson weaves richly detailed vignettes about the clashes between the Comanches and other Indian tribes and white settlers, rendering the tales in representational fine lines with detailed cross-hatching. The book begins with the unusual account of Cynthia Ann Parker, a white child kidnapped by the Comanches, and the accomplished life of her son, Quanah. Parker's story is as fascinating as it is tragic: after a Comanche raid on her family's fort, she is kidnapped and raised as one of the Comanches' own. Renamed Naduah, Parker adapts all aspects of Comanche life and matures into a respectful, strong-willed daughter. She marries a young chief and gives birth to Quanah. Yet Parker's former life constantly shadows over her. She's eventually recaptured (against her will) by white settler relatives and forced to readjust to their society. Quanah's story takes place after the death of his parents. A young Comanche with few assets or experience, he uses his deft wit and diligence to quickly build himself into a successful horse farmer, a heroic warrior and a diplomatic representative of Native American interests to white society. His integration into American society marks the end of the Comanches' era. Jackson's heartrending and inspiring story is a truly enjoyable and timeless work.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Reed Press (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594290032
• ISBN-13: 978-1594290039
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,033,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate graphic novel format biography of Quanah Parker, December 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Comanche Moon (Paperback)

Historically accurate biography of Quanah Parker, last Commanche to live free on the LLana Estacata of Texas. Also bio information about his mother Cynthia Ann Parker, a European girl captured and raised by Commanches as their own, later taken back by her white family by force after she had married and had children as a Commanche woman. Lots of information regarding the everyday life of Commanche people. Told in a graphic novel format , the drawing is not particularly beautiful, but the story and accuracy make up for it. My copy is bound in psuedo leather, looks nice. Highly recomended for adults or older adolecents. Especially those who are intellectually curious, who may or may not have trouble with standard written texts.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, November 13, 2007

By 

Babytoxie (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comanche Moon (Paperback)

While many underground cartoonists of the `60s and `70s focused their stories on counter-cultural issues of the time, writer/artist Jack Jackson headed in the other direction, bringing the stories of early Texas personalities to life. COMANCHE MOON tells the epic story of Cynthia Ann Parker and her famed son, Quanah. Set during the final days of the Comanche, who once roamed from the Kansas Territory to central Texas, it is a fascinating and moving historical portrait.

At age 9, Cynthia Ann, the daughter of Anglo settlers, is kidnapped by Comanches during a raid in 1836. Renamed Naduah, she adapts to their ways, marrying a chief and bearing a son, Quanah. Quanah rises from an uncertain beginning to become a powerful and feared warrior, and the last chief of the Quahadi Comanche. But his most startling transition was yet to come, as he adopted the white man's ways and introduced Native American culture to white society.

Jackson pulls out all the stops for this graphic novel. While I recall studying Quanah Parker and these events in my Texas history class many years ago, it was not presented with this level of detail. This is certainly not your typical read-in-an-hour trade paperback - you actually have to focus, and you may even learn a thing or two if you're not careful. Jackson's historical sources are numerous, events and characters are clearly identified, and maps are abundant. I especially enjoyed his casual presentation of the Comanche's speech, almost as if they were using modern slang. The art is very detailed, at times almost approaching photorealism. Jackson takes great pains to accurately depict historical figures from daguerreotypes. At times, it resembles the early black and white work of his contemporary, Richard Corben.

With all that said, there are certain parts that should appeal to the purely underground comic fan - Jackson's depictions of Quanah's mystic vision, his first experience with peyote, and his death resemble psychedelia straight out of Zap Comics. Great reading, fully educational, and very cool.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Days Of A Great People, March 27, 2006

By 

Notnadia (Currently upstairs.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comanche Moon (Paperback)

This is the finest and most intricate graphic book (not quite a novel) I've ever read. The illustrations reach levels of beauty and artistry seldom seen in this genre of storytelling. Comanche Moon (not to be confused with the Larry McMurtry novel of the same name) tells the end times history of the Comanche peoples, with emphasis on their great leader, Quanah Parker, and his mother, the "white Comanche" Cynthia Ann Parker. The story of the Comanche's' violent way of life, their struggles against the whites in Texas and across the Southwest, and of the brilliant leadership of Quanah Parker, are rendered in a way that provides as much meaningful information to a reader as most text-only tales of the Comanche and the brutal period of the mid-1800's thru the 1870's. This is a great (though often sad and bloody) segment of North American history, and this rapidly-paced, carefully produced graphic re-telling of it is a more than worthy read.