DARK HORSE COMICS/Berger Books – @DarkHorseComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Mat Johnson
ART: Warren Pleece
LETTERS: Clem Robin
EDITOR: Karen Berger – @karenpberger
28pp, B&W, $3.99 U.S. (February 2018)
Mature Readers
Part 1: “Soaked”
Incognegro is an original graphic novel created by writer Mat Johnson and artist Warren Pleece. First published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint in 2008, Incognegro is set in the 1930’s and focuses on Zane Pinchback, of the neighborhood of Harlem in New York City. Zane is a reporter for the “New Holland Herald,” a newspaper which serves the Black community of Harlem and beyond. Although Zane is a Negro, his skin complexion is so light that he looks like a White man. When Zane pretends to be a White man, he is doing what is called “passing” or “going incognegro.”
Zane occasionally leaves the relative safety of Harlem and heads to the Deep South where he infiltrates the local White populace – “going incognegro.” Pretending to be a White man, Zane can freely take pictures of the lynchings of black men and also learn the names of the respectable folks attending these ghastly events. In the main story of Incognegro, Zane is forced to travel back to Tupelo, Mississippi where his estranged brother, Alonzo “Pinchy” Pinchback, is scheduled to hang for the murder of a white woman. Zane has to find the real killer while someone who knows of Zane's ruse of passing as a White man arrives in Tupelo, determined to find Zane and out him to the White populace.
Zane Pinchback returns in a new five-issue miniseries, Incognegro: Renaissance, a prequel of sorts to the Incognegro graphic novel. This new comic book is written and drawn by the original Incognegro team of Johnson and Pleece and lettered by Clem Robins. This miniseries is published by Dark Horse Comics' imprint, Berger Books, which is headed by DC Comics/Vertigo's legendary former editor, Karen Berger.
Incognegro: Renaissance #1 opens about two decades before the events depicted in the original Incognegro in New York City of the early 1920s. Zane Pinchback, a young reporter for the New Holland Herald, is accompanying his friend, Carl (who is also a lightly-complected Negro) to a swanky book release party in midtown New York that is being held at a White man's apartment.
Former literary sensation, Arna Van Horn, is celebrating the release of his first book in about 15 years. Set in Harlem, the book is entitled “Nigger Town.” During the party, a dark-skinned Black man named Xavier Harris causes a commotion that leads to a shocking turn of events. The party may also provide an opportunity for a struggling young reporter to make a name for himself.
I am probably one of the few comic book reviewers (if not the only one) outside the mainstream, big media press that listed Incognegro as one of the top five comic books of the first decade of the twenty-first century. Incognegro did turn out to be quite well regarded with critics and reviewers who don't trade in the comic book fan-driven press. According to author Mat Johnson, the original Incognegro was quite popular in high school and college classes, but for some reason, DC Comics allowed the graphic novel to go out of print. Incognegro is back in print under Berger Books, so hopefully, it has found a long-term home.
Concerning Incognegro: Renaissance: it opens with a strong first issue. Mat Johnson's writing is as witty and as engaging as ever, and his eye as a social critic and a commentator may be stronger than ever. In his hands, the pen is not mightier than the sword; it is a sharp and beautifully lethal sword.
I was not crazy about Warren Pleece as the artist of the first Incognegro. Although, his storytelling was good, I found his compositions to be awkward. Now, I have warmed to him. His pen is also a switchblade, honey. Here, Pleece's storytelling is mostly subtle and graceful, but there are times when he conveys the hypocrisy of a 1920's high White society that treats Negros like pets so bluntly. One might mistake this British comics artist as a propagandist for Black radicals.
Readers who want really exceptional comic books will want Incognegro: Renaissance.
9 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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