Norma Editorial presents Black Squaw, the story of the African-American aviator who worked for Al Capone during Prohibition
Editorial Standard It proves month after month to be the reference house for quality European comics published in our country, at least if we look at the number of works published and the quality of the material used. One of the latest joys it has given to aviation lovers (a common genre in its catalog) is black squawthe comic Yann LePennetier And Alain Henriet which tells us the story of the aviator Bessie Coleman.
A woman named Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas, USA. Her life began humbly, in a large family of thirteen siblings, at a time when being an African-American woman meant facing endless obstacles. But she was born to not be intimidated by adversity, and being half black and half Cherokee at that time was bad enough…
Despite attending a segregated school and being abandoned by her father (with the added family responsibilities that entailed), Bessie made it and moved to Chicago, where her passion for aviation began, listening with fascination to the stories told by pilots returning from World War I. It was then that she decided she wanted to fly, but unfortunately it was 1920 and she was a black woman…
With an unshakable will, she learned to speak French and decided that if she couldn’t fly in her own country, she would do it in France. In 1921, she became the first African-American and Native American woman to earn an International Pilot’s License from the International Aeronautical Federation. But Bessie wasn’t content to be a pilot: she became a milk pilot. Although her life was tragically short (she died in a plane crash in 1926 at the age of 34), her legacy lives on.
In this story we will meet this woman and see how its authors take her legend to bring it to a more fantastic and adventurous terrain, taking advantage of the time she lived to transform her into an alcohol smuggler for Al Capone and introduction The Ku Klux Klan along their path, and in passing tell the story of the evolution of an entire nation at a time when the United States was preparing to undergo a profound social, political and economic transformation.
Reality and Fiction
It is difficult for the casual reader to know where fiction begins and reality ends in this imaginative aerial epic. The authors do very well to use the historical character to develop an adventure in which a multitude of themes are touched upon, although it is also true that perhaps at some points the reader can get a little lost in the plot, something that the continuous leaps back and forth in time contribute to. The supplements inserted at the end of the volume can be very useful to counteract this effect, and it is advisable to tackle them at the beginning of reading rather than at its conclusion.
This multi-genre story seamlessly transitions from black classic to historical narration through the story of social criticism and pulp more adventurous IndianJonesian. And somehow it all fits together very well. However, it must also be said that the narrative can be a bit confusing at times, switching from one situation to another unclearly more than once and making the reader wonder if he is missing something…
But what makes this comic so attractive is, how could it be otherwise, the magnetism of its main character. Bessie is defined as an attractive and determined woman, whose will is above the ages, fashions and prejudices. If her character had not worked, the story could not have worked either.
Representing the 1920s
As soon as one begins to read this volume, anyone can realize the skill of the artist in charge of drawing these pages, with a precise and delicate stroke of clear lines which, together with a wonderful palette of colors used with great success by Patricia Tilkincreates an extraordinary atmosphere.
But you don’t have to have read very far to realize that in addition to the skill, there is a lot of research behind it to faithfully portray every detail of the era in which the action is set, especially what it refers to: the architecture, the clothing and all the machinery present.
On the downside, it must be said that sometimes the characters in the foreground seem less elaborate than the environment in which they move, but this is not something that can in any way obscure the splendid graphic work that can be enjoyed in this highly polished volume.
As for the edition, it must be said that this one is wonderful. Volume presented by Editorial Standard It is presented in hardback format without dust jacket with a page size of 23.5 x 31 cm. The volume contains 248 pages in color and includes, in addition to the translation of the four albums that make up the Black Squaw series, a large final section with lots of extra material. The suggested retail price is €45 and went on sale in June 2024.
black squaw
MEET THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN AVIATOR WHO WORKED FOR AL CAPONE
Aviator Bessie Coleman has spent her life between opposing worlds: black and white, male and female, law and crime, earth and sky. In the early 1930s, all these worlds will collide when she begins working transporting contraband alcohol for mobster Al Capone.
Screenwriter Yann and artist Henriet, creators of the Beartooth series, return to aerial adventure with a series inspired by the biography of African-American aviator Bessie Coleman, which we present in its entirety in a single, complete volume.
Authors: Yann LePennetier, Patricia Tilkin and Alain Henriet