WINNER OF THE EISNER AWARD • A bold and fascinating graphic novel history of the revolutionary Black Panther Party.
Founded in Oakland, California, in 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was a radical political organization that stood in defiant contrast to the mainstream civil rights movement. This gripping illustrated history explores the impact and significance of the Panthers, from their social, educational, and healthcare programs that were designed to uplift the Black community to their battle against police brutality through citizen patrols and frequent clashes with the FBI, which targeted the Party from its outset.
Using dramatic comic book-style retellings and illustrated profiles of key figures,
The Black Panther Party captures the major events, people, and actions of the party, as well as their cultural and political influence and enduring legacy.
David F. Walker is an award-winning comic book writer, author, filmmaker, journalist, and educator. His work in comic books includes
Shaft, winner of the Glyph Award for Story of the Year,
Power Man and Iron Fist,
Nighthawk,
Fury,
Secret Wars: Battleworld, Cyborg, The Army of Dr. Moreau, and
Number 13. He is also the creator of the critically-acclaimed YA series The Adventures of Darius Logan and the author of the graphic novel biography
The Life of Frederick Douglass. Recognized as a leading scholar expert of African American cinema, Walker produced one of the definitive documentaries on the topic of Blaxploitation films,
Macked, Hammered, Slaughtered, and Shafted.Marcus Kwame Anderson is an illustrator and fine artist. Much of his work explores the beauty and diversity of the African diaspora and often incorporates social commentary. He graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a degree in illustration. Anderson is the co-creator of the comic book series
Snow Daze and has illustrated stories in Action Lab's
Cash and Carrie and
F.O.R.C.E.
“Walker strives for a comprehensive view, dedicating his book to the party’s ‘rank and file’ involved in community work. The result is a sprawling overview of the group’s brisk rise and protracted fall, punctuated by gripping confrontations with the powers that be. . . . as an artist Anderson is just as good at rendering static shots as he is at depicting action, and his gift for warm, uncluttered portraiture lionizes familiar figures.”
—The New York Times Book Review“This nuanced, accessible history of the Black Panther Party doesn’t shy away from the complexity of the political movement, nor does it fall into the trap of painting the diverse group as uniformly heroes or villains . . . Artist Kwame Anderson balances text and images skillfully, and even the wordiest sections feel spacious, while he lends cinematic visual pacing to the many heated interactions between activists and police.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review“Containing the informational density of a textbook and the brisk page compositions, dramatic framing, characterful art, and rich colors of a comic book, Walker and Anderson’s work covers the titular organization’s history as a revolutionary group and its less-documented dedication to community service.”
—Booklist, starred review“Research and clarity are poured onto the pages of this richly detailed account of the formation, service, and dissolution of the Black Panther Party.”
—School Library Journal“Vibrant and groundbreaking. The book’s graphic retellings of major events and illustrated profiles of key figures capture the story of the party’s major leaders and political evolution, as well as its enduring cultural and political legacy in the civil rights movement and American society.”
—Electric Literature“A beautifully conceived and sobering graphic novel tracing the history of this doomed, but influential, group.”
—The Daily Beast“The Black Panther Party is intelligently told. The episodes and asides of which it is comprised congeal quite naturally into an informative whole that will engage all readers, but especially those who are unfamiliar with the Black Panthers’ story.”
—The Comics Journal“A vibrant collaboration . . . Walker and Anderson illustrate the complexities of the Black Panther Party from its rise in 1966 to its fall in the 1980, dramatically hastened by suppression and interference of the federal government’s then-secret COINTELPRO programs.”
—Oregon Public Broadcasting
