Malcolm X For Beginners

Writers & Readers Documentary Comic Book #39

by Bernard Aquina Doctor

Powerful narrative and graphics tell the story of Malcolm X’s life, his journey of self-discovery, his far-reaching ideas, his martyrdom, and his impact on an era. Embraced as a righteous prophet of Black power and pride, damned as the voice of violence, Malcolm X emerges as a complex, brave, and brilliant figure with much to teach about the struggle for dignity. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Graphic Novels

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1992

Reviews

[Kevin]

“Give me a .45 caliber, then I’ll sing ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ...the only real power in this society comes from either the ballot or the bullet.” ~MX

Choose the ballot.

When it came to assessing white America, Malcolm was a pessimist. And who could blame him? 1492 to 1965 was a LONG time for a country to recognize its obvious shortcomings and still fail to correct course. If 400+ years weren’t enough, what time frame was plausible? The prognosis was grim in 1965 and frankly, half a century later, it’s still pretty bleak. If Malcolm, who was quite possibly the most honest, the most unselfish, the most badass MF to ever lift his voice in dissent, died ambivalent about American democracy, then what’s the best any of us can hope for?

*Bernard Aquina Doctor’s biography of Malcolm X is brief but powerful. His artwork and text convey the essence of this important, controversial icon in a manner that should appeal to a youthful demographic, as well as broken down old history buffs like me.

[Baba]

Thought provoking documentary summarising the life of Malcolm X, chock full of quotes, details of his tormented early life, his petty criminal days, his time with the Nation Of Islam and his final years after his visit to Mecca. 7 out of 12

[Timothy]

It's just a picture book with a few sentences written to summarize the events of each chapter in Malcolm's autobiography. The events of Malcolm's life were not the interesting parts of the autobiography. Just reading the wikipedia article would be a lot more informative then bothering with this book.

[Trevor Seigler]

Really good introduction to the life of Malcolm X (hence being in the "For Beginners" series, which has been consistently good no matter the subject matter), it works as a graphic novel that covers Malcolm's early life and growth from a criminal to a minister of the Nation of Islam. The art work here is superb, and the few flaws in the book are really not so egregious that I would refrain from recommending it. I would say this is perfect for middle-school and high-school ages, as well as just a good, entertaining, and enlightening general introduction for anyone who wonders just who Malcolm X was and what he was about (do see the Spike Lee movie, the 1972 documentary, and read the Autobiography and Manning Marable's excellent biography, though)

[Katie Baker]

In this first illustrated biography book by the author/illustrator, I learned a lot about Malcolm X and how he became a fierce and fearless orator in his fight for racial and human rights that lead to his assassination. The book was full of powerful graphics and was easy to read. The publisher of the Writers and Readers For Beginners books intended for it to be a graphic novel introduction for young and interested adult readers, but I came away feeling I knew enough to appreciate who Malcolm X was and what he stood for. I read an article that when it first came out the author/illustrator was accessible to explain some questions readers had about the book and explained that he was originally contracted only to do the graphics and illustrations but when the original writer dropped out of the project at the last minute the publisher asked Bernard Aquina to place the narration he used to plot out the book and place them on the pages but he had to do it quickly because the book was already scheduled for printing. He saved the project at the last minute. This explains if the book seemed rushed.
I really enjoyed this book as much as I did his book on Barack.

[Vanessa]

This book is written for middle school aged children. I think it was well written for their age group. It did not write explicitly about the brutalities faced by the Afro-Americans at the time of Malcolm X, but mentioned it a way for kids to think about and not have nightmares about. It didn't seem bias since it showed both the flaws and good parts of Malcolm's life.

The only negative:
There were times when the story didn't seem organized. There were moments that I felt I needed to check the page numbers to make sure I hadn't skipped pages because the transitions confused me.

PS. I read this book in order to help a 7th grader on their book report.

[Benz]

Antara buku yang dibaca untuk menyiapkan buku X Untuk Pemula. Buku ini tidak memuatkan begitu banyak maklumat tentang Malcolm X. Kita mungkin boleh mendapat maklumat tentang Malcolm X yang lebih lumayan pada buku2 lain -juga filem Malcolm X - tetapi buku ini memuatkan sejumlah lukisan-lukisan yang sangat bermakna tentang Malcolm X dan perjuangan pembebasannya.

Buku bergambar / novel gravik / komik atau apa sahaja nama tidaklah begitu penting. Yang penting seperti moto siri Resist Book, supaya tidaklah maksud hanya mutlak milik teks, tetapi juga untuk gambar - lebih kurang yang aku faham.

[DiLLY💟]

Beautiful artwork, powerful quotes and all the right widgets to keep you engaged about the reality that Malcom faced. “Prepared to die for their Liberation from an Oppressive Government.”

“Burn America to the Ground” ~ Robert Williams

“Armed with the knowledge of our past we can charter a course for our future. Only by knowing where we’ve been can we know where we are and look to where we want to go.” ~ Malcolm X

“Why should we as a people respect and love anyone who doesn’t love and respect us” ~ Malcom X

Page 168 🧘🏼‍♂️🤝🏻

Oink oink mf💟👹

[Daniel Watkins]

On the plus side, I know a tiny bit more about Malcolm X than I used to, and my interest is piqued. This is labeled as a comic book, it’s not. It’s a middle school reading level overview with interesting if inconsistent art accompanying each page.

[Annalicia Taylur || pagesescape]

"Look out for the children. They are the last hope of America. It's too late for grownups."

A brief biography of Malcolm X found it to be very interesting. I think that it would be perfect for elementary school children, it's jam-packed with pictures.

[Nathaniel Hunt]

I would say the same as another reviewer said, at least after reading this I know a bit more about Malcolm X’s life. Found this at my local library to start reading before diving into other works about him and his life. 3/5

[Rigoberto Vega]

It does what it intends to do even though I would of preferred if the writer gave more details than large pictures. I enjoyed reading this but it felt rushed.

[Dan Laubach]

A great overview. A lot of things that were glossed over in my high school education

[Maxie DM]

good intro

[Nativeabuse]

Taught me a lot about Malcolm X that I didn't already know, but slightly turned me off to him.

Also this is probably one of the worst books in the For Beginners series in terms of quality. It felt like it was put together in a week. Pages are dominated by pictures and text feels like an afterthought, or pages of nothing but text and no pictures to go with it? A ton of important topics only get a single sentence crowded out by gigantic pictures.

It just has this general, look to it that doesn't fit with the quality standards of the rest of the series. I would avoid this.

[Jacalyn]

I did not realize , when I ordered this book, that it was a graphic novel. The content was very thorough , from his admiration of Marcus Garvy, through his disagreements with MLKs position, hos allegiance to Elijah Muhammed and NOI and his eventual conversion to true Sunni Muslim. Malcolm's view of the state of African Americans was prophetic in light of events occuring today. A good starting point for research. It is very one sided, pro-Malcolm X and almost makes him a martyr. I would have preferred it be more balanced and objective.

[Ian]

Should be 'Malcolm X for Children'. It's in large print. The massive illustrations are mostly pointless. It summarises some events from his autobiography, and that's about it. If you're over the age of 11, just read his autobiography instead.

[Sarah]

Nice illustrations in it

[Halfino Berry]

simple yet strong description of Malcolm X. Wish more variation on the pictures.

[Don Aay]

cocok untuk pemula yang ingin kenal malcolm X

[Richard]

fun.

[Razieh Esh]

It is amazing

[Katharine Holden]

The reverent tone becomes grating very quickly. Otherwise, interesting and full of detail