Very detailed backmatter! ( )

As far as biographical comics go, this has got to be one of my favorites. This year I've been on a Zora kick. You could say she is my author of interest for 2017. I've only read one of her books (need to change that), but when I looked up her life online I was amazed. I was pleased this comic book covered most of those topics and other things I didn't know about. And unlike some biographical comics this isn't about someone people know about already.

I'm not familiar with anything Peter Bagge has done. I'm pretty sure I've seen his art style around the comic book world though. This is the first book I've read of his. I like his style though. Reminds me a lot of Floyd Gottfredson's work with Mickey Mouse. I think this works perfectly in Zora's world. At times I think the comic book part is a little jumpy, but notes page make up for that and explains things in more detail. The notes provides photos of Zora I've never seen before and photos of the people within this comic book.

I love how this book isn't afraid to talk about Zora's controversial view points. She was a Republican. Although she didn't write her political points in her books, she had opinions. Most of her "skin folk" were Democrat. Today she wouldn't be right or left, most likely Libertarian. They show how her Democrat friend dissed her for not agreeing with her. Kind of like unfriending someone on Facebook cause they have a different option than you, god forbid someone disagrees with you politically. This book brings up opinions she had that would push people's buttons today. Looking up about Bagge, I can see why he chose Zora as a subject for a biography. I don't see myself as a Republic or Democrat. To be honest, I have a dislike for both parties. Reading about her life made me like her even more.

One thing that Zora wanted more than anything I'm starting to pick up and why I love her is she wanted people to see her as Zora, not a black writer or a female writer, but Zora. I feel like people of 2017 should read about her life too. Might open some eyes. Not all black people are black people. I feel like half these social issue gong on today, Zora would still have controversial commentaries about. Keep in mind her opinions on Brown v. Board of Education aren't what you'd think. She kind of agreed with mixing races in public schools, but mostly she was scared it might make things worse. I can't fully explain the thing, but the way she put it I kind of see what she meant. She also didn't think black people should get a free pass in court because they were black. This book covers a scene with a woman accused of murder. A group woman think it sexist and raciest she should be accused, meanwhile Bagge shows Zora thinking that woman murdered her husband. Sound familiar?

This book also covers her interest in folklore and voodoo. Maybe my favorite parts of this comic book. I'm interested in both too. This made me want to read what she actually had to say on those topic as well. I praise her for the fact she wrote about things she wanted to writ e and as think book shows, she even challenged herself, like writing about a white person GASP!

What did I learn from this and why I think it's important to read about Zora? Be yourself while letting others be themselves. Not everyone is the same. Zora isn't the same as others and I think if she was, she wouldn't be as good of a writer. I think she is one of the best too.

SIDE COMMENT: I wish there were more non-fictional comic books I had interest in reading. Most seem to be about science and political topics, but noticing there are very little about writers. There are a ton of regular biographies about writers, but since comics are popular these days you'd think you'd see more about writers. I'm glad I happened to stumble upon this one about Zora. Kind of wish there was a movie or maybe better a TV show about her life. ( )

Fire is a graphic biography of Zora Neale Hurston, an African American writer in the early twentieth century best known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston challenged the norms of what was expected of an African American woman. She was the fifth of eight children from a Baptist family in Alabama. Her writing ability blossomed while she was a student at Howard University in Washington DC and then at Barnard College where she was the only black student. When she arrived in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance she found herself surrounded by peers such as poet Langston Hughes. Hurston later became a noted folklorist and critically acclaimed novelist. Despite her achievements, in order to make money she frequently had to resort to becoming a maid. Hurston was largely forgotten by the end of her life in 1960.

Let me say right off the bat that many people will not like, or even approve of this comic because the author has used dialogue that was the black slang common in the American South at the time of Hurston's life. Peter Bagge may have decided to use this type of language because Hurston was a folklorist whose books used this type of slang in her writing. I don't know specifically why he chose this route. Hurston made several anthropological trips throughout the South gathering information for her book and used this language in her book on folklore. I found it difficult to accept the dialogue and some of the illustrations, given the political correctness of our day.

That said, the book gave an in depth perspective of Hurston's life. She had plenty of ups and downs, many of which were due to Jim Crow laws. However, she had an indelible spirit. Nothing kept her down for long. She had a stick-to-it-iveness that helped her persevere over several years to get an education. I think many people would have given up but Zora relentlessly pursued her goals regardless of societal rules.

Peter Bagge included forty pages of notes concerning his sources at the end of the book detailing every fact he presented in the comic. It is interesting reading and helps the reader to obtain context of the era in which Hurston lived. ( )

Bagge's transition from early 90s counter-culture comics to well-researched biographies of early 20th century feminist icons is a both jarring and brilliant. However, both this and the Sanger book are mainly built around short anecdotes with large jumps in time, which makes it confusing to follow. ( )

This biography hits some highlights in Hurston's life and is told in a fun way, but it is too choppy to be really satisfying. The extensive notes section in the back emphasizes how much had to be left on the cutting room floor. ( )