I have to admit, I was not looking forward to reading this novel from the moment I saw it on the syllabus and the completion of the task did not alleviate any expected feelings or thoughts. I guess I agree with Kacy in my inability to share Kyle’s enthusiasm with the material, most probably because I heard the story (and many many like it) growing up all my childhood and then learned of the events (albeit from a more academic slant) in school. Much like Maus, having a fair amount of knowledge on the history of Nat Turner, I found myself looking for a fresh perspective to the account, something to provide a different interpretation of the tragic events; in this, Kyle Baker failed me.
Graphic Novel indeed. Baker’s use of images to depict the story was perhaps the only thing fresh to me, however, I have seen my fair share of slave images. It makes me wonder as to the intended audience of Nat Turner, and the intended reception/experience of the reader. I am far from numb to the history of slavery, but did Kyle Baker truly use a book laden with images to create a greater response than words? I am so thankful that I purchased a used book in which someone wrote down the notes of the pages from the back on the pages to describe the action depicted in the images; I found myself spending more time than intended trying to decipher a large number of the images and some of them were simply too confusing in artwork for me to grasp.
I don’t think anyone can call Nat Turner a superhero (seriously…it makes me laugh), or a hero in my opinion. Of course, that’s just my humble opinion; I merely mentioned the name to my Uncle Sunday evening and he looks up from his work to ask, “The Civil Rights Leader?” I could only laugh. I don’t think anyone would read Kyle Baker’s Nat Turner and feel they were engaged with the story of a Civil Rights Leader, but, like all things, you could call it a matter of perspective. Nat Turner was violent; so were the actions of the rebellion. Nat Turner attempted to depict the horrors of slavery; I can’t think of a collegiate audience foreign to it’s knowledge. I just could not find a fresh perspective from Nat Turner, and this created a large abyss in my ability to appreciate the work.