Big Jim and the White Boy: A Graphic Novel Retelling of an American Classic

A thrilling graphic novel reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that follows Jim, an enslaved man on a journey towards freedom, and his sidekick, Huck, in the antebellum South--from the team behind the Eisner Award-winning The Black Panther Party.

＂A brilliant remix of history, politics, satire, and passion filtered through the comics medium by two masters of storytelling.＂--John Jennings, Hugo Award-winning comics creator

＂This book, beautifully illustrated and superbly written, expands an American classic by adding rich and important cultural nuances.＂--Joel Christian Gill, author of Fights and chair of the MFA in Visual Narrative at Boston University

Commonly regarded as one of the great American novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has captured the hearts and imaginations of readers since 1885. But since its publication, critics have rightfully condemned Mark Twain’s troubling portrayal of Black Americans as stereotypes and caricatures, with contemporary fans searching for a modern update to this iconic tale.

Big Jim and the White Boy is a radical retelling of this American classic, centering the experiences of Jim, an enslaved Black man in search of his kidnapped wife and children, along with his cheeky sidekick, Huckleberry Finn. Jim and Huck’s high-stakes adventures take them on an epic voyage across the antebellum South and Midwest, through Confederate war camps and runaway safe houses, into Old West standoffs, and on the road as covert Underground Railroad agents. Intertwined into the story of Jim and Huck are the stories of Jim’s descendants in the 1930s, 1980s, and 2020s, making this a multigenerational family epic as well as an adventure story. Big Jim and the White Boy takes readers on a journey through Jim and Huck’s past, present, and future, delving into their incredible friendship and years of adventures--a bond that transcends the gruesome racism of the Civil War era.

With compelling artwork and riveting storytelling, David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson push the boundaries of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in this incredible graphic novel, exploring the triumphs and tribulations of Jim and his family, and finally giving his due as a hero of American literature.

David F. Walker is an award-winning comic book writer, author, filmmaker, journalist, and educator. His work in comic books includes Shaft, winner of the Glyph Award for Story of the Year; Power Man and Iron Fist, Nighthawk, Fury, Secret Wars: Battleworld, Cyborg, The Army of Dr. Moreau, and Number 13. He is also the creator of the critically-acclaimed YA series The Adventures of Darius Logan and the author of the Eisner-winning The Black Panther Party and Bitter Root. Recognized as a leading scholar expert of African American cinema, Walker produced one of the definitive documentaries on the topic of Blaxploitation films, Macked, Hammered, Slaughtered, and Shafted.

Marcus Kwame Anderson is an illustrator and fine artist. Much of his work explores the beauty and diversity of the African diaspora and often incorporates social commentary. He graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a degree in illustration. Anderson is the Eisner-winning co-creator of The Black Panther Party, the co-creator of the comic book series Snow Daze, and has illustrated stories in Action Lab’s Cash and Carrie and F.O.R.C.E.