 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
| Incognegro | |
|---|---|
 Cover to graphic novel. | |
| Date | February 2008 |
| Publisher | Vertigo |
| Creative team | |
| Writers | Mat Johnson |
| Artists | Warren Pleece |
| Letterers | Clem Robins |
| Editors | Mark Doyle Jonathan Vankin |
| ISBN | 1-4012-1097-X |
Incognegro is a black-and-white graphic novel written by Mat Johnson with art by Warren Pleece. [1] It was published by DC Comics imprint Vertigo.
The book was published by Vertigo in February 2008 as a hardcover ( ISBN 1-4012-1097-X) and in June 2009 as a softcover volume ( ISBN 1-4420-0200-X). Titan Books also released British versions, the softcover in June 2009 ( ISBN 1848560974) and the hardcover in August of the same year ( ISBN 1848560710).
The author, Mat Johnson, is an African-American who, due to his light skin, was able to be perceived as a white person. As a child he played games where he pretended to be an undercover black person investigating white hate crimes against blacks. He learned that Walter White, who served as the chief executive of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), pretended to be a white person in order to investigate lynchings. In addition, he received inspiration from the birth of his twins in 2005, one of whom appears white and the other appears black. [2]
Zane Pinchback is a reporter for a black newspaper in the early 1930s New York City. He has built his career investigating lynchings while undercover as a white person, as he is light-skinned enough to pass for white. He is about to retire, but then fate intervenes as his brother is charged with the brutal murder of a white woman in Mississippi. Fearing that his brother will be lynched before given a chance to clear his name, Zane decides to go on one final investigation to free him, and brings along a friend who hopes to assume his job after he retires.
The book has received positive reviews in The New York Times , San Francisco Chronicle , and Seattle Times . [3] George Gene Gustines of The New York Times wrote that Incognegro "proudly exemplifies the graphic novel". [2] Nisi Shawl of the Seattle Times wrote that "with its savvy comments on racial politics and privilege, Incognegro is a valiant and successful effort to redeem the past without rewriting it". [4] Charles Solomon of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that Incognegro' "portrayal of a savage chapter in the history of race relations in the United States reflects the growing diversity and maturity of the graphic novel". [5]
Tim Caron, author of "Representing Race in Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery", wrote that the book is perceived as discussing race with little public attention on its other themes and that the reviews discussed the racial "passing" but not the woman's "passing" as a man. [3]
A prequel series Incognegro: Renaissance [6] also written by Mat Johnson, started being published by Berger Books (imprint of Dark Horse Comics) in February 2018. A hardcover collection of Incognegro: Renaissance was published on October 10 the same year. [7]
Vertigo Comics was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use, profanity, and graphic violence, that did not fit the restrictions of DC's main line, thus allowing more creative freedom. Its titles consisted of company-owned comics set in the DC Universe, such as The Sandman and Hellblazer, and creator-owned works, such as Preacher, Y: The Last Man and Fables.
Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback was an American publisher, politician, and Union Army officer. Pinchback was the second African American to serve as lieutenant governor and first African American governor of a U.S. state. A Republican, Pinchback served as acting governor of Louisiana for 35 days from December 9, 1872 to January 13, 1873, during which ten acts of Legislature became law. He was one of the most prominent African-American officeholders during the Reconstruction Era.
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Walter Francis White was an American civil rights activist who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for a quarter of a century, from 1929 until 1955. He directed a broad program of legal challenges to racial segregation and disfranchisement. He was also a journalist, novelist, and essayist.
Karen Berger is an American comic book editor. She is best known for her role in helping create DC Comics' Vertigo imprint in 1993 and serving as the line's Executive Editor until 2013. She currently oversees Berger Books, an imprint of creator-owned comics being published by Dark Horse Comics.
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Stuck Rubber Babyis a 1995 graphic novel by American cartoonist Howard Cruse. He created his debut graphic novel after a decades-long career as an underground cartoonist. It deals with homosexuality and racism in the 1960s in the southern United States, in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. While the book is not autobiographical, it draws upon Cruse's experience of growing up in the South during this time period, including his accidental fathering of a child, as referred to in the title.
Warren Pleece is a British comics artist. He is best known for his work at the DC Comics imprint Vertigo and the 2012–16 Irish novel series Zom-B.
The Mystery Play is the title of a graphic novel written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Jon J. Muth, released as a hardcover by DC Comics Vertigo imprint in 1994.
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Sean Gordon Murphy is an American comic book creator known for work on books such as Joe the Barbarian with Grant Morrison, Chrononauts with Mark Millar, American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest and The Wake with Scott Snyder, Tokyo Ghost with Rick Remender, and the miniseries Punk Rock Jesus.
Mat Johnson is an American fiction writer who works in both prose and the comics format. In 2007, he was named the first USA James Baldwin Fellow by United States Artists.
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Hellblazer: Pandemonium is an original graphic novel featuring the DC Comics character John Constantine, released February 10, 2010 by the DC's Vertigo imprint. The book is intended to mark the 25th anniversary of the first appearance of Constantine in the pages of Swamp Thing and was written by Jamie Delano, the original writer for the character's solo series Hellblazer, with art by Jock.
Pym is the third novel by American author Mat Johnson, published on March 1, 2011. A satirical fantasy inspired by The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, the book explores racial politics and identity in America, and Antarctica. The novel was written over a period of nine years and has been well received by critics, who have praised its lighthearted and humorous style of social criticism.
