Butler could have simply written a story set in 1800s Maryland, but by having the realities of slavery not just witnessed but lived by a protagonist from the modern era, we are forced to feel and think about that tragic era of our history as though it were happening to us. To assist with the lessons Butler wants us to learn, Dana, who is very much her own character, functions in part as a proxy of the reader. And, I suspect for many of us, we don’t like to think about it. The dynamics of these mindsets and the book’s events show the devastation that ignorance, jealousy, and sheer hatred can cause in the lives of many.Īs Dana says at one point, “People don’t learn everything about the times that came before them.” We know slavery happened. The story explores not just the attitudes and actions of slave-owners and other whites towards their black slaves, and vice versa, but of slaves towards the educated black protagonist. The art and story work collaboratively to make sure the reader is not okay with what is taking place.Ĭhiefly, Kindred is an ever-important reminder of how we think of and treat each other. Discomfort, frustration, and anger radiate from the book’s pages: the physical, often sexual violence is not just spoken of, but frequently shown. The sometimes dark, often gritty images set a serious tone and an intensity that the story demands. The art of Kindred reinforces the terror and panic often felt by the narrator. How did she get there? Why is this happening? As Kindred unfolds, Dana’s sanity and her very life are challenged. The initial confusion Dana experiences is well felt by the reader. This protagonist, Dana Franklin, an African American, is thrust into the all-too-real, all-too-horrifying realities of the world of slavery. A twenty-something writer from the year 1976, living in California, is mysteriously and repeatedly pulled through time and space to early 1800s Maryland. At its core, it is a story of pain, a tale of survival. Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, like the history it shares, is haunting. Considered by many to be her most accessible work, the novel has been adapted into a graphic novel by cartoonist/writer Damian Duffy and editor/artist John Jennings. Thirty-eight years after its original publication, Butler’s best-selling novel, Kindred, and by extension Butler’s own voice and vision, has been given new life. In 2006, she tragically passed away at the age of fifty-eight. Her career spanned over a dozen novels and, among her many awards and honors, Butler was the first science fiction writer to win a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation, before being cut short. BUTLER’S KINDRED: A GRAPHIC NOVEL ADAPTATION by Damian Duffy and John Jennings Abrams Comicarts, 240 pagesĬrowned the “grand dame of science fiction” by Essence, Octavia Butler was one of the most popular and critically acclaimed science fiction writers of the 20 th century.
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