Check out a wide range of graphic novels by Black creators and about Black lives, featuring history, biographies, super heroes, and more!
History, Biographies, & Memoirs
Author Alverne Ball and illustrator Stacey Robinson have crafted a love letter to Greenwood, Oklahoma. Also known as Black Wall Street, Greenwood was a community whose importance is often overshadowed by the atrocious massacre that took place there in 1921. Across the Tracks introduces the reader to the businesses and townsfolk who flourished in this unprecedented time of prosperity for Black Americans. We learn about Greenwood and why it is essential to remember the great achievements of the community as well as the tragedy which nearly erased it. However, Ball is careful to recount the eventual recovery of Greenwood.
The life and legends of Charlie Parker, told through the perspectives of those who knew him: a brother, a fellow artist, a photographer, a lover, a student, and a record store owner.
A historical graphic novel inspired by the life of Harlem's legendary mobster, Stephanie Saint-Clair, that tackles the themes of colonization, corruption, police violence, and racial identity, but above all, celebrates the genius of a woman forgotten by history.
She is Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter, a free-spirited baroness of the Rothschild family. He is Thelonious Sphere Monk, a musical genius fighting against the whims of his troubled mind. Their enduring friendship begins in 1954 and ends only with Monk's death in 1982. Set against the backdrop of New York during the heyday of jazz, Monk! explores the rare alchemy between two brilliant beings separated by an ocean of social status, race, and culture, but united by an infinite love of music.
Writer Ted Fox and artist James Otis Smith bring to life Harlem's legendary theater in this graphic novel adaptation of Fox's definitive, critically acclaimed history of the Apollo.
Fights is the visceral and deeply affecting memoir of artist/author Joel Christian Gill, chronicling his youth and coming of age as a Black child in a chaotic landscape of rough city streets and foreboding backwoods. Propelled into a world filled with uncertainty and desperation, young Joel is pushed toward using violence to solve his problems by everything and everyone around him. But fighting doesn't always yield the best results for a confused and sensitive kid who yearns for a better, more fulfilling life than the one he was born into, as Joel learns in a series of brutal conflicts that eventually lead him to question everything he has learned about what it truly means to fight for one's life.
The American boxing champion Emile Griffith gained notoriety in 1962 when he brutally defeated the Cuban fighter Benny Paret. Ten days after the fight, Paret, who had directed a homophobic slur at Griffith during the weigh-in, died from his injuries. In Knock Out!, Reinhard Kleist draws a powerful, emotive portrait of a bisexual Afro-Caribbean-American athlete who, facing racism and homophobia in 1960s America, found success in the world of boxing. It's the story of a fierce and ambitious fighter, and of a knockout blow that ended one life and changed a second forever.
On the morning of July 4, 1910, thousands of boxing fans stormed a newly built stadium in Reno, Nevada, to witness an epic showdown. Jack Johnson, the world's first Black heavyweight champion--and most infamous athlete in the world because of his race--was paired against Jim Jeffries, a former heavyweight champion then heralded as the "great white hope." Transporting readers directly into the ring, artist Youssef Daoudi and poet Adrian Matejka intersperse dramatic boxing action with vivid flashbacks to reveal how Johnson, the self-educated son of formerly enslaved parents, reached the pinnacle of sport--all while facing down a racist justice system.
Part graphic novel, part memoir, Wake is an imaginative tour-de-force that tells the "powerful" (The New York Times Book Review) story of women-led slave revolts and chronicles scholar Rebecca Hall's efforts to uncover the truth about these women warriors who, until now, have been left out of the historical record. Ebook
Monumental tells, for the first time, the incredible story of Oscar James Dunn, a New Orleanian born into slavery who became America's first Black lieutenant governor and acting governor. A champion of universal suffrage, civil rights, and integrated public schools, Dunn fought for radical change during the early years of Reconstruction in Louisiana, a post-Civil War era rife with corruption, subterfuge, and violence.
March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Continued in March. Book Two, March. Book Three., and Run. Ebook
Billie Holiday, one of the greatest jazz singers of all time, had a troubled life: a childhood in poverty, brothels, jail, broken love, and a dependence on alcohol and heroin. Her first performances in the night clubs of prohibitionist America was where her pioneering vocal style was born--later to become a lasting influence on jazz, pop, and modern music to this day. Performing with jazz legends such as Lester Young, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Artie Shaw, she became a true American icon. This graphic novel, told through short biographical fragments, is the story of Lady Day.
The first-ever graphic biography of Paul Robeson charts Robeson's career as a singer, actor, scholar, athlete, and activist who achieved global fame. Through his films, concerts, and records, he became a potent symbol representing the promise of a multicultural, multiracial American democracy at a time when, despite his stardom, he was denied personal access to his many audiences.
In the summer of 1971, New York's Attica State Prison is a symbol of everything broken in America -- abused prisoners, rampant racism and a blind eye turned towards the injustices perpetrated against the powerless. But when the guards at Attica overreact to a minor incident, the prisoners decide they've had enough and revolt -- taking their jailers hostage and making demands for humane conditions.
A groundbreaking and timely graphic memoir from one of the most iconic figures in American sports-and a tribute to his fight for civil rights. Ebook
A formative coming-of-age graphic memoir by the creator of Afro-punk: a young man's immersive reckoning with identity, racism, clumsy teen love and belonging in an isolated California desert, and a search for salvation and community through punk.
The dazzling, provocative work of Jean-Michel Basquiat would come to define the vibrant New York art scene of the late '70s and early '80s. Punk, jazz, graffiti, hip-hop: his work drew heavily on the cultural trappings of Lower Manhattan, to which he fled (from Brooklyn) at the age of 15. Writer Julian Voloj and illustrator Søren Glosimodt Mosda capture the dramatic life and exhilarating times of this archetypal New York artist, covering everything from the SAMO project to his first solo show, from his early meetings with Andy Warhol to the development of the addiction that would eventually cost him his life.
Founded in Oakland, California, in 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was a radical political organization that stood in defiant contrast to the mainstream civil rights movement. This gripping illustrated history explores the impact and significance of the Panthers, from their social, educational, and healthcare programs that were designed to uplift the Black community to their battle against police brutality through citizen patrols and frequent clashes with the FBI, which targeted the Party from its outset.
Rachel Marie-Crane Williams delivers a graphic retelling of the racism and tension leading up to the violence of the summer of 1943, when a wave of destructive and deadly civil unrest took place in the streets of Detroit. By incorporating firsthand accounts collected by the NAACP and telling them through a combination of hand-drawn images, historical dialogue, and narration, Williams makes the history and impact of these events immediate, and in showing us what happened, she reminds us that many issues of the time--police brutality, state-sponsored oppression, economic disparity, white supremacy--plague our country to this day.
In this candid but sensitive portrait of Eugene Bullard, the first African American fighter pilot, author Ronald Wimberly balances the personal and the historical to interrogate concepts of cynicism, idealism, fear, glory, and the pervasiveness of anti-Black racism.
Fiction
More than 35 years after its release, Kindred continues to draw in new readers with its deep exploration of the violence and loss of humanity caused by slavery in the United States, and its complex and lasting impact on the present day. Adapted by celebrated academics and comics artists Damian Duffy and John Jennings, this graphic novel powerfully renders Butler's mysterious and moving story, which spans racial and gender divides in the antebellum South through the 20th century. Butler's most celebrated, critically acclaimed work tells the story of Dana, a young black woman who is suddenly and inexplicably transported from her home in 1970s California to the pre-Civil War South.
Once a thriving working class neighborhood on Chicago's south side, the "Bottomyards" is now the definition of urban blight. When an aspiring fashion designer named Darla and her image-obsessed friend, Cynthia, descend upon the neighborhood in search of cheap rent, they soon discover something far more seductive and sinister lurking behind the walls of their new home.
Aisha, a young Black girl, has lost her parents to a car crush. She moves in with her grandmother, but the old woman is dying. The grandmother summons a spirit that has protected their family and asks it to watch over Aisha. At first, it seems as though the spirit, the Keeper, is doing what the grandmother asked. But soon it begins stealing life from others, becoming an uncontrollable monster.
In INFINITUM, King Aja Ọba and Queen Lewa are revered across the African continent for their impressive political and military skills. Yet the future of their kingdom is in jeopardy, for the royal couple do not have an heir of their own. When the King kidnaps his son born to a concubine, Obinrin, she curses Ọba with the "gift" of immortality. After enjoying long, wonderful lives both, Queen Lewa and the crown prince die naturally, leaving the ageless bereaved King Ọba heartbroken and alone. Taking advantage of Ọbas vulnerability, enemy nations rise to power and kill the king - or so they think.
Hot Comb offers a poignant glimpse into Black women's lives and coming of age stories as seen across a crowded, ammonia-scented hair salon while ladies gossip and bond over the burn. The titular story "Hot Comb" is about a young girl's first perm--a doomed ploy to look cool and to stop seeming "too white" in the all-black neighborhood her family has just moved to. In "Virgin Hair" taunts of "tender-headed" sting as much as the perm itself. It's a scenario that repeats fifteen years later as an adult when, tired of the maintenance, Flowers shaves her head only to be hurled new put-downs. Realizations about race, class, and the imperfections of identity swirl through Flowers' stories and ads, which are by turns sweet, insightful, and heartbreaking.
When Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray met at church bingo in 1963, it was love at first sight. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid-'60s, Hazel and Mari reunite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage.
For fifty years the women of the Banks family have been the most successful thieves in Chicago by following one simple rule: never get greedy. But when the youngest Banks stumbles upon the heist of a lifetime, the potential windfall may be enough to bring three generations of thieves together for one incredible score and the chance to avenge a loved one taken too soon.
Follow the journey of two young adults, Joshua and Claire, each individually shaped by the day the sky went dark, but drawn to each other because of it. Coming of age in this new landscape, they will be forced to confront and challenge notions of identity, guilt, and survival as the darkness grows around them. When fear threatens to envelop all hope they have left, the two discover that love, family, and finding the true light in a world seemingly robbed of any, will guide their way forward. Ebook
Former FBI agent Richard Wright is a white-passing African-American FBI agent offered a chance to right the wrongs of his past as his old mentor sends him deep undercover to infiltrate a radical and dangerous white supremacist group believed to be responsible for the death of a fellow agent. For Richard, this is his last shot to turn his life around. With the ghosts of the past constantly reminding him of the man he once was, he will have to not only find the redemption he seeks in the eyes of others, but within himself.
When Black graduate student Lyndsey begins her dissertation work on a mysterious box that pops up during the most violent and troubled time in Africana history, she has no idea that her research will lead her on a phantasmagorical journey from West Philadelphia riots to Haitian slave uprisings. Wherever Lyndsey finds someone who has seen the Box, chaos ensues. Soon, even her own sanity falls into question. In the end, Lyndsey will have to decide if she really wants to see what's inside the Box of Bones.
Zane Pinchback, a reporter for the New York-based New Holland Herald, is sent to investigate the arrest of his own brother, charged with the brutal murder of a white woman in Mississippi. With a lynch mob already swarming, Zane must stay 'incognegro' long enough to uncover the truth behind the murder in order to save his brother - and himself. Suspenseful, unsettling and relevant, Incognegro is a tense graphic novel of shifting identities, forbidden passions, and secrets that run far deeper than skin colour.
From award-winning novelist Victor LaValle and illustrator Dietrich Smith comes an intense, unflinching story exploring the legacies of love, loss, and vengeance placed firmly in the tense atmosphere and current events of the modern-day United States. When the last descendant of the Frankenstein family loses her only son to a police shooting, she turns to science for her own justice, putting her on a crash course with her family's original monster and his quest to eliminate humanity.
A young girl, Eve, raised in a virtual reality, embarks on a deadly cross-country quest to save her father... and the dying planet. She's accompanied by Wexler, her robotic caretaker and protector, sheathed in her favorite teddy bear.
This scathingly hilarious political satire—produced from a collaboration of three of our funniest humorists—answers the burning question: Would anyone care if East St. Louis seceded from the Union?
After the Rain is a graphic novel adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor's short story "On the Road." The drama takes place in a small Nigerian town during a violent and unexpected storm. A Nigerian-American woman named Chioma answers a knock at her door and is horrified to see a boy with a severe head wound standing at her doorstep. He reaches for her, and his touch burns like fire. Something is very wrong. Haunted and hunted, Chioma must embrace her heritage in order to survive.
In an alternate world where aliens have integrated with society, pregnant Nigerian-American doctor Future Nwafor Chukwuebuka has just smuggled an illegal alien plant named Letme Live through LaGuardia International and Interstellar Airport... and that's not the only thing she's hiding. She and Letme become part of a community of human and alien immigrants; but as their crusade for equality continues and the birth of her child nears, Future -- and her entire world -- begins to change. Ebook
In a world that already hates and fears them - what if only Black people had superpowers? After miraculously surviving being gunned down by police, a young man learns that he is part of the biggest lie in history. Now he must decide whether it's safer to keep it a secret or if the truth will set him free.
A collection of culturally charged comics by cartoonist Ben Passmore. Passmore masterfully tackles comics about race, gentrification, the prison system, online dating, gross punks, bad street art, kung fu movie references, beating up God, and lots of other grown-up stuff with refreshing doses of humor and lived relatability.
A coming of age story that tells the story of two queer teenagers as they run away from their lives in a bigoted small town, and attempt to make their way to California. Along the way their car breaks down and they join up with a group of fellow misfits on the road. Embarking together in a van traveling the country they party and attempt to find themselves. And then something happens...
From writer Jamila Rowser and artist Robyn Smith comes a captivating graphic novel love letter to the beauty and endurance of Black women, their friendships, and their hair. Ebook
Spencer Dales was born into a world of magic. His father belongs to the Aegis, a secret society of black magicians ordered by their unseen masters to better the lives of others-of higher potential-but never themselves. Now it's time for Spencer to follow in his father's footsteps, but all he sees is a broken system in need of someone with the wand and the will to change it. But in this fight for a better future...who will stand beside him?
In the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance is in full swing, and only the Sangerye Family, once known as the greatest monster hunters of all time, can save New York -- and the world -- from the supernatural forces threatening to destroy humanity. But those days are fading and the once-great family that specialized in curing the souls of those infected by racism and hate has been torn apart by tragedies and conflicting moral codes. A terrible tragedy has claimed most of the family, leaving the surviving cousins divided between by the desire to cure monsters or to kill them; they must heal the wounds of the past and move beyond their differences ... or sit back and watch a force of unimaginable evil ravage the human race.
DC & Marvel
A new era begins for the Black Panther! MacArthur Genius and National Book Award-winning writer T-Nehisi Coates takes the helm, confronting T'Challa with a dramatic upheaval in Wakanda that will make leading the African nation tougher than ever before. When a superhuman terrorist group that calls itself The People sparks a violent uprising, the land famed for its incredible technology and proud warrior traditions will be thrown into turmoil. If Wakanda is to survive, it must adapt--but can its monarch, one in a long line of Black Panthers, survive the necessary change? Heavy lies the head that wears the cowl!
It's winter in America! For over 70 years, Captain America has stood in stalwart defense of our country and its people. But in the aftermath of Hydra's takeover of the nation, Cap is a figure of controversy, carrying a tarnished shield...and a new enemy is rising! Who are they? And how do they intend to co-opt and corrupt the symbol that is Captain America? Distrusted by a nation that seems to have lost faith in him, Steve Rogers is a man out of time - and out of options! Where can a now-unsanctioned Captain America turn for aid and assistance in order to stem the rise of the cabal of influence brokers known as the Power Elite? Join acclaimed BLACK PANTHER scribe Ta-Nehisi Coates for the next chapter of Captain America's life!
For the past six months, newly chosen Green Lantern Sojourner "Jo" Mullein has been protecting the City Enduring, a massive metropolis of 20 billion people. The city has maintained peace for over 500 years by stripping its citizens of their ability to feel. As a result, violent crime is virtually unheard of, and murder is nonexistent. But that's all about to change in this new graphic novel that gives a DC's Young Animal spin to the legacy of the Green Lanterns!
The island nation of Krakoa has ushered in a bright new era for mutantkind -- paradise after years of persecution. But even mutants must deal with monsters in their midst, and Victor Creed is perhaps the worst. One of the first acts of the Krakoan Quiet Council was to exile the savage Sabretooth to the pit beneath Krakoa, locked away in an endless darkness for his countless crimes against both mutants and humans. Now, you're about to find out what Sabretooth has been up to since he was banished...and it's not what you expect!
Unforgettable stories starring DC's greatest super heroes written by Dwayne McDuffie, the co-creator of the Emmy Award winning television series STATIC SHOCK and of Milestone Media, the most successful black-owned comic book company in history!
Nubia has always been a little bit...different. As a baby she showcased Amazonian-like strength by pushing over a tree to rescue her neighbor's cat. But despite her having similar abilities, the world has no problem telling her that she's no Wonder Woman. And even if she were, they wouldn't want her. Every time she comes to the rescue, she's reminded of how people see her: as a threat. Her moms do their best to keep her safe, but Nubia can't deny the fire within her, even if she's a little awkward about it sometimes. Even if it means people assume the worst. When Nubia's best friend, Quisha, is threatened by a boy who thinks he owns the town, Nubia will risk it all--her safety, her home, and her crush on that cute kid in English class--to become the hero society tells her she isn't.
Renowned storyteller Walter Mosley brings his signature style to a sweeping saga of Yancy Street's favourite son, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing - one that will range from the urban sprawl of Manhattan's back alleys to the farthest reaches of the cosmos! A lonely evening and a chance encounter (or is it?) sends Ben Grimm embarking on an unexpected sojourn - where he must battle foes both old and new! But as the Thing fights and fights to rescue his newfound love, Amaryllis, from the seemingly unstoppable Brusque, there's more going on than meets the eye! Featuring characters drawn from all throughout the Marvel Universe, 'The Next Big Thing' is here to remind audiences why the Thing is one of the most popular and beloved characters in the history of comics!
The world fell in love with her in the movie. Now, the Black Panther's techno-genius sister launches her own adventures - written by best-selling Afrofuturist author Nnedi Okorafor and drawn by Eisner-nominated artist Leonardo Romero! The Black Panther has disappeared, lost on a mission in space. And in his absence, everyone's looking at the next in line for the throne. But Shuri is happiest in a lab, surrounded by gadgets of her own creation. She'd rather be testing gauntlets than throwing them. But a nation without a leader is a vulnerable one - and Shuri may have to choose between Wakanda's welfare and her own.
When Arnim Zola launches a catastrophic attack on New York City, he meets his match -- in two Captain Americas! A brand new era of shield-slinging begins...but for the senior Cap, a shocking secret about his iconic weapon will change the way Steve Rogers views the 20th century he came from...and how he chooses to fight in the 21st! Steve follows a trail of coded breadcrumbs to Germany in pursuit of an elusive organization making bold and deadly moves, while Bucky Barnes' own investigation leads him to the high rollers tables in Madripoor. Thousands of miles apart with no backup, will Steve and Bucky find what they're looking for, or are they both in over their heads? Featuring the shocking return of the Dryad herself...Peggy Carter!
Black Panther reinvented as a sharp and witty political satire? Believe it! T'Challa is the man with the plan, as Christopher Priest puts the emphasis on the Wakandan king's reputation as the ultimate statesman, as seen through the eyes of the U.S. government's Everett K. Ross. As the Panther investigates a murder in New York, Ross plays Devil's Advocate in an encounter with Mephisto, and a new regime seizes control in Wakanda. COLLECTING Black Panther (1998) 1-17
LIGHT THE BAT-SIGNAL! Legendary screenwriter John Ridley takes over Gotham in a new way! Writing the world's most popular superhero, Batman, Ridley brings his expertise to the DC pages!
Jackson Hyde finally has it all. Mentors who support him, a community that loves him, an honest relationship with his mother, a cute new guy in Amnesty Bay who's caught his eye, and access to Aquaman's private training facility in Atlantis. Well, he had it all--until that training facility and half of the Atlantean palace got blown to kingdom come with Jackson in them. Now Jackson stands accused of wrecking the life he worked so hard to build. Aqualad's going to need all of his skills, wit, and cunning just to prove his own innocence, let alone graduate from sidekick to Aquaman!
The man who made Luke Cage into the unbreakable hero he is today, Dr. Noah Burstein, is dead. But when Luke heads to New Orleans for the funeral, it turns out that there may be more to his father figure's death than he realized. Shady billionaires, amped-up gangs, and a shadowy figure from his past propel Luke into a world of mystery. The hunt he begins may end up destroying him...but when Cage is looking for answers, it's a bad day for anyone in his way!
After the events of Trial of the Amazons, a new era for these warriors has dawned. Amazons from around the world have come to Themyscira to witness history and the crowning of their new leader. She stood between Man's World and the dangers of Doom's Doorway for centuries; when she was called upon to serve her people, she stood strong and clear-eyed, unafraid to look certain death in the face; she has united peoples on the brink of war.
Classic Comics
A seasoned cartoonist of epic proportions, Brandon-Croft carves out space for Black women's perspectives in her nationally syndicated strip.
Meet Bungleton Green--an anti-racist time traveler and the first-ever Black superhero, created more than a decade before characters such as Black Panther and Falcon.
Years before he wrote his National Book Award-winning novel Middle Passage,Charles Johnson created these sidesplitting and subversive gag comics about Black life in America, now collected for the first time in nearly half a century.
For the first time ever, the classic newspaper color comic strip created by James D. "Jim" Lawrence (of Buck Rogers and James Bond fame) and illustrated by Jorge "Jordi" Longarón then later Gray Morrow is collected. The strip ran from 1974-1970 and inspired the 1975 movie of the same name starring Pam Grier. The strip is the first mainstream comic strip starring an African-American character in the title role.
Collects cartoon strips about Huey and Riley, two African-American boys transported from Chicago to a very white suburban town to live with their grandfather, providing a caustically humorous portrait of the American racial and political landscape.