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Before 13th: A Graphic Novel – The Full-Color Story of Slavery, Incarceration, and the Clash Between Douglass and Wells
A gorgeous full-color graphic historical novel, sure to become an instant classic, that explores the friendship and feud between Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass, offering new insights into slavery and incarceration in the United States.
Told from the perspectives of statesman and orator Frederick Douglass, and journalist and activist Ida B. Wells, Before 13th is a story that illuminates the contradictions of freedom. Friends and rivals, Douglass and Wells clashed over how to grapple with the racism and exoticism that defined portrayals of African Americans at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, where Douglass was invited to speak after they had initially agreed to boycott the event. It uses the story of this real-life conflict as a lens through which we see the history of slavery and incarceration as never before.
Historical anthropologist Michael Ralph joins forces with artist Jason Piperberg and acclaimed illustrator Laura Molnar to reimagine these two influential Black Americans and the controversies surrounding the Thirteenth Amendment—which some contend did not abolish slavery, claiming instead it was used to keep African Americans in a condition approximating bondage in the years immediately following Emancipation. Before 13th boldly takes on this issue, offering a provocative re-thinking that goes back years earlier than the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, to a practice known as convict leasing, an experiment in capitalist innovation and progressive legal reform, whose profound effects continue to be felt today.
Before 13th features100 four color illustrations.
Told from the perspectives of statesman and orator Frederick Douglass, and journalist and activist Ida B. Wells, Before 13th is a story that illuminates the contradictions of freedom. Friends and rivals, Douglass and Wells clashed over how to grapple with the racism and exoticism that defined portrayals of African Americans at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, where Douglass was invited to speak after they had initially agreed to boycott the event. It uses the story of this real-life conflict as a lens through which we see the history of slavery and incarceration as never before.
Historical anthropologist Michael Ralph joins forces with artist Jason Piperberg and acclaimed illustrator Laura Molnar to reimagine these two influential Black Americans and the controversies surrounding the Thirteenth Amendment—which some contend did not abolish slavery, claiming instead it was used to keep African Americans in a condition approximating bondage in the years immediately following Emancipation. Before 13th boldly takes on this issue, offering a provocative re-thinking that goes back years earlier than the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, to a practice known as convict leasing, an experiment in capitalist innovation and progressive legal reform, whose profound effects continue to be felt today.
Before 13th features100 four color illustrations.
- GenresGraphic Novels
208 pages, Hardcover
Published September 24, 2024
4 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 4, 2024
I was so excited for this book, and it could have been so good, but the execution was just... not it. They used the "and then I woke up and it was all a dream" trope TWICE. I'm just out here trying to learn about prison reform, I have truly no idea why this was the route they decided to take.
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December 21, 2024sadly, the negative reviews are right
i was SO excited to read this! but when you look at other non fiction graphic novels / comic books like Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts or David Walker's Black Panther Party, there is such a stark difference.
the blurb says, "Told from the perspectives of statesman and orator Frederick Douglass, and journalist and activist Ida B. Wells, Before 13th is a story that illuminates the contradictions of freedom. . . It uses the story of this real-life conflict [1893 World's Fair story, which is mentioned ONCE] as a lens through which we see the history of slavery and incarceration as never before." sadly, i didn't see this book accomplish any of that.
when you think about movies, you hear film critics say "show, don't tell," so the viewer isn't bogged down by long monologues and constant descriptions of what's going on and who's who.
the same goes for graphic novels, usually. some lend themselves to more words than others, but when it comes to historical ones, it works better to take vignettes from history or follow the history of a place or person, but this doesn't do that. it tells you this history of the prisons, but it's just long speech bubbles and very few pictures other than Wells, Douglass, and a man at the prison, who they speak to.
another nice way to do historical graphic novels is to compare and contrast different events in history or different situations using illustrations.
which, i have to say, the first few pages of this book did that PERFECTLY. one one page you had large groups of enslaved people in the field, and then on the next page, in similar poses and stature, you had a group of in-mates at a penitentiary.
as soon as the story started, however, it was just Ida B Wells and Fredrick Douglas telling stories and facts and percentages (which really took me out of the story. we needed a narrator in this one, badly).
the art is beautiful! and the message is still important, i just think you lose it a bit and all the talking heads muddle it
i was SO excited to read this! but when you look at other non fiction graphic novels / comic books like Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts or David Walker's Black Panther Party, there is such a stark difference.
the blurb says, "Told from the perspectives of statesman and orator Frederick Douglass, and journalist and activist Ida B. Wells, Before 13th is a story that illuminates the contradictions of freedom. . . It uses the story of this real-life conflict [1893 World's Fair story, which is mentioned ONCE] as a lens through which we see the history of slavery and incarceration as never before." sadly, i didn't see this book accomplish any of that.
when you think about movies, you hear film critics say "show, don't tell," so the viewer isn't bogged down by long monologues and constant descriptions of what's going on and who's who.
the same goes for graphic novels, usually. some lend themselves to more words than others, but when it comes to historical ones, it works better to take vignettes from history or follow the history of a place or person, but this doesn't do that. it tells you this history of the prisons, but it's just long speech bubbles and very few pictures other than Wells, Douglass, and a man at the prison, who they speak to.
another nice way to do historical graphic novels is to compare and contrast different events in history or different situations using illustrations.
which, i have to say, the first few pages of this book did that PERFECTLY. one one page you had large groups of enslaved people in the field, and then on the next page, in similar poses and stature, you had a group of in-mates at a penitentiary.
as soon as the story started, however, it was just Ida B Wells and Fredrick Douglas telling stories and facts and percentages (which really took me out of the story. we needed a narrator in this one, badly).
the art is beautiful! and the message is still important, i just think you lose it a bit and all the talking heads muddle it
May 9, 2025
I’ve read quite a few historic graphic novels, having prior or even no prior knowledge of the figures used and have quite enjoyed them. Unfortunately this one missed the mark for me —
Mainly, to a reader with no prior knowledge (not myself, but another) to either figure this novel could be confusing. It spans between different years and the relationship Ida B. Wells & Fredrick Douglas and the several years of activism and abolitionist career they had post slavery — all the while explaining and exposing the chain gang controversy of the American incarceration system
A lot of research needs to be done on my end to be able to truly appreciate what the author has done here. There are plenty of gaps.. I can open my mind and change my perspective and understand the “missing gaps” in this story are of my own ignorance and lack of knowledge on both figures. ?
Maybe I’ll revisit in the future after reading both of their Memoirs and Biography’s and see if my mind has thus changed.
Mainly, to a reader with no prior knowledge (not myself, but another) to either figure this novel could be confusing. It spans between different years and the relationship Ida B. Wells & Fredrick Douglas and the several years of activism and abolitionist career they had post slavery — all the while explaining and exposing the chain gang controversy of the American incarceration system
A lot of research needs to be done on my end to be able to truly appreciate what the author has done here. There are plenty of gaps.. I can open my mind and change my perspective and understand the “missing gaps” in this story are of my own ignorance and lack of knowledge on both figures. ?
Maybe I’ll revisit in the future after reading both of their Memoirs and Biography’s and see if my mind has thus changed.
October 9, 2024
This book makes the important argument that convict leasing begins before the 13th amendment with mostly white incarcerated people. It explores the history of convict leasing and hemp in Kentucky to explain how convict leasing leads to longer prison sentences. The introductory essay works well to frame this argument. The rest of the book explores this through an imagined conversation between Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass. I really hate imagined conversation framings usually, and this was anachronistic at times and includes 2 “it was all a dream” reveals, which was 2 too many, but the narrative and images are very cute and funny, and the imagined dynamic between Wells and Douglass was kind of interesting (although it does noticeably change between the three sections). Because this is kind of the only place some of these scholarly arguments are made, it’s unfortunate the book doesn’t have page numbers or citations in the graphic novel portion because now I can’t cite it or engage with it as a scholarly text since I’m not always sure which parts of the text are quotes from elsewhere. My last critique of the text is that the story is supposed to be about Wells and Douglass going to Kentucky to learn about convict leasing, except they mostly just monologue at everyone they meet about convict leasing, which makes them seem like bad ethnographers (which they weren’t). Of course, they need to monologue since the interview thing is just the pretense for the history, but it does feel like a bit of an oversight or concession in terms of how the story works. Overall, I think the book is a fun read, beautiful, clear, funny at times, and uses the fictional frame reasonably well to tell an important story and make a scholarly contribution.
November 5, 2025
With the help of imagined narration/investigation by real historic figures Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells placing them in a historic setting they didn’t actually visit, the author/illustrators seek to educate readers on how the way the 13th Amendment was written created a loophole that led to wrongful incarceration of many people that allowed others to then legally use them as slave labor.
This is a really important topic and it needs to be told to the next generation so that ongoing injustices aren’t perpetuated…but sadly, this book is just confusing. I read the very long author’s note and found that it pretty much said exactly what is said in the graphic novel but in a much more clear cut way. Unfortunately the graphic novel is exceptionally confusing. There are moments when Ida or Frederick “wake up” from dreams that was an attempt to explain their presence somewhere they were never historically present. But it was just weird and confusing and overused. I read some other reviews to make sure it just wasn’t me, and sadly it wasn’t just me. This needed several more rounds of edits to make a cohesive presentation of the information that flowed in a way readers can actually follow and understand. So sad. (I will say thought that the artwork was excellent.)
Notes on content:
Language: Some racial slurs in quotes. Nothing else if I remember right.
Sexual content: None
Violence: Mistreatment of prisoners is talked about as is slavery and the horrible conditions people faced in those circumstances.
Ethnic diversity: Black and white Americans mostly.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified that I remember
Other: Wrongful imprisonment is a main topic as is racism.
This is a really important topic and it needs to be told to the next generation so that ongoing injustices aren’t perpetuated…but sadly, this book is just confusing. I read the very long author’s note and found that it pretty much said exactly what is said in the graphic novel but in a much more clear cut way. Unfortunately the graphic novel is exceptionally confusing. There are moments when Ida or Frederick “wake up” from dreams that was an attempt to explain their presence somewhere they were never historically present. But it was just weird and confusing and overused. I read some other reviews to make sure it just wasn’t me, and sadly it wasn’t just me. This needed several more rounds of edits to make a cohesive presentation of the information that flowed in a way readers can actually follow and understand. So sad. (I will say thought that the artwork was excellent.)
Notes on content:
Language: Some racial slurs in quotes. Nothing else if I remember right.
Sexual content: None
Violence: Mistreatment of prisoners is talked about as is slavery and the horrible conditions people faced in those circumstances.
Ethnic diversity: Black and white Americans mostly.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified that I remember
Other: Wrongful imprisonment is a main topic as is racism.
May 2, 2025
So much strong academic research went into this book, but it never manages to translate from a historical monograph to a compelling graphic novel. Now, I love a good monograph, don’t get me wrong, but I’m struggling to see why the authors chose to move this work to graphic novel format if they were unable to transform the tale from lecture to something more.
Example: the fictionalized Ida B Wells tells a prisoner that she and the fictionalized Fredrick Douglass are there in the prison with them because they are “writing about the history of convict leasing — or corporations running prisons as private businesses for free access to prison labor. We didn’t feel right writing without your insights … whatever you want to share…”.
Fictionalized Wells and Douglass then spend the next 15-20 pages lecturing the prisoners about the history of convict leasing instead of asking them about their insights. The prisoners they speak to are drawn, but we get no names or introductions, turning them effectively into dehumanized visual aids. The men occasionally ask a question to spur on the lecture, but in no way are their insights shared.
So many missed opportunities in this book.
One page illustrates a list of names and ages of incarcerated people from that time. Why not give one of those names to one of the people Wells and Douglass are lecturing and have him share a composite story of his experiences? Ida B Wells and Fredrick Douglass, not to mention this topic, deserve to be represented better.
Example: the fictionalized Ida B Wells tells a prisoner that she and the fictionalized Fredrick Douglass are there in the prison with them because they are “writing about the history of convict leasing — or corporations running prisons as private businesses for free access to prison labor. We didn’t feel right writing without your insights … whatever you want to share…”.
Fictionalized Wells and Douglass then spend the next 15-20 pages lecturing the prisoners about the history of convict leasing instead of asking them about their insights. The prisoners they speak to are drawn, but we get no names or introductions, turning them effectively into dehumanized visual aids. The men occasionally ask a question to spur on the lecture, but in no way are their insights shared.
So many missed opportunities in this book.
One page illustrates a list of names and ages of incarcerated people from that time. Why not give one of those names to one of the people Wells and Douglass are lecturing and have him share a composite story of his experiences? Ida B Wells and Fredrick Douglass, not to mention this topic, deserve to be represented better.
February 14, 2025
What a terrific letdown. This book is gorgeous to hold. Solid hardcover, great cover art, intriguing title and concept. Ostensibly, we're looking at how the 13th amendment came to be, in particular the part where slavery is allowed in the case of imprisonment.
Turns out, Michael Ralph wrote a doctoral thesis on the basis for prisoners as slaves and how that was a thing before the 13th amendment. In Before 13th he prints this thesis as an introduction. He then proceeds to reproduce those same ideas in graphic non-fiction format, but through the mouths of Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells, two people who never actually dealt with any of this.
Why? Why tell the story twice? And, if you're going to tell it twice in the same book, why tell it in such a contrived, aggressively fake way? The graphic non-fiction portion of Before 13th is tediously dull (though the art is decent). The introductory materials are fine, somewhat interesting, though a bit scattered. Mashed together, this book is almost unreadable.
Interesting topic, failed execution!
Turns out, Michael Ralph wrote a doctoral thesis on the basis for prisoners as slaves and how that was a thing before the 13th amendment. In Before 13th he prints this thesis as an introduction. He then proceeds to reproduce those same ideas in graphic non-fiction format, but through the mouths of Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells, two people who never actually dealt with any of this.
Why? Why tell the story twice? And, if you're going to tell it twice in the same book, why tell it in such a contrived, aggressively fake way? The graphic non-fiction portion of Before 13th is tediously dull (though the art is decent). The introductory materials are fine, somewhat interesting, though a bit scattered. Mashed together, this book is almost unreadable.
Interesting topic, failed execution!
December 20, 2024
This graphic novel has a super interesting story about one of the first prisons that used forced labor, and it connects to the 13th Amendment in a cool way.
It's crazy how people back then saw this system as some sort of 'innovation.' The hard part is turning a historical story into something engaging to read instead of just a lesson, which is even tougher in a graphic novel. It really makes you think about the past and what it means for today!
The whole non-linear approach was a surprise and an effort to keep things from being boring, but I'm not sure it worked that well.
It's crazy how people back then saw this system as some sort of 'innovation.' The hard part is turning a historical story into something engaging to read instead of just a lesson, which is even tougher in a graphic novel. It really makes you think about the past and what it means for today!
The whole non-linear approach was a surprise and an effort to keep things from being boring, but I'm not sure it worked that well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2024
This was really hard to understand in a graphic form. I couldn't help but compare it to the Stamped adaptation into graphic novel which made it so easy to understand the different positions of these two mighty figures but this was very hard to follow -- not just their positions, but what story this author was trying to say about it. The art was really good though and I felt like the artist did the best they could.
June 10, 2025
I wanted to like this more. The cover is very aesthetically pleasing, both to the sight and to the touch. But I found it hard to follow. I think they tried to cover too much in one book while still not fleshing out the main point of the book, which was prisons as the new slavery.
September 9, 2025
The history here is interesting and important, but unfortunately, the narrative is completely superfluous and makes the history harder to follow. This would have been much better presented as a nonfiction long-essay with the author as the narrator.
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September 5, 2024Booklist review pending
March 12, 2025
Meh. I didn’t love the main storyline of this. It just wasn’t super clear. The information was good to be aware of, but I didn’t love how it was presented here.
June 9, 2025
Such an interesting exploration of the antebellum time period.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews