Friday, February 15, 2008

In Bookstores Now: The Future?

The new graphic novel from DC/Vertigo by my boy Mat Johnson of Drop and Hunting in Harlem, The Great Negro Plot fame. Art by Warren Pleece. See Mat's work in The Darker Mask (pre-order on Amazon). The future? Yes. Literature merged with visual narrative. Cerebral, lurid, tactile. Hell even Cornell West's got a blurb on the book. And not dumbed-down,-eh Ron Kavanaugh (the Mosaic Magazine editor doth protest the debate over thug/hooker lit and nonfiction a bit too much in his blog, betraying either true feelings or a need not to piss off advertisers...well, you know how Mat feels about it)? Well, that's Mat on the cover, playing "Zane Pinchback," high yella reporter, gone deep undercover to unearth the nastiest of the nastier trends back pre-World War Two America. Come back later for the full, biased, fawning, brimming with goddamn pride review...

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

What on earth? Is this a novel or a comic book? Will check it out...but your recommendations haven't been so hot. My wife liked the Stacey Patton Book but I wasn't all that happy with Casanegra, bruh. I preordered The Darker Mask. Don't disappoint me.

Anonymous said...

Are you going to interview Mat for this blog?

Lisa said...

Interesting. And it's a comic book? P.S. I saw your comment on the Mosaic blog. Stick to your guns. They speak literally for only a minority of us.

Anonymous said...

I have been a fan of Mat's since Drop (PHILLY IN DA HOUSE!!!). I am glad you are showcasing him. He has bee overlooked for too long and I agree that this is the "future" of literature. Is seems to be a way to bring REAL literature to people!

Anonymous said...

I am posting this anonymously because I am a white male and do not want hate-posts on my blog. You are kidding yourself that your work and new "trends" or genres such as Incognegro are going to pull blacks away from rap books and the "booty" books I see in the bookstores. Most people, regardless of race, are not reading anything, which is why even derivative or plagiaristic computer games and films are heralded as "literary" or cutting edge. With blacks the problem is even more acute, and you yourself said that too often tastes are not mature or developed. I am not going to say that whites (and what is "white?") have better tastes. However to paraphrase you there is simply a numbers game. There are more white people with more money proportionally to blacks, so there are likewise going to be more audience types among whites who can support more urbane, not urban, tastes. Works like your past and upcoming stuff and Professor Johnson's here in Texas are not going to change that. Blacks will label you "white-acting" for pushing this agenda.

Mizrepresent said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

Thankls for the tip, im gonna have to go and check it out

Clint Gee said...

Actually read it last week - thought it was great! Nice story and moving action. Think it would make a great movie.

Christopher Chambers said...

You didn't hear it from me but there may be movement on "other media" adaption of this story...hahaha

Keep your fingers crossed. But please Mat, no ego stuff on playing the lead as you're a chocolate Sam Sheppard. I got Wentworth Miller's digits in the Princeton alumni directory...hint hint.

Anonymous said...

This was a good story and I'm sure it would have been even better as a novel which allows for more description. However, I thought that it was a great idea to write it as a graphic novel. One of the first things I thought that this feels like a story board to a movie. My last comment is I think this is a great book for teenage males that you are trying to entice into reading more.

Ether Blade said...

I love this book seriously. I bought it Friday and I love it so much. I read it in one day definitely go and cop this book. It is worth it and he makes some serious points about black and white race relations. Mat is awesome.