This is a different book review of sorts. I've attached a letter I sent to artist/writer/publisher, Kyle Baker regarding the new book, "Nat Turner". Here it is:
Hello Kyle,
I am a new admirer of your work. I bought Nat Turner #1 and was deeply moved by the horrifying images of kidnapping, murder and slavery. I was so struck by the brutality of the events portrayed that I had to take a minute or two to recover from what I'd just read. Slavery is a subject long forgotten by many and, unfortunately for most people, is vaguely remembered as a distant and terrible time in our history. Your book helped to remind us of the depths of disgrace that humanity had accepted and turned a blind eye towards for a long, long time. Every page moved me to think about my heart and my place in this world. The men and women who suffered through slavery had an incredible will to live. I can't even begin to imagine a life of being under the absolute subservience to one man or one family; to forego all rights to better serve another no matter how harsh the conditions or how enduring my station in life will be.
I am not African-American. I am a Filipino. There was a brief period in our history where we were under the Spanish rule. However, the books I've read and the stories I've heard about that time were not as terrible as the slavery of the African race. In some ways, I can't believe that this time ever even happened. The severe portrayal of the treatment of the African people hit home with even more impact as I searched the internet to see if Nat Turner truly existed. He did...and, sadly, so did the blindness and brutality to the human condition you have so powerfully portrayed in this book.
Today, there are men who can still take joy in manufacturing a life of sorrow for others; but, we can all learn from men like Nat Turner who stood up for what he believed to be right. He wanted freedom. He wanted his own life. He stirred up the hearts of others to at least try to stop the atrocity of slavery. While I don’t condone his methods for doing this, at least he did something about it. All of us can learn from his courage.
Kevin Agot
***
"Nat Turner" #1 should be on the racks of your nearest comic book dealer. You owe it to yourself to check it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment