Nelson Mandela: The Authorized Comic Book

by Nelson Mandela Foundation, Umlando Wezithombe (Illustrator)

Overview

The fantastic, heroic life of Nelson Mandela, brought to life in this landmark graphic work.

Nelson Mandela’s memoir, Long Road to Freedom, electrified the world in 1994 with the story of a solitary man who, despite unbelievable hardships, brought down one of the most-despised regimes in the world. Fifteen years after the publication of that classic work comes this fully authorized graphic biography, which relays in picture form the life story of the world’s greatest moral and political hero—from his boyhood in a small South African village to his growing political activism with the ANC, his twenty-seven-year incarceration as prisoner 46664 on Robben Island, his dramatic release, and his triumphant years as president of South Africa. With new interviews, firsthand accounts, and archival material that has only recently been uncovered, this visually dramatic biography promises to introduce Mandela’s gripping story to a whole new generation of readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393070828
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	07/18/2009
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	690,583
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.30(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	11 - 14 Years

About the Author

Norton’s previous collaboration with The Nelson Mandela Foundation, Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales, won the NAACP Award in 2003. Nelson Mandela, who will be ninety-one on July 18, 2009, lives in Johannesburg.

Editorial Reviews

"Inspirational, informative and filled with meaningful lessons on how to live in a complex world, Nelson Mandela: The Authorized Comic Book is as much for adults as it is for children. It should be required reading for any student of modern history or passionate believer in civil rights and the resilience of the human spirit."

NPR

Like most graphic novels produced with educational intent, the art takes a far second to the didactic text in this graphic biography of the South African icon. It’s tough to criticize a book created to contribute to the ongoing canonization of the still-living Mandela. The intent is clear from the lack of individual creator credits, since who actually wrote these words and drew these pictures isn’t important to the Mandela Foundation; what matters is that this is an authorized, approved biography created in a format to attract the attention of younger people, those who might not have been alive during the decade when “Free Nelson Mandela” was a politically important chant. The likenesses are adequate in standard poses, but wildly varying when the artists are called upon to deviate from reference, with faces appearing deformed. Much of the art consists of boring talking heads. Mandela was born in 1918, and the book will be released on his 91st birthday. That’s an achievement to be congratulated, but this dull history comic should be far down the gift list. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 5 Up–While the story of Nelson Mandela’s youth and rise to prominence is compelling and worthy of note, this graphic novel fails to take advantage of the comic-book medium. The dialogue is tedious and uninteresting. The computer-enhanced artwork is lacking in technical merit, often relying on manipulated photos, and the representations of Mandela and other notable figures are uneven. The book follows Mandela’s life from his birth in a small village to his early political years in Johannesburg, and then on to his imprisonment and eventual release. This makes for a long and at times confusing narrative. An index is included, as well as a foreword by Mandela himself, but the book would also benefit from a glossary, time line, and other edifying materials.–Douglas P. Davey, Halton Hills Public Library, Ontario, Canada

School Library Journal

"Inspirational, informative and filled with meaningful lessons on how to live in a complex world, Nelson Mandela: The Authorized Comic Book is as much for adults as it is for children. It should be required reading for any student of modern history or passionate believer in civil rights and the resilience of the human spirit."

Books We Like (NPR) - Laurel Maury