{"product_id":"its-life-as-i-see-it-isbn-9781681375618","title":"It's Life as I See it","description":"\u003cb\u003eOriginally published by Chicago's Black press, long neglected by mainstream publishing, and now included in a Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago exhibition, these comics showcase some of the finest Black cartoonists.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBetween the 1940s and 1980s, Chicago’s Black press—from \u003ci\u003eThe Chicago Defender\u003c\/i\u003e to the \u003ci\u003eNegro Digest\u003c\/i\u003e to self-published pamphlets—was home to some of the best cartoonists in America. Kept out of the pages of white-owned newspapers, Black cartoonists found space to address the joys, the horrors, and the everyday realities of Black life in America. From Jay Jackson’s anti-racist time travel adventure serial \u003ci\u003eBungleton Green\u003c\/i\u003e, to Morrie Turner’s radical mixed-race strip \u003ci\u003eDinky Fellas\u003c\/i\u003e, to the Afrofuturist comics of Yaoundé Olu and Turtel Onli, to National Book Award–winning novelist Charles Johnson’s blistering and deeply funny gag cartoons, this is work that has for far too long been excluded and overlooked. Also featuring the work of Tom Floyd, Seitu Hayden, Jackie Ormes, and Grass Green, this anthology accompanies the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s exhibition \u003ci\u003eChicago Comics: 1960 to Now\u003c\/i\u003e, and is an essential addition to the history of American comics.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book's cover is designed by Kerry James Marshall.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePublished in conjunction with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, on the occasion of \u003ci\u003eChicago Comics: 1960s to Now\u003c\/i\u003e, June 19–October 3, 2021. Curated by Dan Nadel.“Charles Johnson’s opening essay alone is worth the price of admission . . . \u003ci\u003eIt’s Life as I See It\u003c\/i\u003e is an unusually rich collection, with work that cuts across formats, from traditional newspaper strips to independent or self-published underground and art comics like Turtel Onli’s dynamic abstract story lines in his own Future Funk periodical. Some figures are better known, like the pioneering Jackie Ormes while others, like Onli, are obscure.” —Hilary Chute, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An important and groundbreaking collection, bringing together important voices and biographical context illustrating four decades of Black perspectives on everything from daily life to the Civil Rights Movement. Some of the strips will make your jaw drop with the way they bring to life a particular period in history, some of them will make you shake your head with the poignant realization of how little has changed, and some of them will just make you laugh.” —Eve L. Ewing, sociologist and Marvel Comics writer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Nadel’s lush, profound and well-researched volume sheds well-deserved light on some of the most talented, tenacious, and sadly unsung heroes of modern comics.” —Emil Ferris, author of \u003ci\u003eMy Favorite Thing is Monsters\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This zesty anthology fills a gaping hole in the history of American cartooning by portraying nine seminal Black cartoonists and presenting . . . their creative, incisive, and socially eviscerating cartoons and comic strips. . . . [\u003ci\u003eIt's Life as I See It\u003c\/i\u003e is] an invaluable treasury of dynamic comic works of satire, protest, solidarity, and liberation.” —Donna Seaman, \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“The existence of this anthology—regardless of the violence that surrounds so much of the work, and, in a way, because of that violence—is a gift. It is part of the history of Black creativity and struggle through art. . . A powerful work.” —Zito Madu, \u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“The comics in this book are fantastic: innovative, incisive, layered, and—most importantly—blazingly funny. . . Though many of these artists were ignored by the mainstream, they created their own mainstream, a thriving space in which their Blackness was a starting point for rigorous engagement with American society.” \u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003eTope Folarin\u003ci\u003e, Vulture\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“[\u003ci\u003eIt’s Life as I See It is\u003c\/i\u003e] a landmark book and one that details the untold stories of the Black illustrators who shaped the world of cartooning.” —Ayla Angelos, \u003ci\u003eIt’s Nice That\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“A fascinating collection of comics. . . . Dig deep and you’ll be absorbed.” —Henry Chamberlain, \u003ci\u003eComics Grinder\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003eCartoonists for the \u003ci\u003eDefender\u003c\/i\u003e (and \u003ci\u003eJet\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eEbony\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNegro Digest\u003c\/i\u003e) favored sparser compositions, a comedy of isolation rather than clutter. Even when the images are cluttered, the eye is directed to one area, usually wherever the Black figure stands. When you’re the only Black person in one of these panels, which is pretty often, you triumph by owning your one-of-a-kindness, standing out in style.” —Jackson Arn, \u003ci\u003eArt in America\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Immersive. . . [\u003ci\u003eIt’s Life As I See It\u003c\/i\u003e] showcases a rich legacy.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eDan Nadel\u003c\/b\u003e is Curator at Large of the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis. He is the author and editor of several books, including \u003ci\u003eArt Out of Time: Unknown Comic Visionaries, 1900–1969\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eGary Panter\u003c\/i\u003e;\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand New York Review Comics's\u003ci\u003e Return to Romance: The Strange Love Stories of Ogden Whitney \u003c\/i\u003e(with Frank Santoro). He lives in Brooklyn, New York.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCharles Johnson\u003c\/b\u003e is a novelist, essayist, literary scholar, philosopher, cartoonist, screenwriter, and professor emeritus at the University of Washington in Seattle. A MacArthur fellow, he won the National Book Award for his novel \u003ci\u003eMiddle Passage\u003c\/i\u003e in 1990.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRonald Wimberly\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Washington, D.C. His books include \u003ci\u003ePrince of Cats\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the editor of the art newspaper \u003ci\u003eLAAB\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKerry James Marshall\u003c\/b\u003e is a Chicago-based artist best known for his portraits of Black figures. The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago hosted a retrospective exhibition of his work, \u003ci\u003eKerry James Marshall: Mastry\u003c\/i\u003e, in 2016. He was included on the \u003ci\u003eTime \u003c\/i\u003e100 list in 2017.","brand":"New York Review Comics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305017528549,"sku":"NP9781681375618","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781681375618.jpg?v=1767730269","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/its-life-as-i-see-it-isbn-9781681375618","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}