Nat Turner [Paperback]

Kyle Baker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2008

The story of Nat Turner and his slave rebellion—which began on August 21, 1831, in Southampton County, Virginia—is known among school children and adults. To some he is a hero, a symbol of Black resistance and a precursor to the civil rights movement; to others he is monster—a murderer whose name is never uttered.

In Nat Turner, acclaimed author and illustrator Kyle Baker depicts the evils of slavery in this moving and historically accurate story of Nat Turner’s slave rebellion. Told nearly wordlessly, every image resonates with the reader as the brutal story unfolds.

This graphic novel collects all four issues of Kyle Baker’s critically acclaimed miniseries together for the first time in hardcover and paperback. The book also includes a new afterword by Baker.

“A hauntingly beautiful historical spotlight. A-” —Entertainment Weekly

“Baker’s storytelling is magnificent.” —Variety

“Intricately expressive faces and trenchant dramatic pacing evoke the diabolic slave trade’s real horrors.” —The Washington Post

“Baker’s drawings are worthy of a critic’s attention.”—Los Angeles Times

“Baker’s suspenseful and violent work documents the slave trade’s atrocities as no textbook can, with an emotional power approaching that of Maus.”—Library Journal, starred review

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up—Originally self-published in four installments, Nat Turner follows the dark legacy of the Virginia slave rebellion and subsequent murders of at least 55 white slave owners and their families in 1831. Baker presents a cinematic reel that integrates beautiful sepia-toned panels, newspaper headlines in period font, photographs, and historical texts; most heavily drawn from is the recorded Confessions of Nat Turner. The book begins with the brutal capture, mistreatment, and direct and indirect murder of native Africans by white fortune seekers, with disturbing detail such as the sharks following slave ships for the plentiful corpses thrown overboard. These images, as described by a young Turner to his astonished first-generation relatives, were apparently some of the first in a number of "visions" that the staunchly religious man experienced throughout his short life. Turner is presented as a fiercely intelligent, angry, yet steadfast individual whose potential was dashed in an era of hate and inhumanity. Those characteristics are mirrored in the actions of the slaves' rebellion, in illustrations that are not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach. The ideas brought forth here are sure to ignite debate and discussion, and this book would be a most interesting companion to other studies of antebellum history such as Edward P. Jones's The Known World (HarperCollins, 2003).—Shannon Peterson, Kitsap Regional Library, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Kyle Baker—writer, artist, animator, director, and publisher—has written and illustrated thirteen graphic novels and won multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Esquire, Spin, Rolling Stone, The Voice, EW, and Details, and he has worked for Disney, Warner Bros., HBO, Dreamworks, Cartoon Network, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Random House, Nickelodeon, and Scholastic. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Abrams (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810972271
• ISBN-13: 978-0810972278
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, important, July 8, 2008

By 

Rob O "destruktolux" (AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nat Turner (Paperback)

This is easily one of the most stunning graphic novels of the past decade, and Baker might just be one of the most important graphic novelists around now. The book is virtually wordless, except for minimal sound effects and dialog, along with historical source notes. Baker doesn't ignore the violence of his source material, but his portrayal of one of the most controversial moments in the history of slavery in America is safe enough for even very young readers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An astonishing experience, July 6, 2009

By 

Jeremiah M. Bear "Jeremy Bear" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nat Turner (Paperback)

For Kyle Baker, Nat Turner represents a new era of depth and artistic vision. Before, there was no cartoonist wittier but now Baker has taken his talents another step forward by producing one of the most moving graphic novels in print.

I imagine there's a temptation to take an historic event this dramatic, one that starts and ends with heart-rending horror, and tie it up neatly with a cute moral or explanation. Thankfully, Baker offers neither and allows us to think for ourselves about the events described.

From a technical standpoint, the book is a marvel. A massive, moving work told almost completely without dialogue... a technique that enhances the mood rather than squelching it.

Thanks, Kyle, for Nat Turner. The bar has been raised in biographical cartooning.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Painful but important, April 18, 2010

By 

Sharon M. Galbraith Ryer "Sharon GR" (Hightstown, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nat Turner (Paperback)

Not for the squeamish. Baker's art is graphic and pulls no punches. The brutality inherent in the Turner uprising, as well as in the conditions that led to it, are brilliantly and painfully depicted with few words other than Turner's own. A haunting portrait of the hate that hate built in the American South.