Mandela: The Graphic Novel

by Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory

Freedom fighter, fugitive, celebrated prisoner, the hero of a nation. Nelson Mandela was called a terrorist, forced into hiding, captured, threatened with the death penalty and eventually thrown into prison for 27 years, but nothing could stop him from fighting to liberate his country from the infamous sytem of apartheid, which for so many years sought to separate people by race in South Africa. A hero in the struggle, he never gave up. Even when he was a prisoner, he worked secretly with his comrades to undermine South Africa's oppressive government. This is the exciting, true story of a young herd-boy who grew up to become a lawyer, a figher for justice, South Africa's first democratically elected president and the beloved grandfather of a nation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Africa, South Africa, Politics, History, Graphic Novels, Comics

208 pages, Paperback

Published August 3, 2017

Reviews

[Zahirah]

This is a respectable graphic novel for a man as big as Nelson Mandela. Respectable attempt but not good enough, I think. To give justice to Mandela as a graphic novel, the book would have to be double the size as this. The main events in his life were well covered but it covered only the surface. You don't really what's really going on in South Africa outside of Nelson's life. And the intermittent narration by the tourist guide is kind of annoying. This is just a good intro to his life. I guess I have to pick up A Long Walk to Freedom to know more.

[Charlotte Paris]

Mandela as a subject is terribly interesting. This graphic novel as a medium and artistic output is problematic in so many ways. First of it reads like a poorly edited book, stuff that don't matter is at the same level as stuff that do, it's too long, name drops endlessly like the artists are going to get in trouble if they don't get the name of this dude in at the back of the room even though he has no relevance elsewhere, just bad storytelling overall. It's a mix between propaganda writing and an illustrated school textbook (sinilar in a way), with all the rehashed dryness that comes with it and no sense of reflection. It's also casually misogynistic, but I suppose what isn't. Then there is the drawing. I wish I could take photos of some of the faces in there, it looks like they have been edited by another artist who worked in complete isolation to the rest of the panel, it's so bad I scratched the surface thinking someone must have done that on the book itself. Nope.
I'd recommend a proper book over this, it doesn't work.

[Keen Reader]

Initially published as a series of eight comics and distributed free by the Nelson Mandela Foundation between 2005 and 2007, this graphic novel version of Mandela’s life captures most of the highlights of his incredible life. From his humble beginnings in rural Transkei through to his time at uni and escaping to the city, his practising of law, Sharpeville and his phase as the so called, ‘Black Pimpernel’ where he evaded capture for 19 months. He eventually met his fate at the notorious Rivonia trial, which ended with him being given a life sentence, starting out on Robben Island, where he would be known as Prisoner 466/64 and eventually finish his time back on the mainland 27 years later.

This book shows the appalling oppression of apartheid which resulted in many killings and countless injuries over many generations. It shows how Mandela and his like-minded campaigners tackled the problem, starting by taking a leaf out of Gandhi’s book by starting a policy of non-violent protest which eventually graduated into sabotage.

It shows how there was still plenty to do after his release in Feb 1990. He often came in for criticism for his absenteeism. As one of his daughters apparently told him on her return to see him from America, “You are a father to all our people but you have never had the time to be a father to me.” It tells us of the initial reluctance of F W De Clerk and his government to be reasonable, there was still widespread bloodshed and many people would be killed and injured for years before Mandela came to power and started to affect meaningful change.

The art work is decent enough, but this book is more about the man and his actions. It's about those he helped and what he sacrificed and what he ultimately achieved and how much that cost him, his supporters and also his family and children in the process.

[Nancy P.]

The art work really takes off after the first third of the book when the most emotional events occured. It also seems to me that it has been inspired by native american art and -obviously- african art. The colour scheme and techniques (superimposing a face on a scene) gave me that impression.
I am judging the artwork and not Nelson Mandela's life.

[Colleen]

Pretty interesting especially in a graphic novel format!

[Colin Oaten]

Fascinating account of the life of one of Historys greatest men