By: Mat Johnson, Warren Pleece Publisher: Vertigo Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Vertigo Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 136 Publication Date: February 06, 2008 Release Date: February 06, 2008
Product Description: Writer Mat Johnson (HELLBLAZER: PAPA MIDNITE), winner of the prestigious Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for fiction, constructs a fearless graphic novel that is both a page-turning mystery and a disturbing exploration of race and self-image in America, masterfully illustrated with rich period detail by Wareen Pleece (THE INVISIBLES, HELLBLAZER).
In the early 20th Century, when lynchings were commonplace throughout the American South, a few courageous reporters from the North risked their lives to expose these atrocities. They were African-American men who, due to their light skin color, could "pass" among the white folks. They called this dangerous assignment going "incognegro."
Zane Pinchback, a reporter for the New York-based New Holland Herald barely escapes with his life after his latest "incognegro" story goes bad. But when he returns to the sanctuary of Harlem, he's sent to investigate the arrest of his own brother, charged with the brutal murder of a white woman in Mississippi.
With a lynch mob already swarming, Zane must stay "incognegro" long enough to uncover the truth behind the murder in order to save his brother -- and himself. He finds that the answers are buried beneath layers of shifting identities, forbidden passions and secrets that run far deeper than skin color.
Crueler Than Fiction The appalling, sordid history of the lynching of blacks in the American South is well documented (see, for example, such books as At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America or Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America). However, like so many atrocities in history, the raw facts alone aren't necessarily enough to touch the hearts and minds of people 70-80 years removed from that horrible history. That's where this compelling graphic novel steps in to provide both a gripping story and outstanding public service.
Set sometime in the early 1930s, the story follows Harlem newspaper reporter Zane Pinchback, who files stories about his exploits as an undercover investigator in the deep South under the alias "Incognegro." He periodically travels down there "passing" as a white man in order to investigate lynchings and report on them for his newspaper, with the aim of raising enough outrage to put a stop to the practice. Just when Zane is burned out and to reveal himself and move into editorship, he's forced to go back down to Tupelo, MS, where his brother is in jail for the murder of a white woman, and is rumored to be the target of a Klan-led lynch mob.
What unfolds is a murder mystery with many twists and turns, as Zane struggles to help his no-account moonshine-brewing brother while keeping his cover. Among the characters in the mix are Zane's playboy pal who tags along, a cunning Klan organizer, a local sheriff who might be a decent sort, a missing deputy, the town whore, and a strange inbred clan. As a portrait of the horror of lynchings in the South, the book succeeds, and it does so in a way that might make it a useful tool for the classroom. There are a few minor quibbles: for one, the white characters in the book are almost uniformly evil or amoral, and that lack of nuance is unfortunate. Secondly, Zane gets himself into deep trouble in a way that's not really plausible, given his experience and the life-and-death stakes. Thirdly, I'm not sure why the story is set in the early '30s, by which time lynching had almost completely died out. The only thing I can think of is that the writer wanted to work the Harlem Renaissance in, but otherwise, it seems like it would have made more historical sense to keep it in the 1910s. But these are minor quibbles that shouldn't detract from the raw power of the story and the stark black and white inkwork that brings it alive.
Readers should note that Zane's character is based on real-life NAACP co-founder Walter White, who did basically the same kind of thing in the 1910s. Johnson acknowledges him as the inspiration in a brief introduction that might easily be missed by those eager to dive into the story. Those interested in White's real-life exploits should check out his biography and a thriller based on his adventures called The Moon in Our Hands.
My First Graphic Novel I read Incognegro because I was going to a book signing for the author. I was surprised to find myself caught up in the story and emotional regarding the characters' fates. Although I don't see many graphic novels in my future, I'll certainly recommend this one to others.Bad Girls Finish First
Amazing This is the first time I ever purchased a proper graphic novel. I'd read a few that had been leant to me from time to time but I'd never found anything that had compelled me to purchase.
This books topic certainly seemed like it had the makings of being worth the purchase and I was not disappointed.
The drawings were phenomenal adding real value to the storyline whilst the story itself was excellent. Not a book I'd show to kids, but something I've recommended and leant to many friends since buying.
A solid 4-star I picked up Incognegro because I liked the cover. When I saw that it was a graphic novel, I put it in my bag for check out.
Mat Johnson's Incognegro tells the story of a black reporter in the early 20th century who because he can "pass" for white, he goes undercover to expose the brutal lynchings that were becoming all too common.
Zane Pinchback, who lives in Harlem, is called back to his home town of Tupelo, Mississippi when he is told that his brother is in jail under the suspicion of murdering a woman.
His best friend, Carl, who can also pass for white, goes with Zane even though Zane tells him that he should stay.
As a mystery of noir variety, the plot holds together pretty well. Zane is in the PI role with his brother as the unwitting fall guy. There is a femme fatale and corrupt town. There is a murder that gets a little lost in the social byplay of the time.
But that isn't so different from how the movie Chinatown (Special Collector's Edition) played out.
Yet in spite of the good start and the wonderful art of Warren Pleece, the story gets weighed down by the unnecessary subplot of Carl as it seemed to take up valuable panel space that could have been used in more effective ways.
As such, I give the book a 4-star rating because I felt the main plot was solid and the artwork was gorgeous, but with the distracting subplot, it didn't quite make the 5-star grade.
Gripping and gritty "Incognegro" is a fictionalized account of light-skinned African American who uses his ability to "pass" as white to investigate lynchings in the early years of the 20th century. Leaving teh comfort of Harlem in its renaiisance days, he travels to the south where he encounters the bigotry and casual lawlessness that have landed his own dark-skinned brother in jail. Along the way he runs into Klansmen, inbred whites, hard-bitten newspaper editors and country blacks trying to keep their heads down among the turmoil.
The tale is neat, fast-paced and ties up neatly at the end. Interested readers should look up the real life Walter White, who used his light skin to investigate lynchings. Gripping and gritty, probably fit (due to lots of race-oriented language) for mid- to late teens and up.
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