Fire!! : : the Zora Neale Hurston Story

Locations
Call Number: Adult Graphic Novel / Bagge, Peter, Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Hurston, Zora Neale
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Adult Graphic Novel / Bagge, Peter	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Hurston, Zora Neale	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Hurston, Zora Neale	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Hurston, Zora Neale	4-week checkout	On Shelf

"Peter Bagge has defied the expectations of the comics industry by changing gears from his famous slacker hero Buddy Bradley to documenting the life and times of historical 20th century trailblazers. If Bagge had not already had a New York Times bestseller with his biography of Margaret Sanger, his newest biography, Fire!!: The Zora Neale Hurston Story, would seem to be an unfathomable pairing of author and subject. Yet through Bagge's skilled cartooning, he turns what could be a rote biography into a bold and dazzling graphic novel, creating a story as brilliant as the life itself. Hurston challenged the norms of what was expected of an African American woman in early 20th century society. The fifth of eight kids from a Baptist family in Alabama, Hurston's writing prowess blossomed at Howard University, and then Barnard College, where she was the sole black student. She arrived in NYC at the height of the Harlem Renaissance and quickly found herself surrounded by peers such as Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman. Hurston went on to become a noted folklorist and critically acclaimed novelist, including her most provocative work Their Eyes Were Watching God. Despite these landmark achievements, personal tragedies and shifting political winds in the midcentury rendered her almost forgotten by the end of her life. With admiration and respect, Bagge reconstructs her vivid life in resounding full-color."-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Does a lovely job of telling Zora Neale Hurston's life story submitted by valeriemates on June 19, 2020, 10:53pm Peter Bagge does a really nice job with graphic novel biographies. I loved his biography of Margaret Sanger, which was engaging and well-researched, so I checked out this story of Zora Neale Hurston's life too. I knew almost nothing about Hurston before I read this book. And, once again, Bagge did a lovely job of illustrating a person's life as a graphic novel. I was glad that I read it.

I especially like the section of his books where he talks about decisions that he made in the process of writing them. Like for example, he says that Hurston was known for wearing extremely flamboyant outfits, but that he thought that drawing her that way would detract from the story, and so instead he drew her wearing yellow throughout the book.