Week 8: Non-fiction Comics

March, by John Lewis, is an autobiographical telling of the American Civil Rights Movement, published 50+ years after the movement itself. For this response I have focused on Book 1, though I'm sure many of the themes and patterns are consistent throughout the series.

March tells the aforementioned historical event from a close lens/personal perspective of congressman John Lewis, shifting back and forth in time to do so. Personal details about John's life, like the chicken story, narrow the focus while at the same time broadening the story to something bigger than just a retelling of history -- it showcases its effect on the daily life of someone like John (similar to the way a comic like Maus also showcases the more personal side of historical conflict).
Moving back and forth in time also broadens the scope as well as makes the pacing more interesting.

In terms of the comic's style, its cinematic nature is highly effective, from its dramatic compositions to cinematic pacing; but especially with the short segment before the title page. As many films often do, we are given a taste of the comic's action, conflict and theme before being shown the title and really jumping into the full story. Stylistically, the use of speech bubbles was also noticeably successful in conveying different tones and voices -- again, in the opening sequence, they differentiate the peaceful nature of those marching from the aggressive nature of the police.

Aside from style, the format of March in particular is interesting. When comparing it to other non-fiction works like Persepolis (which I read four or five years ago in high school) it, again, has a more cinematic feel, rather than like feeling like a diary or autobiography (though it is an autobiographical work). There is no narrator, per se, like there is in something like Persepolis.

The idea of nonfiction comics in general is intriguing as it almost fictionalizes an event in order to make it more consumable as a story, and therefore makes it more absorbing and more educational, generally speaking. This doesn't make it juvenile by any means, however. Especially in the case of March, many of the moments of conflict are strikingly visceral and and evict strong emotion.


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