Click to visit Comic-Book-1957.pdf
[Editor’s note: we post this every year on Martin Luther King Day.]
This slim comic from 1957, The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. and Montgomerywhose story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott inspired many to adopt nonviolent protest as a means of achieving civil rights for all. Most famously, a young John Lewis read the book and recalled its power, inspiring him to adapt his life story into the March trilogy.
The comic was published by pacifist Alfred Hassler and the Fellowship for Reconciliation. Drawn by an unknown artist*** at Al Qap Studio; it has been translated into many other languages and used as a tool for protests in Egypt in 2011. The initial printing run was 250,000 copies, which gives you an idea of the power of the comics medium at the time.
Andrew Aydin, March, co-author, wrote a master’s thesis on the history of the comic, which was adapted into this article for Creative Loafing.
The first time I heard about the civil rights-era comic book Martin Luther King Jr. and the Montgomery Story was in the spring of 2008, Congressman John Lewis told me. , I was driving him to an event and we had to talk about comic books. I remember Louis sitting in the front passenger seat and gently teasing me about attending DragonCon, a comic convention in Atlanta. But he continued, “You know, there was a comic book during the movement. It was very influential. I was fascinated. Could comic books have played a role in the civil rights movement? And if so, how? We could Do it again?
Its message remains strong.
***UPDATE: Since last year, James Lomborg By identifying major discoveries in comics scholarship And Barry as an artist The story of Martin Luther King Jr. and Montgomery.
