From author Ronald Wimberly, creator of the viral comic Lighten Up, comes a soaring graphic biography that casts new light on the first African-American fighter pilot.

On the eve of World War I, Eugene Bullard was a refugee of the Jim Crow South who was determined to find a place where a Black man would be treated as a fellow human being. His search took him from rural Georgia to the streets of Paris, from the vaudeville stage to the boxing ring, and finally, from the muddy trenches to the open skies. In 1914, Bullard joined the fight to defend France--and made history as the world's first African American fighter pilot.

In this candid but sensitive portrait of Bullard, author Ronald Wimberly balances the personal and the historical to interrogate concepts of cynicism, idealism, fear, glory, and the pervasiveness of anti-Black racism.

Author: Ronald Wimberly
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: First Second
Published: 01/03/2023
Pages: 336
Weight: 1.93lbs
Size: 9.22h x 6.37w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781626728523


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/02/2023
School Library Journal 05/01/2023 pg. 91

About the Author

Ronald Wimberly is an American cartoonist, illustrator, and designer. He has published several graphic novels, as well as shorter works for The New Yorker, DC/Vertigo, Nike, Marvel, The Nib, Hill and Wang, and Dark Horse Comics.

Brahm Revel is an American artist and writer best known for his creator-owned comic series GUERILLAS, published by Oni Press. He has also created comics for Marvel, Boom!, and most recently, IDW, where he helped develop the character Jennika for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle universe. This led to a nomination for a 2020 National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for his work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Jennika II. Brahm has also worked in the film and animation industries, most notably storyboarding for the animated show The Venture Bros. He currently lives and works in Barcelona, Spain.