Title: The Life of Frederick Douglass: A Graphic Narrative of a Slave’s Journey from Bondage to Freedom
Author: David F. Walker
Copyright: January 8, 2019
Genre: non-fiction, history, biography
Format: book, graphic novel
Pages: 192

Summary (from Goodreads):

A graphic novel biography of the escaped slave, abolitionist, public speaker, and most photographed man of the nineteenth century, based on his autobiographical writings and speeches, spotlighting the key events and people that shaped the life of this great American. 

Recently returned to the cultural spotlight, Frederick Douglass’s impact on American history is felt even in today’s current events. Comic book writer and filmmaker David F. Walker joins with the art team of Damon Smyth and Marissa Louise to bring the long, exciting, and influential life of Douglass to life in comic book form.

About the Author (David F. Walker):

My Thoughts:

I discovered this book walking through a neighboring library. I have always been a strong believer in libraries and the always frequent my local library as well as neighboring libraries. So on this particular day, I deliberately went to their graphic novel section because they have such a large selection. This book was on display and immediately caught my eye. I picked it up then I put it down and walked around a bit. Eventually my curiosity of how informative a graphic novel could be of such a complex man got the better of me. So I checked it out.

I have never read any of Frederick Douglass’ autobiographies or any books about him for that matter. What little I knew was from history class and that wasn’t much. However, this year, I had decided I wanted to learn more history and that includes historical figures that made an impact.

First let’s talk graphics. Sometimes I have found graphic novels with fantastic covers and then you turn the page to mediocre graphics. This was not the case with this book. The cover was spectacular and the internal pages were so beautiful that it made reading the book that much more enjoyable.

I knew going in that there were limitations for a graphic novel to encompass all of Frederick Douglass’ life but this little book packed a big punch. It captured my attention from the first page to the last. It laid out the basics of his life in slavery to his escape to freedom with engagements with other historical figures along the way such as Harriet Tubman, Lincoln, and Susan B. Anthony to name a few.

I was truly disappointed the book had to come to an end. I think the author did a good job giving an overview of Frederick Douglass’ life. The flow was great and periodically it would dedicate a two-page spread to include historical facts to help contextualize the story. One was a brief description of the Civil War and another talked about photography and how it’s invention and Douglass’ interest in it led to him being the most photographed person in the nineteenth century. More so than Abe Lincoln! I am beginning to understand the nefarious way our electoral system was created in this country. Making this book and the information in it so very relevant today. I also believe it is important to learn about people that despite all the adversity overcome and create change in the world. Frederick Douglass would be on list.

I especially liked the author’s note in the beginning of the book to explain his hesitancy to take on this project.

I enjoyed this book so much that I plan to order a copy for my personal library and have my boys read it.

For all of the above reasons, I give this graphic novel 5 butterflies! A great read!