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A comics book illustration: shows the Black Panther standing strong and alone in front of a futuristic city-scape.

Comics and Ta-Nehisi Coates

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A comic book illustration: shows the Black Panther standing strong and alone in front of a futuristic city-scape.

by Eric B.

I grew up reading comics. In hindsight, it was one of the things I can recall being really into, certainly more than books or sports. I loved the stories, the characters, and the artwork. In the 1980s, the stories became a bit more interesting and complex, giving the characters more depth than in previous periods. My love was bolstered by the fact Steve Geppi, on his way to becoming comic distribution magnate and part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles, owned and operated several comic shops around Baltimore. I won’t reminisce here, but the one I frequented with my brother was a pretty amazing place, created by a guy who quit his job at the post office to own a comic shop. (In other words, he had passion.) 

At any rate, I still occasionally read some comic and graphic novels, my book discussion group has read and discussed a few of the best, and I still enjoy going to my local comic shop to browse (less frequently lately, obviously). The medium has a come a long way, with the work of some talented writers and artists. More importantly, the graphic medium is much more diverse and inclusive these days. HCLS has a great graphic novel collection. Sometimes I look through and find things I’ve not heard of or a book adapted into a graphic novel that I was not aware of previously.

Ta-Nehisi Coates and I are the same age, and he’s from the west side of Baltimore, around where the city meets the county. I, too, hail from west side of Baltimore, spent my first few years just on the county side, and spent a lot of time in those areas. The differences in our respective experiences could probably make for more than a blog post, but nevertheless I’m always happy to see local people do well. (I guess we all like that sort of thing so we can imagine some sort of shared experience.) Commonalities notwithstanding, I’m a fan of Coates’ thoughtful work and was moved by his piece on reparations. He has authored several excellent books of fiction and nonfiction on race, and perhaps you have heard about his “twitter battle” with Dr. Cornel West. 

At any rate, and certainly not to take away from any of these accomplishments, I recalled reading that he was a comics kid. I was elated to read that this intellectual had realized his childhood dream of writing for Marvel Comics, Black Panther in particular. I can only imagine I’d feel the same and felt incredibly happy for him! My first guy was Aquaman, I was blonde and liked the ocean. Next was Spider-man, the flawed character who struggled with pretty much everything in his personal life. That said, I had characters with whom I could relate, which is important, and I was very happy to read Coates had his, too. 

You may have seen the Black Panther character in the Marvel films, but Coates built on the source material created by people of color he had admired as a young person. He writes comics narratives about power, opposing points of view, the African continent, and nature. Coates also recognizes that comics and graphic novels are a collaborative work, and he acknowledges how the great art of Brian Stelfreeze brings a graphic story to life. Coates subsequently moved on to Captain America and wrote about his good reasons for wanting to do so. He mentioned that some may see Cap as the embodiment of nationalism or the character from the films, but he’s much more nuanced and conflicted than that.

I have to feel a sort of kindred spirit with someone that can recognize this in Captain America and comics in general. So, if you have not, read his articles in The Atlantic (available via RBdigital), read his books, and don’t be afraid to read his graphic novels, which are collected as trade paperbacks and available via HCLS. 

Eric is a DIY Instructor and Research Specialist at HCLS Elkridge Branch. He enjoys reading, films, music, doing nearly anything outside, and people.

The cover depicts a red and gold blossom facing towards the ground, against a dark blue background.

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

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Review by Claudia J.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is here! What better to celebrate than to read a novel amplifying amazing authors? In honor of recognizing Hispanic stories this month as well as year-round, I highly suggest a harrowing novel I read recently. Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras tells the journey of the Santiagos and their lifelong connection with their maid, Petrona Sanchez. Set in Colombia at the height of the Pablo Escobar-era of its history, this novel is loosely based on Contreras’ life. Knowing this fact only further intensified the emotions I felt as I experienced this story. 

Told from the perspectives of Chula Santiago, the youngest daughter of the Santiago family, and Petrona Sanchez, Fruit of the Drunken Tree begins with a photograph, one that asks many questions but provides many answers. Yet, to know the extent of the photo, Chula takes readers to the past, to her privileged life exploring her gated community with her sister Cassandra, to the experience of having a new maid arrive at their home. Chula’s persistence at forging a friendship with Petrona provides an ongoing struggle that she faces for much of the novel. With the backdrop of ongoing violence, kidnappings, and drug trafficking, Chula explores these situations with curiosity, confusion, and occasional fear, while Petrona spends much of her life experiencing it firsthand. Slowly, readers begin to wonder who the real enemy is, as most Colombians in the novel are unsure themselves. 

Ultimately, the intimate moments of prose that Contreras provides hooked me in, and I found myself afraid for these characters and their outcome. There are several moments that left me uncomfortable and were tough to read. Nevertheless, Fruit of the Drunken Tree is beautifully written and told with such detail that enhanced my learning about Colombia during this intense time period. 

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras is available now at HCLS in print and ebook formats. Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15! Visit hclibrary.org and explore our catalog for more materials celebrating Hispanic culture and heritage.

Claudia J. has worked for Howard County Library System for a little over four years. She enjoys writing on rainy days and drinking iced coffee on sunny days.

Bright red cover has the title and author in big block lettering. Inside each letter form you can see the illustration of a person.

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob

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The picture shows author Mira Jacob wearing a denim shirt against a purple background, next to a copy of the book, which shows the title and author in block letters of turquoise and orange with graphics of people contained in each letter.

Review by Claudia J.

I glanced over at my pile of “to be read” books and picked up Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob. I checked the book out long before the coronavirus pandemic kept us in and images of systemic racism made their way out. In a time when I was feeling particularly hopeless, with all of the events toppling onto each other, Good Talk provided a much needed respite from the day-to-day.

Told from the perspective of Jacob herself in discussion with her young son, she answers the many questions he has about race, his culture, and his family. In doing so, she bares the nation’s truth: that we as Americans are imperfect and have a lot of work to do. 

Thank you, Mira. Thank you for your beautiful, vulnerable, and at times uncomfortable account of your life as an imperfect American, as an Indian woman, but also as a human existing in our incredibly fallible nation. How were you able to make me feel so many emotions at simultaneous levels? How did you speak so honestly about colorism and pages later talk about the complicated relationship between Black and Brown people? How did you encompass the pain of watching a sibling, whom of course you’re happy for, find true love, but also just a short section away, haunt me with your memories of a paper city?

The illustrative design, the words, the soft voice I heard as I read, said, “It’s okay, I know this struggle too.” Reading this felt like the meditation we all need right now. Good Talk is not only one of my favorite graphic novels of all time, but it is one of the books that should be required reading. Mira, thank you again.

Available in print at HCLS as well as in ebook and eaudio through OverDrive/Libby.

Claudia J. has worked for Howard County Library System for a little over four years. She enjoys writing on rainy days and drinking iced coffee on sunny days.