Incognegro

The graphic novel format of this very serious story makes an important piece of American history accessible to high school students. I have had students pick it up because they're intrigued by the drawings and read it through for the gripping plot. Highly recommended.

"Incognegro" is a fictionalized account of light-skinned African American who uses his ability to "pass" as white to investigate lynchings in the early years of the 20th century. Leaving teh comfort of Harlem in its renaiisance days, he travels to the south where he encounters the bigotry and casual lawlessness that have landed his own dark-skinned brother in jail. Along the way he runs into Klansmen, inbred whites, hard-bitten newspaper editors and country blacks trying to keep their heads down among the turmoil. The tale is neat, fast-paced and ties up neatly at the end. Interested readers should look up the real life Walter White, who used his light skin to investigate lynchings. Gripping and gritty, probably fit (due to lots of race-oriented language) for mid- to late teens and up.

Passing is a subject that I think about alot. I wonder what those who decide to do pass think of? Matt Johnson is an amazing writing . I love the story and Zane is sharp and witty. I hope that he writes more graphic novels and I hope that everyone reads this. Don't forget the past.

This book is well worth the purchase price. It succeeds as a noir murder mystery, social commentary, and as an indictment of social mores. This story is disturbingly, intuitively realistic in its portrayal of upscale Black life (the title character is a reporter for a Black newspaper) - which at the time had certain humiliatingly rigid similarities with Black life no matter the class, educational background, or economic station. The artwork in this tome is chillingly perfect for the tale told. Interestingly, there seem to be some direct parallels between the era portrayed in this riveting novel, and present-day American society, which the author subtly draws, as his story-telling prowess is displayed to good end in this great graphic novel. This book is a must-buy, must-read, must-share, must talk-about; for Americans of all walks!

I've been waiting to read this ever since I first saw it on the solicits. And often when you are waiting for something for a while, most of the time, you find yourself disappointed by the final product. This is not so in this case. Incognegro is an exploration of racial identity and tension set in the 1930's. The main character is Zen Pinchback, a journalist who has a syndicated weekly column. Zen is also a Black man who is "light-skinned" enough to pass as White and does investigative reportings on lynchings in the deep South that usually went unreported. The main plot is that Zen's brother, Alonzo has been accused of murdering a White girl and according to Southern justice, he's all set to be lynched. Now, it is up to Zen to try and save him. I am not going to reveal the ending of the story. The story is well-paced and is layered with twists and turns. The author Mat Johnson, based this story somewhat on his own experience. He stated in the intro of the book that he too has the physical similarities that Zen possesses and growing up in a mainly Black neighborhood, he felt out of place. So, he used to invent and "incognegro" identity for himself and pretend he was a spy in the war against White Supremacists. The story is also inspired by former head of the NAACP, Walter White who also did his own "incognegro" investigations. Johnson doesn't restrict his story to dealing with racial identities but instead deals with identities as a whole. It is a very well-crafted story and will stay with you long after you have finished reading the book. Warren Fleece's art is done entirely in black & white (what else?) and suites the story well. It's not grandoise in any scale but complements the story perfectly well. He is also adapt at capturing the different facial expressions that too many of today's artists seem to sacrifice in the favor of style. A great read and highly recommended.