Birth of a Nation

by Aaron McGruder, Reginald Hudlin, Kyle Baker (Illustrator)

A contemporary political satire follows the events surrounding east St. Louis's secession from the Union in the face of thousands of disenfranchised voters, a dim-witted and despotic president, and a plan to finance the self-declared "Republic of Blackland" with a money-laundering scheme. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Politics, Humor, Satire, Race

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Aaron McGruder is an American cartoonist best known for writing and drawing The Boondocks, a Universal Press Syndicate comic strip about two young African American brothers from inner-city Chicago now living with their grandfather in a sedate suburb. Through the leftist Huey (named after Huey P. Newton) and his younger brother Riley, a young want-to-be gangsta, the strip explores issues involving African American culture and American politics.

Reviews

[Mza · Rating 4 out of 5]

If this were a movie (as Hudlin and McGruder originally intended), it'd be the most entertaining Hollywood movie I've seen since 1977; and maybe now someone will make a movie in which East St Louis secedes from the Union and renames itself Blackland and prints up currency featuring the likenesses of MLK, Malcolm X, James Brown, and Will Smith (!?) -- I didn't expect to elect a black president in '08, either. It's about time somebody made a "comic novel" -- they call it that on the cover, none of this "graphic novel" shit -- about poor people that is both truthful and not about losing. (Disclosure: I've never read The Autobiography of Malcolm X; but if anybody ever adapts it into comix, it ought to be these guys, and I'll be first in line to devour it.) Maybe something like this can work only in cartoon form, where dirt, crime, blood, and property destruction can be rendered into brightly-coloured abstraction, and where it is only right and natural to project our own consciousnesses into simplified avatars. Maybe if we see Denzel Washington playing Mayor Fred Fredericks, the illusion -- that a destroyed, forgotten chocolate city can take on the United States of America and win -- disintegrates. It'd be like expecting The Wire to have a happy ending: absurd. Birth of a Nation is absurd, but it carries us along anyhow because it acknowledges all of the human frailty and evil that make real-world revolution seem impossible, and introduces into the mix an element of good luck that falls just short of unbelievable. What if ...... the revolution were partially financed by a black billionaire? What if ........... a large-scale, viable alternative fuel source were developed by ... a good guy, somebody sympathetic to the cause? I reckon this is the sort of thinking that keeps people buying lottery tickets, but ... what if? People get lucky all the time, perfect storms happen all the time. What if this one time, everything lines up right for this one town that's been downtrodden and unlucky for its entire history?

The drawings are handled capably by Kyle Baker, who has a gift for distilling faces and body language into highly-concentrated emotional forms. And he's a funny guy. I'll complain about the limitations of his caption-below-panel M.O. -- it messes up the flow and gives his pages an unappealing storyboard-ness -- but he's worked in this style for decades, and it's hard to care too much when the final result is triumphant. Does he hate word balloons? Google only knows.

When I picked this book up, I expected to have a few laughs at the expense of The Man -- check! -- but didn't expect to be thrilled by the possibility of a new race- and class-driven Civil War, of bloodshed, of martyrdom, and of new beginnings. What if ... we had big luck ... and big courage?

[Aili · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when the voters of East St. Louis are disenfranchised and Bush steals the presidency? East St. Louis secedes from the U.S., of course. Wacky hijinks ensue.

This is solid political satire from talented guys ( Aaron McGruder, creator of the comic strip The Boondocks, and Reginald Hudlin, director of House Party). Kyle Baker's art is ideal for the work -- he's got an animator's heart, so he gives the characters real movement and facial expressions. The only reason this didn't get 5 stars from me is that I prefer Baker when he is both artist and author; he wrote one of my favorite, favorite comics of all time, The Cowboy Wally Show, and compared to that piece of total genius, this was only very good.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaron McGruder and Reginald Hudlin, Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel (Crown, 2004)

Despite having Kyle Baker artwork, which is always a “wow” factor in a graphic novel, I took one look at the synopsis for this book and had the sneaking suspicion I was going to hate it. Oh, boy, political satire in comic book form. Is it going to work any better than it does in the movies, in music, in poetry, etc.?

Can I get a hell, yeah!?

While McGruder (The Boondocks) and Hudlin (producer of a number of Hollywood hits) do occasionally cross the line between satire and being whacked repeatedly over the head with a week-old dead haddock, the bulk of this book is dead-on hilarious. The scenario: East St. Louis, one of the most economically depressed towns in America, decides to secede from the union and form the sovereign nation of Blackland (with a national anthem adapted from the Good Times! theme song that's worth the price of admission by itself) after the big disenfranchisement voting scandal we should all well remember. The new jefe of Blackland is its old mayor, who makes a deal with the leader of the criminal underworld-- and his ex's new boyfriend-- to head up the army. While the American government at first considers this an annoying publicity stunt, the (very Colin Powell-like) Secretary of State begins to wonder just how far Blackland is going to take this, and the government gets serious. Things come to a head when an ace Air Force captain who grew up in East St. Louis defects and a local 7-11 owner, who also happens to be a terrorist sleeper, is called into play by his bosses.

Great stuff, when it's not overbearing. Baker's artwork is, of course, wonderful throughout. Recommended. ***

[Taneka · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I did not like this graphic novel. I felt that it made fun of poor and disenfranchised Blacks, making them look apathetic, clumsy and lazy. After continuing to read, I saw the actual vision in play and it grew on me. For those that have been following David Banner and Killer Mike, this book is a way for you to fully understand their vision and what they are trying to get Blacks to understand. No, this is not a nonfiction book, but it takes events of past, present and future and tells them in a comical and colorful way.

Here you have the mayor of East St. Louis with no funding for infrastructure. Residents have not had proper sanitation, garbage pick up, for weeks due to a strike because the city can't pay the workers. Crime is rampant and the people are looking for a hero. When it came time to vote, thousands of people in East St. Louis were blocked out of the voting booth. A computer malfunction deemed them ineligible and marked them as felons. Many were individuals that had been voting all their lives, even the mayor was blocked. Their votes were being suppressed by the Republican backers of a candidate called Caldwell. Although the Supreme Court decided that they were being illegally disenfranchised, no move was being made to correct the wrong. This left East St. Louis with one thing to do, secede.

Greed gets the best of any man, because even though Mayor Fredericks had the best intentions, those helping him just wanted to take advantage of the situation. His friend John Roberts built a bank in the new country, but at the slightest hint of trouble, was ready to dissolve it and run off. Thank goodness Fredericks had sense to think ahead. And Roberts friend Donna Kelly was only there as a distraction so that Roberts can do his business in peace. Roscoe wanted power, but was too arrogant to realize he lacked the brains for it. Kabilah was the only one that had a mind as to what needed to be done.

Although it is a fictitious tale, it does give you some insight into what is needed for nation/community building. You need a banking system in place so that revenue is generated in your community. One of the reasons the Greenwood area of Tulsa Oklahoma was so wealthy, causing jealousy and eventually a riot, is because they had their own wealth in their own community. It is one thing to have a military, or ground troops, but it is nothing without an Air Force behind it. And definitely loyal individuals that are willing to follow you, NOT try to eliminate you for their own grab at power. What I didn't agree with was giving people checks, causing a welfare state in the new nation. If you want to give them checks, fine, but everyone should have been working hard at making the nation great. We see that when they have their meeting to discuss the new flag and currency, there are no youth present.

"A "Merlin" is a code name for someone like Sam here who creates alternative energy devices." I LOVE the concept of the Merlin. Basically it is a DIY-er with energy. I love going through YouTube and finding videos on how people have made this and made that. I actually did find a video of a guy that transformed his SUV to run on distilled water. Truly amazing.

Take not that there are three saviors in this book: the pilot, the hacker and the "Merlin".

[Byrdie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Off and on for the past decade or so I've been noticing take about secession: usually in regards to the proposed state of Cascadia, which would take the Western halves of Washington, Oregon and Northern California. I'm sure that people in other regions have heard other such proposals.

Apparently McGruder and Hudlin were hoping to pitch this as a film, which would have been fascinating considering the controversial movie under the same title that was released in 2016. Yet, after my timely reading of this comic novel, I can't help but think that a film adaptation that stayed true to the actual story would be very relevant now.

According to the introduction, the story draws upon several historical events that trigger the session and creation of the fictional Blackland. The joys, the headaches, the peril, and the stress of such an undertaking are explored; though there's enough coincidences and creative license given that I feel that this story would also spur conversation regarding, "Well, what if we weren't lucky enough to have a willing person with those connections nearby?"

Would a serious bid for secession actually happen if more people read this story? I have no idea, but I think many of the conversations would be energetic and well thought-out.

[Cfo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nearly perfect satirical stampede, occasionally marred by technical remnants of its origins as a Hollywood spec script.

I'm glad it eventually manifested as a comic, though. You can never have too many excuses to give Kyle Baker work.

[shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

with this, reached the 50 book point for the year. getting rid of cable was such a good idea..... i am so glad i did it.

[DW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny. Enjoyable. A definite message within.

[Porter Broyles · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Book 1 of 6 for Black History Month)

What a fun little audio book. This is one of those books that has been on my audio list for a while, but I haven't downloaded it (free through the library.) I honestly didn't know what it was about except that it was a tie in to the modern "Birth of a Nation"---a movie about Nat Turner.

The book is broken into three sections:

Section 1: The directors story of trying to get this movie off the ground and funded. It was definitely not the story I anticipated, but boy was it a fun little story.

Section 2: A summary of the history and what is actually known about Turner and the uprising. This is the story I was expecting and wanted, but after section 1 was a little disappointed with

Section 3: A short discorse on why yet another slave movie is important to the black community and why it is important to the rest of (non-black) America.

I really enjoyed this short book. I considered giving it 5 stars, but the shift from section 1 and 2 felt weird or abrupt. Part of me felt as if this were two (or 3) different books squashed into one giving the book a somewhat psychitzophrenic feel. So STRONG 4 to weak 5.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this reminds me of a certain kind of movie. 60's zany madcap adventures... it's a mad mad mad mad world for example.

This works. Everything is being swiped at. I'm slept and loved this.

[Brian Spath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painfully prescient.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this satirical take on America's history of disenfranchisement of people of color, but instead found it just passably insightful and entertaining. I was disappointed from the start when I discovered that the illustrations were not by Aaron McGruder, whose name is featured prominently on the book's cover, as I am a big fan of his comic series The Boondocks. It turns out that he is just a co-author of the story, along with film/television writer/director/producer Reginald Hudlin (director of House Party and former President of BET), while the illustrations are all done by Kyle Baker (revival of Plastic Man series in the 2000s), who is not without talent, but is not McGruder. Still, the concept, of a neglected East St. Louis seceding from the United States to form a new country named Blackland, is not without possibility - both humorous and political - so I forged on.

The story is set in the middle of the 2000s, when a Southern governor who looks and talks like George W. Bush - with a cabinet that looks and talks like Bush's cabinet - is elected President of the United States after a controversial election in which many African-Americans find themselves purged from voting rolls. One of those purged is Fred Fredericks, mayor of the black-majority city East St. Louis, who channels his outrage into a popular movement to secede and create a country where African-Americans hold the reins of power. Naturally, there are complications. Sadly, there are also complications in the storytelling, as many a plot point remains confusing, even after one flips back and forth between pages to confirm details. And while Baker's drawings are crisp and colorful, they lack the personality of McGruder's own work. A good attempt to tackle an important issue in a fresh way, but one that falls short of its aspirations.

[Myr · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was co-written by Aaron McGruder, of The Boondocks fame. It takes place in a parallel reality, if you will, in the aftermath of an American election much like the one in 2000. Some names have been changed, but there are a lot of recognizable players (e.g., President Caldwell is clearly meant to be President Bush). The story centers on a majority-black city in Missouri where many residents are "mistakenly" kept from voting in the election. Unsatisfied by the response of government to their outcry at being disenfranchised during such a close election, the mayor of the city ultimately decides to do something about it: he declares the city will secede from the Union.

There's a lot of praise for this book on the back cover: "memorably funny" - "hilarious" - "brilliant" and so on and so forth. I thought it was just alright.

The writers try to balance humor and drama unsuccessfully, and it takes away from the book as a whole. I could tell which lines were supposed to read as jokes, but I wasn't much amused by any of them. I missed the cleverness and wit McGruder has put on display in so many strips of The Boondocks. A lot of the "funny" asides were simply dumb exchanges that just interrupted the flow of the story.

Ultimately, I also think the format of a graphic novel really doesn't let the authors do this story justice. Things are addressed too briefly, or handled too neatly, and in the end it's just not a very satisfying read.

[Cathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars. A smart, searing satire that reverberates, perhaps all the more so because even sixteen years after its publication, the points are sadly just as salient.

There is a great deal I admire in this book: inventive premise, slice-of-life detail, interesting character choices, unflinching calling out of societal ills, and willingness to take on the very serious by framing as madcap, zany episode. I've been thinking for days about the dichotomy between leans into stereotype and subtle interrogations from where they stem.

Many will stop right there at the praise (and have), but where this loses me is the crudity. I do not say that with any judgment. I recognize the audience, but whereas that is a draw for some, it is when I personally began to detach.

illustration note: Admittedly, as a fan of Kyle Baker's distinctive technique, I was partly drawn to this work because of his involvement. His stylized art might seem discordant with the weighty themes, but it is precisely that contrast that makes it work. Colorful caricature plays off biting commentary in a way that throws each into fascinating contrast and communicates message all the more effectively.

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found out about this book when reading All the Rage by Aaron McGruder.

It is more like an illustrated story than a graphic novel, full color, no word or thought bubbles over characters' heads.

It's the thinly disguised story of George W. Bush being handed the presidency despite the fact that so many people (mostly people of color) were not allowed to vote. In this version of the story, the mostly African American city of East St. Louis, Illinois secedes from the union and becomes Blackland.

I love that their national anthem is set to the tune of the Good Times theme song. I love that ridicule is directed at the Bush character who doesn't know the difference between "succeed" and "secede" and says a bunch of other stupid shit.

It's a good story and funny too.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up near East St. Louis, this book has a personal connection to me. While it is fiction, the book carries through the true narrative of the disparity felt between East. Louis and its counterpart from across the river. Combining satire with absurdist wit, the novel documents the birth of Blackland, a new country that is formed in response to the oppression the citizens of the town feel in response to the U.S. government. There is a slight spirit of Boondocks within the work, but the art is nothing like it- McGruder had nothing to do with the drawing. I prefer McGruder's style, though the art of Birth of a Nation did grow on me as I carried forward. A fantastic and poignant read I am thankful an acquittance recommended to me.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a screenplay, just adapted to graphic novel book form. I would say that the way that they sported it to graphic novel form is pretty poor. The art is cartoonish, often to the point of being distracting, and the silo doesn't seem to fit the writing. Plus, the text is thrown into the book in a very unimpressive and Microsoft Word looking way It's more of a storyboard than anything.

That being said, I thought that the actual plot and story line were pretty good, and funny. It definitely feels like it's on the same vein as boondocks, and I think it would be a really enjoyable movie. It's a funny book, with an interesting premise.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you loved the Boondocks (Seasons 1-3), please read this. McGruder really does well in this satire about East St. Louis seceding from the U.S. It uses historical instances coupled with characters that represent various ideologies. It is not free from problems, but it does help create discussion about how this new nation of Blackland can create a government and what the United States would do in retaliation. The book is set in a post 9/11 and pre-Obama era. Please note, however, that while it is a satire the issues that the characters face are real issues that have occurred for either the real city of East St. Louis or the black community as a whole.

[Melanie Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantasy rendition of what would happen if a community of black Americans were denied the right to vote by being falsely labeled as "felons" in the government system.

The three authors do a smooth job of helping the reader remember the numerous characters and who is speaking. The book doesn't have speech bubbles; instead, you'll read the font below what is mostly pictures within a square space (like a comic strip).

I nearly lost it when one citizen of the newly-created "Blackland" yelled, "The Americans are coming! The Americans are coming!"

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lol ugh maybe this should happen. A semi-satirical, but also slightly biting sendup of what would happen if St. Louis seceded from the U.S. as an all black nation. Although in practice I'm sure I couldn't hang, I definitely see the theoretical usefulness and profound appeal of separatist movements (Herland, yo). And all the problems they'd have in practice. This book is far from perfect, clunky, a little discombulated and doesn't maybe go as far or as deep as it should, but ... sigh.. our world guys, our stupid-ass world. (And this was written like over a decade ago sooooooo. yeah.)

[Vincent Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book, but it is not suitable for middle school students due to language.

In addition to the stellar art work, the complex story line mashes political themes, African American culture, disenfranchisement, economics, and more.

Here are some links:

http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/...

http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Nation-Co...

[Sheehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up as it came across my desk at the Library; love the Boondocks and have fond memories of Bebe Kids, so I figured what the hell.

The narrative is classic, East St. Louis secedes from the Union, and makes it work, so that was kinda nice.

I laughed out loud a few times, and nodded my head a bunch, so it was worth the couple hours it took me to get through it.

High school kids would definitely enjoy this...

[John Lamberth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaron McGruder

Really interesting read. I thought they did a great job of creating an "alternate history" book (in graphic novel form) and gave great thought to the unintended consequences of decision making. There were a few things I disagreed with as far as what would happen, but that's more nitpicky than anything.
I actually enjoyed this even more than his "Boondocks" stuff.

[rndgmoat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Too absurd and not in the good way. The comic beats are straight out of the most cliched kind of early 2000s "Friday" rip-offs and the satire is obvious and never half as biting as McGruder is known for. A relic of the angry Bush years, when every liberal was churning out similar dreck. This one is also somewhat ineptly constructed, halfway between a script and a comic. Makes sense that it was a cash-in following the failed attempt at making the film.

[A Battleground · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really wish this could have been a movie (or a one-season-only television show so that it didn't suffer the zombified resurrection that tried its damnedest to ruin The Boondocks. Yeah, I've got some anger behind that.) McGruder and Hudlin's satire knocks it out of the park. No one escapes their razor-sharp dissection in this tale of what happens when East St. Louis, Illinois secedes from the union. Of course I could just be partial because of all those sneaky Outkast references.

[Tajah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Aaron McGruder. Weaving both hilarity, realism, and a sharp political tongue to create what was a totally feasible comic strip on the creation of 'Blackland'.
McGruder is cynical about US politics, but after reading this comic (and the intro by Kyle Baker), you'd definitely understand why that was the case.

5 stars, definitely read it! (But maybe not in public if you're white and don't want people to link you with the racist film......)

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the satirical slapstick one would expect from the combined work of the creator of The Boondocks and the writer of House Party, Birth of a Nation tells a visual story of a disenfranchised black community’s retaliatory secession from the United States. The thinly veiled references to recent figures and moments in American history shows the relationship between American foreign policy and domestic policy and makes the reader imagine what an independent black politic looks like.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The levels of ridiculousness this satire hit were pretty entertaining at times and it was kind of fun to imagine this going on just on the other side of the river, but the formatting was off enough for me to never seem to be able to fully get into it. It didn't seem like much editing was done past its original movie script form...and I think I would have liked the movie better had it been made.

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Read Harder: Set within 100 miles of your location

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's depressing that the premise (vote suppression in East St.Louis leads to election of incompetent boob as president) I assumed it was a shot at Trump, not George W. Bush ... In any case, following the trigger event the mayor of East St. Louis secedes and things go crazy. This takes a while to get going — some of the early scenes are very East St. Louis-specific humor — but once it does, it's quite good.

[ryo narasaki · Rating 3 out of 5]

birth of a nation at first caught my eye because of the white supremacist movie of the same title featuring the KKK in the origination myth of the klan. very funny. I got a little bored of the layout – sometimes the lack of speech-bubbles got tedious. I have to repeat though, very funny! very clever! amazing piece of satire.