Run

The beginning of John Lewis's political career is the subject of Run, Book One. However, he passed away before the book was finished. 90% of the book was completed and approved by him before his death. I am presuming that there will not be a Book Two since he has died.  

To John Lewis, the civil rights movement came to an end with the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. By that time he had served for more than 5 years as a leader of the movement.  He led sit-ins, marches and was an original Freedom Rider.  Lewis also served as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee for several years, spoke at MLK's March on Washington and co-lead a march from Selma to Montgomery on Bloody Sunday.  Run begins where March 3 ends. Lewis recounts the highs and lows of fighting to harness the legal protections that are now law. However, the Vietnam War presents a challenge for an electorate that becomes consumed by the images on their TV screens and soon forgets about the civil rights movement.

The artwork is amazing.  Nate Powell had to draw his scenes from the reference of thousands of newspaper and magazine photographs. However, he had to make them historically accurate while also needing to change the angle of the drawings to fit the comic format. In addition, he had to comb through online listings of objects that he was not familiar with, such as period appropriate typewriters, so he would know what the looked like. Powell also researched how people dressed in the 1960s so that the characters' age, occupation and socioeconomic status was accurate for the time period. This sounds like a monumental task for someone who did not live through this era.  

The boldness of John Lewis' story captured this reader's attention. Everything written into the comic was so serious that sometimes it felt like information overload, even though the information was necessary to tell this true story. His vision regarding what was important enough to be included in the book is probably what makes all of his comics such good reading.  Lewis was so good at this that I believe he missed a calling as an author too late in his life. 

Run is another fantastic comic detailing events in the civil rights movement.  I wish that these comics would not end with Run because they tell this story in vivid detail.  5 out of 5 stars.