Big Jim and the White Boy

“One of the most profound, ambitious and emotionally hard-hitting graphic novels ever attempted.”—Forbes“This phenomenal graphic novel doesn’t set out to replace Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but to add immeasurably valuable context that has historically been left out. Jim’s story deserves to be told …”—Bookpage “Big Jim and the White Boy is terrifically ambitious—for its authors and their audience.”—The Washington Post Book Club“A thought-provoking, profoundly moving adventure story. Not to be missed.”—Library Journal, starred review“This reimagining of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shifts its focus to Jim and becomes a broader examination of enslavement, the American Civil War era, and the power of telling one’s own story… . this well-researched, well-written book belongs in all library collections.”—School Library Journal, starred review“This book has a good story as well as some truths that need to be remembered.”—ICv2 “Big Jim and the White Boy is a marvel of the graphic novel format. Not only does the creative team expertly wrangle four different timelines, but they’ve given the book several narrators who use the power of oral storytelling to share stories through the generations until it reaches us, the reader.”—Women Write About Comics “Big Jim and the White Boy is a brilliant remix of history, politics, satire, and passion filtered through the comics medium by two masters of storytelling.”—John Jennings, Hugo Award–winning comics creator “Big Jim and the White Boy should be a part of every American high school English curriculum.”—Boing, Boing“Big Jim and the White Boy is a stunning inversion of any reader’s expectations: a breathtaking adventure that disassembles a literary classic, a well-researched reckoning with the legacies of enslavement and liberation, and a genuinely heart-swelling exploration of love, time, and memory.”—Nate Powell, award-winning cartoonist of the March trilogy and Save It for Later“Big Jim and The White Boy is a riveting story that really turns the original Huck Finn story on its head. To see this tale through Jim’s eyes is thought-provoking and impactful. Definitely a must-read!”—Regine Sawyer, comic book writer and coordinator and founder of WinC International“David F. Walker has given Jim a voice beyond the superstitious, passive slave and Marcus Kwame Anderson has made him real and not a cultural cliche.”—Joel Christian Gill, author of Fights and chair of the MFA in Visual Narrative at Boston University“David F. Walker is one of the most imaginative and bold storytellers out there, and Marcus Kwame Anderson’s beautiful art is the perfect complement for the retelling of this most important American story.”—Erika Alexander, cocreator and writer of Concrete Park“Big Jim and the White Boy … challenges readers’ assumptions about the nature of ancestry and memory.”—Ajuan Mance, author of Gender Studies and Living While Black“A vital reconsideration of an American classic.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

David F. Walker is an award-winning comic book writer, author, filmmaker, journalist, and educator. His work in comic books includes Shaft, winner of the Glyph Award for Story of the Year; Power Man and Iron Fist, Nighthawk, Fury, Secret Wars- Battleworld, Cyborg, The Army of Dr. Moreau, and Number 13. He is also the creator of the critically-acclaimed YA series The Adventures of Darius Logan and the author of the Eisner-winning The Black Panther Party and Bitter Root. Recognized as a leading scholar expert of African American cinema, Walker produced one of the definitive documentaries on the topic of Blaxploitation films, Macked, Hammered, Slaughtered, and Shafted.

Marcus Kwame Anderson is an illustrator and fine artist. Much of his work explores the beauty and diversity of the African diaspora and often incorporates social commentary. He graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a degree in illustration. Anderson is the Eisner-winning co-creator of The Black Panther Party, the co-creator of the comic book series Snow Daze, and has illustrated stories in Action Lab’s Cash and Carrie and F.O.R.C.E.