Graphic Novels for Black History Month

Happy Black History month! It’s a time celebrate black heroes and their stories of a real of fantastical nature. This month, I bring to you some new titles of various genres that bring you these stories. Be sure to also check out the black history month display in the graphic novels section for more titles.

Abbott

From Boom! Studios comes the story of a reporter in Detroit during the 1970’s. Elena Abbott is looking for the truth when she finds more than she bargained for. I seriously love everything about this story. Elena is a powerful woman and LGBTQ+ to boot, the world building is phenomenal, and it’s a very timely story in a very personal setting for everyone from the Detroit area. It all comes together for a very entertaining supernatural story.

Hot Comb

Hot Comb is a collection of short stories portraying the life of black women’s lives through the lens of their hair and visits to the salon. Many of the stores are coming of age stories and show the pressures of transitioning from childhood to adulthood and finding one’s place in the world. I think this collection of stories will speak to many on different levels as a woman’s relationship with her hair can be a source of both pride and pain.

Kindred

This is a 3 times award winning graphic adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Sci-Fi classic Kindred. Dana, a young black writer, is stolen from her time in 1970’s California to a plantation in Maryland during the 19th century. Though she doesn’t understand how she got there, she quickly realizes that she is there to deal with the troubles of Rufus, the white slave owner of the plantation and her ancestor.

Though I have not had the chance to read this yet, I am very excited to. The story seems to have translated well to the change in format from book to graphic novel and seeing the many themes and issues this story brings up in color illustrations is striking to say the least.

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