King Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Ho Che Anderson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Comics artist Anderson has produced a grand, interpretive biography of Martin Luther King Jr. that seeks to probe the man, his accomplishments and America's racial dilemma. Powerfully cinematic, the work opens with a series of anonymous characters, the attestors, speaking of their personal attraction to, or disdain for, King. Then a short sequence focuses on four urban black communities, presenting a contemporary sampling of racial conflict and violence, before introducing King's childhood in Atlanta, Ga., in 1934. From there he plunges into King's life with a passion: graduate studies in liberal Boston; meeting Coretta; his collaboration with Ralph Abernathy; Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott; and the ever present physical danger. This first of a projected three-volume series ends with King's stabbing at a boycott in 1960. Anderson has produced a vividly complex portrait of a legendary American figure, detailing King's flaws--his woman-chasing and domineering personality--as well as his courage and moral vision. The stark black-and-white illustrations erupt from the page, perfectly capturing the visual force of a violent and heroic period in American history.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560971126
• ISBN-13: 978-1560971122
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,576,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Fantagraphics

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Minor Complaint, August 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: King Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This is a gripping, gutsy series with very good art. But the dialogue, which is typed, has some really awful errors in it. "it is now the time" instead of "it is not the time", "farmer slaves" instead of "former slaves", and, worst of all, "Catholics and protestors". The last occurrs in the famed "I Have a Dream" speech at the end of volume 2. It's such a glaring typo that it stops the reader dead and totally ruins the impact of the speech, and the entire second book. Did nobody bother to proofread this book before it was published? How could nobody notice that the climax of one of the most famous speeches of the last century was incorrectly transcribed?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling look at a great, but very human, man., August 30, 1997

By 

Kenneth Chisholm ([e-mail]) (London, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This book is a revealing documentary about one of the greatest men of the Twentieth Century, Martin Luther King. It essentially reveals that this man who is now seen as the Twentieth Century's equivalent of Abraham Lincoln was a man of foibles and some weaknesses and how much of his crusade still has to be won by us. And yet, the book does not take away the essential nobility of his fight, even though it was shown to be tougher than we remember. In fact, this book, by showing how King had flaws, emphasizes that we have ability to take up his cause and not be intimidated by the lionized image of this still great ma