Nat Turner by Kyle Baker. 4.5/5, graphic novel, 213 pages, 2006

In March I went to a book swap and I came home with this. I knew next to nothing about Nat Turner, but I’m a sucker for graphic novels. What a book! The only words in the book are quotes, most coming from Nat Turner as he sat in prison. Over 200 pages of shocking, emotional, and violent black and white drawings.

We start at the beginning of incarceration from the villages in Africa, cross the sea in slave ships, and sold to the highest bidder. There is one horrific image from this section that will surely stick with me for quite awhile.

The middle is full of how Nat became this religious figure, who received visions from God, and finally decided that it was time to revolt. The revolt, or insurrection, section was shocking in its violence. Nat and his men were responsible for killing 55 men, women, and children, but even knowing that from the introduction didn’t prepare me. Those images are also going to stick me for quite awhile.

This book is powerful. Some will find the images too violent. It’s not for everyone. The shocking images served the purpose of making me take notice and feel the horror, to see it. It’s a great book.

Recommend for graphic novel lovers and for those who want to know more about Nate Turner and the slave rebellion of 1831.