Torsten Adair, thanks for the recommended reading! I actually have "Incognegro", but didn't know about the others. I'd like to add John Ridley's "The American Way." It's not strictly "historical fiction" but deals with issues relevant to the Cold War and Civil Rights era.

Kyle Baker's work is mostly comedic. He enjoys his work, and like most intelligent humorists, sees humor readily.

One should not judge a novel by the author. Graphic novels, with their "unlimited budget" can depict history in ways that movies cannot. It is a visual medium that allows the reader to take their time, and if necessary, to return to a previous page or chapter for extra insight. Mr. Baker airs libraries' dirty secret: kids love comicbooks, and it's a great way to get them to read. It engages the reader instantly.

To read more African-American history in graphic novel form, I recommend:
"Still I Rise: A Cartoon History of African Americans" by Roland Owen Laird, et al.
"Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow" by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso
Also, though it is historical fiction, "Incognegro" by Mat Johnson, depicts a light-skinned negro reporter who reports on lynchings in the South.

I actually found his laughter refreshing and thought it displayed an infectious enthusiasm. And I suspect that if this had been a video interview the laughter would've been less off-putting.

Definitely an interesting concept.

Hi Frederick --
You can get in touch with Kyle Baker by going to his website: http://kylebaker.com/ -- in the lower righthand corner of the site, there are a few different ways to get in touch with him listed.
Best!

That anyone would NOT seek out Kyle Baker's extremely interesting take on Nat Turner based on his laugh disturbs me. Mr. Jenkins seems to be on the right track.

Oh COME ON people!
He's being interviewed---he's probably nervous! Also, I have to wonder if you've ever sat and had chats with some artists who get a charge out of something that they're working on that their only reaction to it is sheer stupefication.
Lord knows, I have...

After listening to the interview I was compelled to do something I never thought I would do - respond to your message board. Going to the comment page I saw that items 2 through 4 above capture the comment I intended to address. Your guest completely undermined any serious message he might have been trying to make. I was overcome with his "maniacal giggling", and would never support in any way any of his works. Wow. This show is much better than having someone like this as a guest.

Yikes. The stereotype of the geeky cartoonist/comic book guy was put into play here. What's with his creepy giggling? The idea that he wanted to do an historical reference wasn't close in either illustration, type face, page design or storytelling style... seems pretty overblown to me. I appreciate the idea and the desire to do something positive, but it's rather limited in its realization.

Listening to Kyle Baker on this evening's Studio 360, I was also preparing my dinner - but I have to say - though nothing said, was anything but interesting, Kyle Anderson's laughter, interjecting the points sporadically, had a manic quality that kept separating me from what was being said. It really wasn't conducive to paying attention to content.
just fyi
Ann Sinclair (Jamaica Plain)

The maniacal giggles were very off-putting to say the least.

What an interesting concept: to depict American (Black) History in cartoon form. How does one get in touch with Mr. Baker to learn more?