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Rep. John Lewis Tells His Incredible Story With a Graphic Novel

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Georgia Congressman John Lewis is an American icon, a man who has witnessed history in the making and helped make history himself as one of the key figures of the civil rights movement.

His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper’s farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president.

Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis is turning to the graphic novel format, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell (winner of the Eisner Award and LA Times Book Prize finalist for Swallow Me Whole, NY Times Bestseller for The Silence of Our Friends). The resulting graphic novel trilogy, entitled March, will be released by Georgia-based publisher Top Shelf Productions, known for the thoughtful and award-winning works of Alan Moore, Craig Thompson, and Jeff Lemire.

March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights (including his key roles in the 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Selma-Montgomery March), meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

The first volume, March (Book One), will appear in stores August 13. Two weeks later, America will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom.

Throughout the year, Lewis and his co-creators will travel across the country to promote the book, including featured keynote appearances at BookExpo America in New York, the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago, and Comic-Con International in San Diego.

March is a historic first, both for the U.S. Congress and for comics publishing as a whole, marking the first time a sitting member of Congress has authored a graphic novel. Top Shelf Productions is the first and only graphic novel publisher to be certified by the House Committee on Standards…

Read More: newsarama.com

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