Nina Simone in Comics!

Pop Rock en BD

by Sophie Adriansen, Antoane (Artist), Romain Brun (Artist)

This is the story of an emancipation, that of a young black and poor woman living in an America marked by segregation. This is the story of a fierce battle, that of a musician involved in the civil rights movement. This is the story of a long career, that of a pianist and singer as talented as determined. This is the story of Nina Simone, a unique artist, role model, and inspiration for generations to come. Genius pianist, fabulous singer and committed artist, Nina Simone remains an inspiration for generations.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels, Feminism

160 pages, Hardcover

First published February 22, 2023

About the author

Sophie Adriansen is a French writer, a member of the Société des gens de lettres and of the Charte des auteurs et des illustrateurs jeunesse

Reviews

[leynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first saw this graphic novel when Didi hauled it on her instagram account. The second I saw its cover (beautifully illustrated by Sandrine Fourrier) I knew I had to make it mine. I consider myself very lucky to have found it new for under 10€. What a steal!

This graphic novel, arranged by Sophie Adriansen with the help of 19 artists, tells the life story of Nina Simone in 20 chapters. Each chapter is 8 pages long, with 6 pages of comic strips and 2 pages of background information in text form (sometimes with the visual aid of photographs). Each chapter is illustrated by a different artist. I know some people had some issues with this structure as the story doesn't flow as nicely as in other comic books, personally, I found the two pages of background information very help- and insightful. But I understand why some people felt like it pulled them out of the story.

Unlike other people, I also really love the fact that so many different artists worked on this graphic autobiography. All of their styles were so different and I loved to engage with their differing styles. However, it's very disappointing that out of the 20 artists involved with this comic book, no Black artists were featured. To me, that's a missed opportunity. On top of that, unfortunately, some of the artists that are featured seem to have little experience with illustrating Black folks, since a few artists had trouble with the intensity of colors and saturation, making the facial expressions of the Black people less detailed and visible than the one of white people. Some artists also worked with racial stereotypes, such as huge over-accentuated lips, bulging eyes and large noses etc. Most artists did an amazing job but I wanted to point out the issues that I saw in this comic book as well.

My personal favorite artists who worked on this comic book were: Christian Galli, Mademoiselle Caroline, Francois Foyard (!!), Chadia Loueslati, and Sandrine Fourrier. I really want to find more comic books that these people worked on, especially Foyard's art style really did it for me. It was so fun and vivid.

Generally speaking, I would say that this comic book really worked for me. It has sparked quite the hyper-fixation with Nina Simone. I was, of course, familiar with her most iconic songs, but to my shame I knew very little about the person behind these songs. This comic book was a great starting point. I learned so many new things and saw this amazing singer in a new light. After having done more research on her as a person, I would say, however, that this comic book paints her in a rather favorable light. Sure, her "darker" moments, such as her drug abuse and mental issues (which eventually culminated in her shooting her neighbor's kid because his "noisiness" was bothering her), were included in the comic, but the abandonment of her daughter Lisa and her alleged physical and mental abuse weren't. That's a huge oversight in my opinion.

So, all in all, I'd say that this comic can definitely serve as a stepping stone and can get people excited for Nina Simone's work, but further research and fact checks are definitely necessary as well!

[Shane Stanis · Rating 3 out of 5]

First the good - the art here is excellent, and the use of Simone’s lyrics in some of the stories is great.

I found this book in the “adult” section, but it seems to be written for a younger audience- this may be partly due to translation, but the story is also a very broad overview that reminds me of bios I read in elementary school and jr high.

As others have said, the prose interrupts the story more than enhancing it. I would prefer that the art and words be left to tell her story on their own.

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked it a lot. Nina is an artist I've admired for awhile now but didn't know much about her. And the book does just that. Teaches you about her life. However, I give it a lower score because the layout of the book really took me out of things. As much as I liked the knowledge dump sections, I would have preferred to see those in graphic novel form since this is a graphic novel. But that is just preference for me I guess.

[May Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

It was an amazing comics to go over Nina Simone's life and I fluence in the fight against segregation. I appreciated the many informative pages, but it's a shame the actual comic's part was so reduced as a consequence.

An inspiring figure.

[Maileen Hamto · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a tall order to issue a new volume on the legacy of the well-documented life and career of the legendary Nina Simone. The voice of a generation has been a household name since she was hailed as the next Billie Holiday in the 1960s. The editor and numerous artist collaborators in "Nina Simone in Comics!" has achieved an impressive feat in sharing appreciation and gratitude for the late singer’s musical legacy.

The book segments significant and pivotal moments in Miss Simone’s life, from her childhood and upbringing in a Methodist household surrounded by gospel music to her solid classical music training and early forays into playing for live audiences. Through fresh eyes and awareness about the plight of powerful Black women, we understand how Miss Simone was truly violated and harmed by those who were closest to her.

Each short chapter – illustrated by a different artist and colorist – is followed by a detailed narrative to provide deeper context. At the height of her career, Miss Simone used her fame and acclaim to speak out against racial injustice in support of the Civil Rights Movement. She took great risks and even greater loves. A new generation of readers and music enthusiasts would appreciate Nina Simone in Comics! for telling the story of the singer’s unapologetic courage.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this on the "new books" shelf at my library and brought it home as part of my effort to push the boundaries of my reading life into genres and topics that are less familiar to me. Graphic novels/comics are certainly that! What made this book even more interesting was the format. This biography of Nina Simone is broken down into 20 chapters, and each features a different artist. It was fascinating to see Nina depicted so many different ways, as the book moved through her life. Each chapter also included a 2 page text based summary of those years, with some photos and album covers. I was grateful to have these since it helped me put the comics into context.
This definitely got me thinking about her music so I opened Spotify. I decided I am not a big fan of this type of music, but I can appreciate her sound and talent. I am more intrigued by her activism so I pulled up the lyrics to Mississippi Goddam (written in 1963) and watched a video of her performing this. I always love when a book opens my eyes and my mind to new ways of thinking or perhaps rethinking. Great beginning to my reading in 2025.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm just not a fan of how this was constructed. NPM used to put out some great biographies. Now they are a mixture of comics and prose and it just doesn't work. The comics never seem to tell you much and then that's followed by a couple of pages of text that goes more in depth and it'll go back and forth like that throughout the book. I hate when prose is mixed with comics. It rarely works and it certainly doesn't here. It's a real shame because I think she has an interesting story to tell. In this case, I'd suggest the Nina movie that came out in 2016 as a starting point to learn about her life. This is just too disjointed.

[Elise Lbn · Rating 3 out of 5]

J’ai beaucoup aimé cette bande dessinée, ma première lecture de 2025, choisie pour me replonger dans la lecture ! Quoi de mieux qu’un ouvrage sur Nina Simone, une artiste fascinante dont la vie est intimement liée à la lutte pour les droits civiques ? J’ai apprécié découvrir son parcours complexe, mais j’ai trouvé la construction du livre un peu maladroite : les chapitres sont entrecoupés de pages explicatives qui, bien que pertinentes, répètent souvent ce qui est déjà montré en BD. J’aurais préféré une narration entièrement graphique, enrichie de petits encadrés pour apporter des précisions sur son parcours de vie.

[FrontalNerdaty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an ultimately frustrating read overall. The mix of prose and comic panels did not mesh as well it could’ve. Nina Simone lead an extremely interesting and diverse life and I was hoping that it would be captured here, preferably with the art, but it misses the mark too often.
I’m not sure if it was an effort to protect Nina Simone’s character but a lot of her more questionable (but often justified) behaviour is skimmed over or removed entirely.
An icon such as Simone deserved more honesty.

2/5

[Regina Barata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma novela gráfica original, biografia da mítica artista, que tem a originalidade de estar dividida em 20 capítulos desenhados por 20 artistas diferentes, resultando num livro com uma imagem muito diversificada mas que resulta num conjunto harmonioso. Bastante completa, incluindo discografia e sugestões de leitura e vídeos para saber mais. Uma bela obra de arte para além de uma boa biografia.

[Soraya Elbekkali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sympathique BD a plusieurs mains et donc plusieurs styles qui retrace les grandes lignes de la vie de cette immense artiste. J'ai aimé les pages de textes plus soutenus entre les différentes parties de bds pour approfondir sur des points évoqués en images.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite recording artists! “And I mean every word of it!” I really enjoyed learning more about her, and this format was a pretty cool way to do so! And each chapter had a different artist illustrating it, so that mixed it up nicely! By the time I finished this book, I had Ms. Simone blasting in my headphones!

Born Eunice Waymon, her talent on the piano blossomed before the age of three!


"I'll be Nina Simone and defecating on your microphone"

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I learned things about Nina Simone that I didn’t know before.

If you are a big music fan give this one a go.

[Brown Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. I had no idea she was so dark and tortured.

[Sonia StoyHuyendo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappointing. The constant change from comic to historical facts that repeat the same information is off-putting. Very difficult to get into the story. The change of artists creating the comic chapters makes it even more difficult.