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bookiss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
theastrallibrary's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
novella42's review
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Important justice work, making the era of lynching more visible and visceral than a paragraph in a textbook could do.
I don't regret reading it. But I don't think I can recommend it with the graphic transphobia.
I don't regret reading it. But I don't think I can recommend it with the graphic transphobia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Violence, Body horror, Police brutality, Transphobia, Outing, Blood, Deadnaming, Torture, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Gun violence, and Gore
Moderate: Transphobia, Vomit, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Grief, Slavery, Classism, Infidelity, Ableism, and Fire/Fire injury
posies23's review against another edition
4.0
This intriguing graphic novel feels like a really good episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE or ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS. Not the ones with the weird space aliens or fantasy elements, but the ones where they examine social issues and make you think about it in ways you'd never thought about it before.
In this case, the issues are race and identity, particularly in the American "Jazz Age." It follows the story of a light-skinned black man -- the titular "Incognegro," a journalist who goes undercover as a white man to investigate lynchings in the south. Of course, things get complicated, but not in the way you might expect. The art and story mesh together well, and the characters are fleshed out and believable. The story has several twists and turns, including one that I genuinely didn't see coming, but made perfect sense. As you might expect, there are some pretty graphic episodes -- pardon the pun -- but nothing that wouldn't make this an acceptable high school read.
Highly recommended for people interested in crime stories, film noir, American history, race, and issues surrounding identity.
In this case, the issues are race and identity, particularly in the American "Jazz Age." It follows the story of a light-skinned black man -- the titular "Incognegro," a journalist who goes undercover as a white man to investigate lynchings in the south. Of course, things get complicated, but not in the way you might expect. The art and story mesh together well, and the characters are fleshed out and believable. The story has several twists and turns, including one that I genuinely didn't see coming, but made perfect sense. As you might expect, there are some pretty graphic episodes -- pardon the pun -- but nothing that wouldn't make this an acceptable high school read.
Highly recommended for people interested in crime stories, film noir, American history, race, and issues surrounding identity.
jenage's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sarabz's review against another edition
4.0
Maybe actually 3.5 stars...
Incognegro takes on the challenging subject - especially for a graphic novel - of lynching. Although the story is really about the Zane's (the main character) use of his ability to pass as white to observe and report on lynchings in the South. And the risks associated with doing that for him and for his friend that travels with him. The action in the story focuses on Zane and his brother, who Zane travels to the South from Harlem to rescue. We're taken through a story that explores passing and the price and riskiness of taking on a new identity to participate in social spaces that would otherwise be closed to you. There are also themes of community, solidarity, and belonging.
I wanted some more depth and complexity to the characters and the story. The art was great and the story was well structured. But I was left feeling like there could have been more - maybe in the interplay between words and pictures that great graphic novels sometimes accomplish.
But definitely worth checking out. There are ideas in the book that are worth exploring and I appreciated that Zane made a choice to use his ability to pass to expose the horrors of lynching.
Incognegro takes on the challenging subject - especially for a graphic novel - of lynching. Although the story is really about the Zane's (the main character) use of his ability to pass as white to observe and report on lynchings in the South. And the risks associated with doing that for him and for his friend that travels with him. The action in the story focuses on Zane and his brother, who Zane travels to the South from Harlem to rescue. We're taken through a story that explores passing and the price and riskiness of taking on a new identity to participate in social spaces that would otherwise be closed to you. There are also themes of community, solidarity, and belonging.
I wanted some more depth and complexity to the characters and the story. The art was great and the story was well structured. But I was left feeling like there could have been more - maybe in the interplay between words and pictures that great graphic novels sometimes accomplish.
But definitely worth checking out. There are ideas in the book that are worth exploring and I appreciated that Zane made a choice to use his ability to pass to expose the horrors of lynching.
thisisstephenbetts's review against another edition
2.0
Story of a very pale black man, who can pass as white, investigating lynchings of black people in the South. It's readable enough, but didn't quite work for me. I felt like, as it stood, it wouldn't have been greenlit in any other medium (perhaps radio play), and just could have used a bit more polish on the script. As it was, I found it a bit annoying.