Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author), Reginald Hudlin (Author), Kyle Baker (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Boondocks creator McGruder, filmmaker Hudlin and Why I Hate Saturn cartoonist Baker are a kind of dream team, and this work (drawn in Baker's animation-storyboard style) has a fairly hilarious premise. When the virtually all-black population of East St. Louis, Ill., is disenfranchised en masse in electoral shenanigans that result in a George W. Bush–like Texan governor being elected president, the impoverished city decides to secede from the U.S. Renaming itself "Blackland," the city becomes a wildly rich money-laundering capital. Baker is a gifted caricaturist—every facial expression and bit of body language he comes up with is funny—and the first two-thirds of the book is loaded with witty riffs (a national anthem to the tune of the Good Times theme; a fight over whether Tupac or Biggie should be on the nickel) and slyly ferocious jabs at institutional racism and a certain commander-in-chief. The final act, though, falls apart. The U.S. going to war with Blackland over a new alternative energy source should be a natural for comedy, but it bogs down in too-serious drama and a non sequitur battle. even McGruder and Hudlin's snappy dialogue loses steam. The work has the air of an unproduced film treatment—a terrific concept with some impressive talent behind it but not enough follow-through to make it completely satisfying.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

A Texas governor wins the presidency when some 1,000 blacks are barred from voting because of phony felony convictions, and the Supreme Court endorses that outcome. So the mayor of East St. Louis, home of the disfranchised, takes the famously poor, black-majority burg out of the union. With money from one old pal (now a billionaire) and the prowess of another (now a jet-fighter pilot) and administrative aid from the youthful New African People's Party and, heading the new nation's military, gang boss Roscoe, Mayor Fred Fredericks, first seen collecting trash in lieu of a bankrupt sanitation department, keeps pulling rabbits out of hats throughout an unpredictable, frequently hilarious satire reminiscent of the great 1940s moviemaker Preston Sturges' best stuff. In fact, film writer-director Reginald Hudlin brainstormed the story with The Boondocks comic strip creator McGruder as a prospective movie, turning, after big-fish producers failed to bite, to ace comics artist Kyle Baker for this graphic novel, which, despite screenplay origins that have been incompletely sanded down, remains highly entertaining. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (February 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400083168
• ISBN-13: 978-1400083169
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #227,563 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, July 20, 2004

By	R. Bland "the cold hand reaches for the old t... (va beach) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel (Hardcover)

Leading up to purchasing "Birth of a Nation" I was unsure about the direction the book would take. From the previews I read,(and the direction that "The Boondocks" has taken post 9/11) I was anticipating a heavy-handed, Michael Moore style beatdown of the Bush administration. Not that I am dissapprove of sticking it to GW (and his cabinet) at every opportunity. I just figured that this book be a case of preaching to the crowd.

Much to my delight, "Birth of a Nation" not only provides biting social satire, but a rich story line and vibrant characters. This reminds me why I started reading the boondocks in the first place and why McGruder was hailed as a wunderkind when he first entered the comic world. I don't think anyone slept on Bebe's Kids or the House party, but Hudlin has been doing it big for a while now. The brilliance of Mcgruder and Hudlin has to go alongside other prominent duos of our generation: EPMD, Outkast, Madvillain. I was not previously familiar with Kyle Baker's work, but his illustrations are definately on point. The style is similar to the way Bebe's Kids was drawn.(in case some were expecting The Boondocks' anime/manga style of illustration)

Not only putting the Bush administration of blast, "Birth Of a Nation" pokes fun at several areas of the Black community(generational gap, nationalism, materialism). I imagine that this book would be hard to follow if you are not immersed in Hip Hop culture. If you avoid rap music and Spike Lee movies this book might not be for you. Otherwise, if you enjoy Dave Chappelle, okayplayer.com, and Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism/Rap lists, I guarantee you will enjoy it.

Bonus points for finding

- find lyrics from Mobb Deep and Notorious BIG songs
-grown up versions Jazmine, Caesar, and Riley

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ain't we lucky we got it!, September 13, 2004

By	Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel (Hardcover)

What's the story behind the story? Well, movie director Reginald Hudlin and comic strip creator Aaron McGruder were hanging out together at the San Diego Comic Book Convention. They were trying to come up with an idea for a movie, when Hudlin suggested the idea of his hometown of East St. Louis seceding from the United States. They wrote a script based on that idea, but they couldn't get a movie studio to make the film. So, rather than just let the script sit on the shelf, they decided to turn it into a graphic novel. Rather than have McGruder draw it himself, they got the brilliant Kyle Baker to illustrate it. So, how is the final result? It's great, in my opinion. It's a very funny book with great movie storyboard style illustrations. No doubt it will seem funnier to a liberal than it would to a conservative. But anyone who enjoys Aaron McGruder's Boondocks comic strip should also enjoy this book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read Comic Commentary!, February 7, 2005

By	James Ellis III (Waldorf, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel (Hardcover)

Hilarious. Revolutionary. Fresh. Controversial. Honest. Prominent cartoonist Aaron McGruder and accomplished writer/director Reginald Hudlin collectively present a unique, creative brand of political and social satire in this comical commentary properly titled Birth of a Nation (Crown, $25). In the first few pages it's easy to see why these young brothas felt the need to fuse their talents together, in part, to takes shots at Black Entertainment Television (BET), President George W. Bush, Hip-Hop, and Bill Cosby, while presenting a quality storyline that exists as a critical analysis of the confusing events surrounding the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. Early-on in the narrative the fictional city of East St. Louis decides to secede from the United States and establish themselves as an independent nation known as "Blackland". Much like reality, the mayor turned president sells-out his newfound constituency for money, power, and sex. Need I say more?

Hudlin's writer/director credits include House Party, The Great White Hype, and Serving Sara. I'm a bit partial to McGruder's works, being that we are both alumni of the University of Maryland and fellow African American Studies majors. McGruder's most-heralded production to date, The Boondocks, a politically and culturally conscious comic strip with African American characters, first ran in the student newspaper at the University of Maryland, The Diamondback, and has since gone on to critical acclaim.

Birth of a Nation is inspired and based on the 1915 racist, silent film of the same name, whose White actors in black face played roles depicting Black men as savages, in order to continue perpetuating the classic Black male rapist myth. The superb illustrations and clever dialogue are guaranteed to keep you laughing, sometimes to keep from crying but mostly, because Birth of a Nation is so daggone funny!

This creation is definitely not meant to be a bedtime story for children. Nor is it for the faint of heart. The adult language and content are definitely for grown folks. Dr. Julia Hare once said, "In order to get something you've never had before you've got to be willing to do something that you've never done before." Birth of a Nation is about just that, encouraging the African American community to change for the better. A little introspection never hurt anyone ya'll and neither will the truthful perspective presented in Birth of a Nation.