21: The Story of Roberto Clemente

by Wilfred Santiago

"21" is a graphic biography of baseball star Roberto Clemente and chronicles the star's early days growing up in rural Puerto Rico, the highlights of his career, the prejudice he faced, and his humanitarian mission.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Sports, Biography, Baseball, Nonfiction, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics

200 pages, Hardcover

First published April 12, 2011

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only point of contention is that you had to know about Clemente in order to follow some of the more nuanced parts of the storyline - still a very good book about a remarkable man. Think the book would have even been more more impactful if a little more of his backstory was looked at in the beginning of the story.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the art style interesting but felt the author didn't spend nearly enough time on Clemente's career or humanitarian causes. The man helped so many people that MLB gives an award each year in his name to the person who most honors his legacy of helping those in need.

[Osvaldo · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this graphic biography was visually stunning in places, with this nearly sepia tone feel to it images, interesting paneling and a nice mix of text with more traditional comic word balloons and captions, its narrative just wasn't that interesting.

It might be that already well-aware of the life and achievements of Roberto Clemente, this example of telling his story wasn't meant for me, but even if I weren't it seemed very simple and straightforward (and in some places disjointed) re-telling of anecdotes culled from other sources. It did not use the graphic medium as a way to explore the more complex ideas of race and identity that Clemente's story calls on us to consider - the secondary status of Puerto Rican citizens, the contentious relationship between African-Americans and (esp. dark-skinned) Puerto Ricans in the U.S., Clemente's treatment by the Pittsburgh press, who were patronizing and belittling. . . etc. . . Most of all, the lack of almost any Spanish demonstrates Santiago's unwillingness to challenge his readers and the primacy of English by presenting a text that uses the two languages to shift our point of view and reinforce the feeling of outsider status for some readers.

It was okay, but ultimately missed a great opportunity to elevate both the comics and the biography form into something worth talking about and studying.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this graphic novel-style biography. I love baseball and am a huge fan of Roberto Clemente's. But, I had to work to get through this. The story was hard to follow in many places, even for someone who already knows it. And, although Wilfred Santiago's illustrations are gorgeous, I would often need to concentrate to follow the picture story in the proper order, as sometimes it would be presented vertically, sometimes horizontally across two pages, sometimes horizontally across one page. There were literary themes sprinkled throughout the book, but they never coalesced. I also was surprised how little Spanish was in the book, even as how the Pirates announcers would call him "Bob" was emphasized/mocked. Deep questions were raised in a shallow way, then dropped, and that shallowness, more than anything, marred the overall effect of the work.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chicago author, quite unique style, trying to capture serious racial, cultural and political issues and the action of baseball... his tragic death is worked through the text in places.... I didn't love it, but found the style interesting, and the text reflects a lot of research.

[Clark Hallman · Rating 4 out of 5]

21: The Story of Roberto Clemente is a 180+page hardbound graphic biography by Wilfred Santiago. I picked this up a Hudson Booksellers in the Pittsburgh International Airport in May 2012, but hadn’t gotten around to reading it until now. If you were a fan Roberto Clemente and you have seen him play many time like I have or if you just admire what you have heard or read about him, this will be an enjoyable and worthwhile read for you. It covers Clemente’s childhood in Puerto Rico with his family. It also covers his developing love of baseball, including his time in the minor leagues and then his emerging brilliant career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. I struggled a little with the part covering his childhood/teenaged years. It covers a long period of time and I found it a little hard to understand what the author was trying to convey. I believe these struggles were probably due to the graphic-novel format and a need for brevity. However, this was not a serious flaw. My favorite part of the book dealt with Clemente’s baseball prowess and his time as a Major League Baseball player. It provides information about his early career with the Pirates, the 1960 World Series, the 1971 World Series, his 3,000th hit, and more. I enjoyed those parts very much. The book also includes his courtship with his wife, Vera, and it covers his tragic and heroic death (December 31, 1972) while attempting a humanitarian food delivery to earthquake survivors in Nicaragua. It’s a unique and well-done graphic portrayal of the life of Roberto Clemente. The artwork is excellent and the story is brief, but informative and engaging. BTW: If you want to learn more about Roberto Clemente I highly recommend: Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero by David Maraniss (see my review on Goodreads)

[Alex (Pucksandpaperbacks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW: racial slurs, n-word, racism

I liked how history was intertwined into the novel and learning about Roberto's claim to fame and how he was and is an integral part of the MLB as the first Latin American to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The story felt a little rushed as Roberto's college years are jumped into very quickly and I would've liked to see and read about how he got into baseball as a child, but overall, it was an interesting read and devastating to hear how Roberto passed.

[Lew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not one for reading graphic novels so I don't know how this stacks up with others. The story/text is a bit distorted and jumps around. The graphics are great at times. To see the best graphic, you have to take off the dust cover to see the stunning graphic that wraps around the book. Even with it's faults, it is a must for any Clemente fan's library.

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat disjointed and jumpy graphic novel about baseball great, Roberto Clemente, his childhood growing up in Puerto Rico and his slow rise to prominence with the Pittsburgh Pirates. What's included is powerful stuff; the death of his sister in a fire, his compassion and integrity and the struggles he endured in the days before professional athletes were paid astronomical salaries. There are a few moments where you just sit and reflect and go, "Whoa!" (Some examples: when Clemente first went to spring training in Florida, none of the black players could eat at any of the restaurants or coffee shops with the white players. In 1960, when the Pirates were in the World Series, Clemente was still living in a rooming house in Pittsburgh in a single room and didn't even have a car; Clemente had to ask permission to "court" his future wife back in Puerto Rico, in the mid-1960s when he was the National League MVP.) Of course, we all know how the story ends. Clemente dazzles the baseball universe by his brilliant play in the 1971 World Series, then gets his 3,000th hit on the last day of the 1972 season, only to be tragically lost when his plane carrying relief supplies for the earthquake victims in Nicaragua disappears on New Year's Eve. Clemente was truly a great player and man, and his loss if deeply felt. David Marranis wrote a great biography about him that covers all of this in much greater detail.

[Malia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork but dull writing. I will go look up Clemente but this was not a graphic novel I'd recommend.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A joy to read, even if you already know the ending. And the inset history pages are great.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roberto Clemente's name adorns the annual Major League Baseball award for the sport's most humanitarian athletes. Not just the first great Puerto Rican baseballer (and some would argue still the greatest) to play in the United States, Clemente famously and often quietly displayed the best of humanity. In this emotionally moving biography, the Puerto Rican Wilfred Santiago magnificently chronicles the often tragic life of this icon. Beginning with Clemente's final game, where he collected his 3,000th hit, Santiago quickly hearkens back to Clemente's poverty stricken childhood of homemade bats and practice with soda caps through his disturbing journey into the minor leagues of the Jim Crow era of institutionalized racism and onto his life as a star outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Santiago expertly traverses Clemente's tribulations, losses, and success with ease and skill. His portrayal of the baseball games rank among the finest ever attempted in this medium. Under the masterful hands of Santiago, 21 evolves into far more than just a biography of a sports figure. It showcases a life worth emulating.

[Keyon Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Roberto Clemente

I loved The story of Roberto Clemente is about him and his life and how he came about being a baseball player, Despite his intelligence he faced prejudice and unfairly conduct throughout his career and was given his due only after his unexpected death in a 1972 plane crash. The Story of Roberto Clemente is a great representation of his life and what he did in it.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely graphic novel that in THIS reviewer's amateur opinion tries to do a bit too much and accomplishes a little too little. Santiago's artistry and style is impeccable; his narrative, plotting, and pacing leaves something to be desired. I would have preferred a more focused account of some part of the amazing life of Roberto Clemente -- perhaps his rise from the Caribbean to the major leagues? Or his career? or his triumphs and tragic death? But trying to do all this in the span of a couple hundred (albeit wonderfully) illustrated pages made me feel like the surface was barely scratched. In accomplishing a bare-bones outline of the narrative of Clemente's life, I learned precious little about #21 that I didn't already know.

That said, there are scenes of great pathos, moments of visceral exhilaration, and a great tale at the heart of this book. It was a (quick) pleasure to read. The illustrations are wonderful and exciting. I only wish the writing and narrative could have kept pace.

[Russ Otto · Rating 4 out of 5]

While at times a little confusingly structured, 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente by Wilfred Santiago brilliantly captures the life of one of baseball's greats. Santiago uses jumps in time that at first seem arbitrary. It soon becomes clear that he's not interested in telling a linear story about Clemente, but rather touching upon parts of the ballplayer's sadly short but stellar life. I really felt like I had a grasp on Roberto the family man, ballplayer, and humanitarian by the end of the book. Santiago does a great job of contextualizing Clemente's story. He uses conversations and text pieces to place Roberto's story firmly within the backdrop of Puerto Rico's struggles and overcoming racism in the US. This provides a fuller picture of his life.

Overall, 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente, is a worthwhile read for baseball fans interested in this greatly underrated hall of famer.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich illustrations in a very subdued, but beautiful palate. The book pivots around the 30 September 1972 game in which Clemente collected his 3,000th hit, but the majority of it examines different moments in Clemente's life - growing up in Puerto Rico, the death of his sister and brother, his time with the Santurce Crabbers and Montreal Royals, his early career with the Pirates, his charitable work in Puerto Rico, and his courtship of his eventual wife, Vera Zabala. At times the book tries to do too much in its 148 pages, particularly noticeable in the disjointed feel of the first section on Clemente's childhood, but the excellent quality of the artwork, and Santiago's translation of the strength of Clemente's character, really do pull the book together.

[Brandon White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an important story for me to read for a couple of reasons. First, this is one of those brothas (yes, brotha, read the book) that that is overly-mentioned in a superficial manner, but is seldom analyzed and discussed as a powerful person of color. Also, the book tells the story of Puerto Rico, which is another entity that is overly mentioned, yet seldom analyzed. I wish the Alis, Jim Browns, and Clementes weren't eradicated in a genocide of Freedom Fighting athletes. As a book, I felt like the storytelling got a little disjointed at times, but it was still an essential read. I strongly suggest this book to sports enthusiast, historians, and advocates for black and brown people.

[Romelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

My son read this for school and he found it very difficult to follow. He told me he couldn't tell by the illustrations who was saying what. It was difficult to distinguish the characters and the story line was choppy. I couldn't believe what my son was saying. How can a graphic novel be difficult to read? I had to see for myself. I have read another Roberto Clemente biography- the Who is..series, and got more information out of that. If I had not read it, I would have closed this graphic novel by Wilfred Santiago half way through the book. My son said he was disappointed. He was hoping for a more pleasant read. I agree.

[Matthew Tessnear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roberto Clemente lived an inspiring yet tragic life. The beautiful artistic way of presenting his story makes this a unique baseball biography unlike any I’ve ever read. It brings to light his life in Puerto Rico, his difficult rise to pro baseball, the racial hatred of his time and so much more. I only wish it didn’t move all over the timeline. For someone unfamiliar with Clemente, that might make it difficult to follow. Otherwise, this is a great presentation of a biography of a sports legend. We found this book while visiting Pittsburgh and bought a used copy for my wife’s graphic novel collection in her high school English classroom library. It’s a great addition.

[molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel kind of bad for giving this 2 stars but it's just not that great. It's disjointed. It would be hard to follow for someone without prior knowledge of Clemente. Basically it's not a good telling of Clemente's life. The art is good but the rest of it is unfortunately sorely lacking.
(And this is the second book I've read this year without page numbers. What's up with that?! People, please include page numbers in your book, not having them is not cute or arty it's just annoying and inconvenient.)

[Sam Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very fast read about the great story of Roberto Clemente. It was full of interesting information that kept you reading and was organized beautifully. It was amazing how this one book went from life to death and followed his entire life. I feel that their was nothing more that was needed to be added it covered everything perfectly. The only thing is that the organization of the conversations got confusing at times.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

i dod like this book because it was about how poultry the first African-American baceball player. and in the end he was apresheated for what he did. it was a little long but i still liked it

i gave it a 4 star rateing becausr it was him who was the influence to have African-American in baceball. i would reccomend this book.

[Diana Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roberto Clemente is awesome. He was involved in humanitarian work, but I feel we only get bits and pieces of his story through this graphic novel biography. It was a bit disjointed at times and jumpy in the timeline.

[Matty K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing. Roberto Clemente is such an inspiring human being who shows us you really can do anything if you give it your all.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly staged and authentic scenes compliment a thorough and focused account of The Great One! One of the best framing devices I've ever seen= 3 lilly white girls gushing about their idol Roberto and diligently preparing to witness history!

I could go on praising this masterpiece for a few paragraphs so just read it but DON'T READ the inside cover panels- BOTH are big time SPOILERS: All surprise is taken from the uninitiated reader even the specific years that the foretold major happenings will take place!

TIGHTEN UP GARY GROTH aka Mr. Nitpickery!!

If I had to complain about something on the inside, it would be the lack of his close family tree -you'll see why- that could have only taken one panel.

[Devon H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story not only about baseball, but about Puerto Rico's absorption into the US and impact that had on Clemente and his friends and family. The graphic novel format lends itself to the many dimensional concept of life, and allows the reader to experience news papers, TV, letters, declarations, and conversations. Santiago really displayed how baseball is politics with this novel. Roberto Clemente was the first Latino player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Parts of the story I found to be a little choppy and it was hard to keep track of the time frame of things. One moment Clemente was talking to his girlfriend, the next they were married and had children. That was the only downside about this book. I loved the sepia tones, as they are softer on the eyes than traditional black and white. I also appreciated how the author changed the color of the dialogue bubbles depending on whether the characters were speaking English or Spanish. That helps give the readers a clear understanding of when English was used vs. when Spanish was used. I'm glad also that the author took us back to Clemente's childhood, as that was an important set up to how he became a baseball player. And, of course, the discussion of race that is always present, especially in the South in the 1960's. One point to note on that is the difference between his drawings of white characters vs. characters of color; white people were all hard lines and angles, while POC were drawn very flowing with lots of curves. I think that speaks to the roles and dynamics that were present between the white people and the POC.

What is most touching about this story is that his dream was realized even after his death.

[Marcia]

Marcia Vining

Santiago, Wilfred. "21": The Story of Roberto Clemente : A Graphic Novel. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics, 2011. Print.

Genre: Biography

Format: Print, Graphic Novel

Selection Process: Cornog, M. (2011). 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente. Library Journal, 136(12), 64-65.

"21" The Story of Roberto Clemente is a graphic novel biography. This is the story of Clemente from his poor beginnings in Puerto Rico to stardom in the United States, playing for the Pittsburg Pirates. While at first a bit difficult to follow, this book provides a large amount of information on Clemente's life and the beliefs that informed his actions. The art greatly assists the reader in understanding his story and the struggles and prejudice he encountered in the US in the 1960s. The illustrations give great impact and provide excitement to the baseball games portrayed as well as to the emotions Clemente experienced. Clemente dealt with the pain of loss of family members, the economic climate of the time and the horror of racism and still did not lose his faith and commitment to help his family and those impacted by poverty. His death while providing aid to the people of Nicaragua was emblematic of the man he must have been.

"21" is highly recommended. The story by itself is informational and entertaining at the same time. Readers may be surprised at the amount of information that can be obtained through a graphic novel. Baseball fans also will be pleased with this book as the drawings convey the suspense and excitement of the game.

[Andrea Mullarkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this graphic biography of Roberto Clemente. The story of his life is remarkable beginning with his childhood in Puerto Rico and continuing through his fame as a major league baseball player. So the story is inspirational but there was also enough baseball and social history in here to make it a more substantial book. With that said, what really made this book for me was the art. The subdued color palette (I love those browns and greys against the yellow accents) allows the expressiveness of the drawings to come through. Santiago captures facial expressions and gestures beautifully. But the absolute show-stoppers are the action sequences. I was amazed at his ability to convey sequences of motion, scale and power in two dimensions. Creative use of panel shapes and layouts meant the book felt like baseball games, a wonderful experience as a reader. Which is why I recommend this for baseball fans or fans of the graphic novel format.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a graphic novel about Roberto Clemente's out standing life. Roberto came from a very poor house in Puerto Rico. He was a star in track and field and baseball. He would practice every day with his friends and family. His friends were also very poor so for balls they used rocks inside of socks, doll heads inside of socks, and yarn inside of socks. By the age of 17 he was playing in a winter league where scouts would often show up and see if the future of their team was in one of these games. In the year 1954 he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted above .300 almost every season he was there. He had all 5 tools you want in a player; fielding, hitting, throwing, running ability, and speed. In 1972 there was a tragic death. Roberto was going to his home country of Puerto Rico and the plane he was on exploded right when they took off. The Pittsburgh Pirates have retired his number now. The number 21 forever lives in morn over his loss.

[Ayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book It was about Roberto Clemente. I really liked at the beginning Clemente's final game, where he hit his 3,000th hit. Then he switched the book back around and started talking about how Clemente making his own baseball bats and using soda caps to hit. Also about how he's overcame the struggles of a poor Puerto Rican man and become one of the biggest baseball legends.This is a great book about a great ball-player. But more than his baseball abilities, he was a great human being, helping where he could, especially those who needed it most. He died in a plane crash on December 31, 1972, bringing much needed supplies to survivors of an earthquake in Nicaragua. Read the book to find out more.