Strange Fruit, Volume I

Posted on 09 January 2017 by Joel Christian Gill

Strange Fruit, Volume I is a collection of stories from African American history that exemplifies success in the face of great adversity This unique graphic anthology offers historical and cultural commentary on nine uncelebrated heroes whose stories are not often found in history books Among the stories included are Henry Box Brown, who escaped from slavery by mailing himself to Philadelphia Alexander Crummel and the Noyes Academy, the first integrated school in America, established in the 1830s Marshall Major Taylor, a.k.a the Black Cyclone, the first black champion in any sport and Bass Reeves, the most successful lawman in the Old West Written and illustrated by Joel Christian Gill, the diverse art beautifully captures the spirit of each remarkable individual and opens a window into an important part of American history. Free Read Books Strange Fruit, Volume I Author Joel Christian Gill – kino-fada.fr Most people are struck by the title Strange Fruit It brings back horrific memories of America s sordid past But Gill is not focused on that narrative His purpose is to uplift those that rose in the face of oppression and were able to cut the rope that lynched them Told in vignettes that celebrate unsung heroes of times past, Strange Fruit is a compilation of graphic stories fit for the entire family I used this book as bedtime stories for my children Before I knew it my husband was drift Most people are struck by the title Strange Fruit It brings back horrific memories of America s sordid past But Gill is not focused on that narrative His purpose is to uplift those that rose in the face of oppression and were able to cut the rope that lynched them Told in vignettes that celebrate unsung heroes of times past, Strange Fruit is a compilation of graphic stories fit for the entire family I used this book as bedtime stories for my children Before I knew it my husband was drifting in and out of the room listening in As a family we are looking forward to sharingof Joel Christian Gill s work Joel Christian GillAre there are any carmel colored indigenous tribes in West Africa Probably not There are, however, countless accounts of the wholesale rape and torture of black women That means for black people the very violence that is embedded in American h...Where do I start Honestly, I saw the cover a few times here and there on a few blogs very few but did not think anything of it at all The title was a bit of a turn off and I had not a clue to what was behind the cover Why was I put off by the title Well as a Black woman the phrase Strange Fruit coined by a poem Billie Holiday sang brings the worst feelings from seeing pictures of Blacks who were hung from trees Needless to say, I thought this book would be a downer But when I saw th Where do I start Honestly, I saw the cover a few times here and there on a few blogs very few but did not think anything of it at all The title was a bit of a turn off and I had not a clue to what was behind the cover Why was I put off by the title Well as a Black woman the phrase Strange Fruit coined by a poem Billie Holiday sang brings the worst feelings from seeing pictures of Blacks who were hung from trees Needless to s...I stumbled upon this hidden gem while doing the Read Harder challenge The task was to read a non super hero comic that debuted in the last year I was pleasantly surprised and pleased that someone recommended this book and that my library had an e book copy to lend Though I think oddly titled, the int...If he d featured uncelebrated women of color, this book would ve gotten the full five stars.I genuinely hope volume 2 will be for the women.This is so wonderful So many of the stories I had to hide behind my computer screen in case my coworker saw me tearing up At the same time, there s humor, and heart The subject of Jim Crow is done in such a glorious way, an evil flock of crows coming after people Two Letters was my favorite Both the story, and the style It probably did the most damage If he d featured uncelebrated women of color, this book would ve gotten the full five stars.I genuinely hope volume 2 will be for the women.This is so wonderful So many of the stories I had to hide behind my computer screen in case my coworker saw me tearing up At the same time, there s humor, and heart The subject of Jim Crow is done in such a glorious way, an evil flock of crows coming after people Two Letters was my favorite Both the story, and the style It probably did the mo...Fantastic The biographies are very well written It took a few pages for the art to grow on me, but by the time I finished the book I loved it And the people that Gill chose to include are somewhat unusual and obscure, as well as being incre...I really wish the illustrations on the inside matched the illustration on the cover Based on that cover, I expected something adjacent to Rick Geary s style instead, this reminded me of Trickster Native American Tales and District Comics in style, as well as form.This is a collection of underexposed nonfiction stories about Black Americans We meet Henry Box Brown, the first known black magician, a black cyclist, andandThese stories absolutely need to be told.Personally, I really wish the illustrations on the inside matched the illustration on the cover Based on that ...Like Nate Powell s March series, this is a historical work focusing on African Americans, few of whom I knew about at all The stories are about told in much depth, but they are of essentially unknown uncelebrated, as he says people vs., say, the well known Sen John Lewis, featured in The March, Lewis s first person story but the stories are often compelling and worth retelling, such as Henry Box Brown who mailed himself in a box to freedom, and lived to write a book about it Or Henry Like Nate Powell s March series, this is a historical work focusing on African Americans, few of whom I knew ab...Joel Christian Gill s Strange Fruit Uncelebrated Narratives From Black History Fulcrum can be called many things The paneled graphic storytelling suggests comic book the real life characters and subjects say history book the simplified facial expressions and boxy drawing technique imply children s book or educational tool And it does qualify as all those things But what Gill has done in this first volume of his collected Strange Fruit mini comics is pretty remarkable He s infuse Joel Christian Gill s Strange Fruit Uncelebrated Narratives From Black History Fulcrum can be called many things The paneled graphic storytelling suggests comic book the real life characters and subjects say history book the simplified facial expressions and boxy drawing technique imply children s book or educational tool And it does qualify as all those things But what Gill has done in this first volume of his collected Strange Fruit mini comics is pretty remarkable He s infused each of these stories with a huge amount of information humor for kid readers Slavery stinks humor for adults when a child is born it appears to be launched out of the mother by jet propulsion, making the umbilical cord not unlike a bungee cord and a full spectrum of comics storytelling devices For example, Jim Crow is actually embodied by a huge b...This book could have done so muchThe stories were too short and simple I think, judging by the tone and humor, that the intended audience tween could have handleddepth It s conspicuously marked as Volume 1 so I don t think a space argument holds water At first I was annoyed by each story starting with a dictionary definition a tired literary device, and annoying to be repeated every five pages but then the author drops it about h...I was really excited to be inspired by lesser known true stories of Black history and really enjoyed the art although at times a bit too comic strip like, the manifestation of Jim Crow strikes terror and short stories until I came to the depiction of stereotyped Native Americans speaking in pictographs C mon, he has to have a reason for this blatant inaccuracy , I thought to myself He even mentions them in a note and a bibliography, but this only makes it worse by acknowledging his choice o I was really excited to be inspired by lesser known true stories of Black history and really enjoyed the art although at times a bit too comic strip like, the manifestation of Jim Crow strikes terror and short stories until I came to the depiction of stereotyped Native Americans speaking in pictographs C mon, he has to have a reason for t...

09 January 2017

Joel Christian Gill