Description
As the civil rights struggle heats up in Texas, two families - one white, one black - find common ground. This semi-autobiographical tale is set in 1967 Texas, against the backdrop of the fight for civil rights. A white family from a notoriously racist neighbourhood in the suburbs and a black family from its poorest ward cross Houston's colour line, overcoming humliation, degradation, and violence to win the freedom of five black college students unjustly charged with the murder of a policeman.
The Silence of our Friends follows events through th epoint of a view of young Mark Long, whose father is a reporter carrying the story. Semi-ficitonalized, this story has its roots solidly in very real events. With art from the brilliant Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole, Any Empire) bringing the tale to a heart-wrenching life, The Silence of our Friends is a new and important entry int he body of civil rights literature.
Praise for The Silence of our Friends:
"[This] civl rights graphic novel already seems to have 'Eisner nomination' written down the side." - Bleeding Cool
"...an engrossing narrative about race in America, while honestly dealing with a host of other real-world issues, including familial relationships, friendship, dependency, "other"-ness, and perhaps most importantly, the search for common ground." - Publisher's Weekly
"A moving evocation of a tipping point in our country's regrettale history of race relations, Long and Demonakos's story flows perfectly in Eisner and Ignatz Award winner Powell's graceful and vivid unpretty black-and-gray wash..." - Library Journal
"... absolutely engaging and a complex graphic novel that I think could be analyzed on a deeper level and has broader historical themes. It is fantastic from the beginning to the very end with the author's note and will hopefully affect you as much as it did me." - Good Books and Good Wine
"[Illustrator Nate] Powell is one of the finest young cartoonist around, and his artwork - will full-bodied figures, a loose compositional style, and inky black-and-white tones - unflinchingly mines the drama of both petty slashes of racism and larger instances of civil unrest. All the more powerful for its unfortunate familiarity,t his accoutn also shows how small acts of humanity can outclass even the most determined hatred." -Ian Chapman, Booklist
About the Authors
Mark Long is a vdeo game designer and producer living in Seattle. The graphic novel, The Silence of Our Friends, is based on Long's childhood experiences with the civil rights movement in suburban Houston, Texas.
Jim Demonakos founded Seattle's annual Emerald City Comicon, as well as The Comic Stop chain of retail stores. He has written, edited, and promoted a variety of books for different publishers throughout his career. He lives in the Seattle area.
About the Illustrator
Nate Powell is the author and illustrator of the graphic novel Swallow Me Whole (an LA Times Book Prize finalist, the 2009 Eisner Award winner for Best Graphic Novel, and an Ignatz Award winner). Nate lives in Bloomington, Indiana, with his wife.
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