Publishers Weekly
★ 03/27/2023
Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoonist Bell, known for his syndicated strip Candorville, delivers an unflinching debut graphic memoir that balances gravity, vulnerability, and humor in relaying his life as a Black man and parent. When he was a child in 1981, a terrifying standoff with a pair of Dobermans left an indelible imprint that became a metaphor for future racist interactions. Later, after Bell’s white mother prohibited him from playing outside with a water gun, she attempted “the talk,” a conversation between Black parents and their children about living while Black. She cautioned, “White people won’t see you or treat you the way they do little white boys.” When he sneaked out the toy regardless, it resulted in a tense encounter with a police officer who seemed to morph into the dogs. (The episode is drawn to evoke the memory of Tamir Rice, who is listed along with other names in a haunting dedication page memorial.) Indeed, racism pervaded Bell’s life into adulthood: he was bullied, surveilled, and falsely accused of delinquency and plagiarism. His career as a cartoonist is a through line, from childhood drawing to his professional impact that garnered hate mail and swayed public opinion with sometimes devastating consequences. Reckoning with his identity during an ongoing history of racialized violence, Bell recounts how his father’s inability to give “the talk” still haunts him and takes on greater significance when Bell’s own son asks about George Floyd. The narrative, drawn awash in a blue hue, artfully interweaves sepia flashbacks and artifacts of 1980s pop culture (from Mr. Potato Head to Star Trek) highlighted with flashes of color. This emotionally striking work is sure to leave a lasting mark. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (June)
From the Publisher
Winner of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation Award
ALA Alex Award Winner (2024)
Finalist for the National Cartoonists Society’s Graphic Novel Award
New York Times, “14 Nonfiction Books to Read This Summer“
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The Root, “A Supersized List of June 2023 Books By Black Authors We Can't Wait to Read“
St. Louis Post Dispatch, “40 New Titles to Make Summer Vacation More Fun“
In Between Drafts, “Best New Books of June“
The Messenger, “Here Are the Best Books to Read This June“
Shelf Awareness, “10 Best Nonfiction Adult Titles“
Publishers Lunch, “The Best of the Best Books of 2023“
Minneapolis Star Tribune, “40 Great Books to Get You or Someone on Your Gift List Through the Winter“
“A moving portrait . . . funny and touching, intellectually and emotionally stimulating. There’s pride and prejudice, family drama, and a love story. I loved this book. You will too.”
―Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling
“A Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist draws on his childhood in Los Angeles to explore racism on a deeply personal level. There’s a poignancy, too, in the cyclical nature of the story: Bell, now a father, is wrestling with the same questions his own parents face.“
—New York Times
“Propulsive reading, drawn with urgency and verve. Once you pick up The Talk, you won’t be able to put it down.”
—Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home and The Secret to Superhuman Strength
"In The Talk, Bell combines the overtly personal and the sociopolitical in a textured autobiography that blends raw honestly, moving memories and powerful insights on race and police relations.”
—Washington Post
"The book is visually stunning, and propulsive, with an absorbing narrative voice. Divided into almost two dozen chapters, its drawings fluctuate from the whimsically cartoonish to the delightfully painterly. . . . Reminiscent of longform comics memoirs such as Alison Bechdel's Fun Home and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, stories about young writers and artists finding their ways through both personal and structural hardships and strife, this epic portrait of an artist is a masterpiece. Like the effects of an unduly perceptive editorial cartoon, The Talk makes a penetrative, and lasting, impression.”
—NPR
“Powerful”
—The New Yorker
“A thought-provoking memoir beautifully rendered in expressive artwork for a powerful piece that’s easy to devour but harder to digest. . . . Bell’s mastery of the medium shines throughout The Talk with stunning artwork that heightens the story to 11”
—Associated Press
“Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Darrin Bell’s new graphic memoir The Talk is an absorbing, creative examination of his life, richly illustrated with his drawings and told with great honesty, emotional candor, and humor.“
—The Fanatic
“Darrin Bell’s first foray into graphic novels is a triumph. A cinematically comic, coming-of-age blend of race, culture, and gratuitous nerdity. Wonderful.”
—Keith Knight, creator of The K Chronicles and Woke
“It’s nearly impossible to appreciate another person’s truth, but if a brilliant storyteller offers to light the way, take him up on it. Bell is the Ta-Nehisi Coates of comics, an indispensable explainer of how it feels to grow up in a world that repeatedly treats you as other. The talk with my white sons boiled down to 'Be kind.' It’s hard to overstate the distance between that admonition and 'Stay alive.'”
—Garry Trudeau, creator of Doonesbury
“A deeply personal, brutally honest, and achingly funny graphic novel that captures the fear, trauma, and complexity of growing up as a biracial man in the USA. The Talk is a strikingly illustrated vision.”
—Lalo Alcaraz, award-winning visual media artist and creator of the syndicated daily comic strip La Cucaracha
“This emotionally striking work is sure to leave a lasting mark.“
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A beautifully drawn book, rich with insight, humor, and hard-won knowledge.“
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Bell has honed his skills of cultural observation over many years as a social commentator in comic strips and editorial cartoons. He’s refined his skills up to the breaking point and back. This graphic novel is a testament to his efforts.”
—Comics Grinder
“Bell’s striking debut graphic memoir, utilizes wit and emotional openness to chronicle the ways in which racism has shaped his life, from a police officer terrorizing a young Bell over his green water gun to protests in 2020 over the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.”
—BookPage, starred review
Library Journal
★ 09/29/2023
Pulitzer Prize—winning Bell, who creates political cartoons and the comic strips "Candorville" and "Rudy Park," writes an incredibly moving graphic memoir, full of vignettes from his life that offer a critique of the prejudice he's experienced. As a young child, he couldn't believe it when his mom tried to explain to him that he would be treated differently as a Black boy and why she wouldn't buy him a realistic-looking water gun—until a cop screamed at him to drop his weapon, a plastic green water gun. This situation heartbreakingly comes full circle when Bell has to give his young son the same talk after the murder of George Floyd. Personal stories, from being teased about his big lips to being followed in stores by security and being pulled over while driving, are interspersed with memorable historic and cultural moments and even some occasional humor and Star Wars references. All are evocatively drawn in mostly two-tone shades, with effective, occasional flashes of additional color—some absolutely stunning, like when a cop's face morphs into the dog that terrifies Bell. VERDICT Bell's powerful story of his life and commentary on racism are made even more impactful by his poignant illustrations.—Melissa DeWild
School Library Journal
★ 12/02/2023
Gr 10 Up—Through the lens of his life experiences, Bell shows readers how racism affects the way Black youth learn to navigate the world. "The Talk" refers to the lecture Black children are given to help them understand how they are viewed differently from other children, and how to survive police encounters. The lessons start early—Bell's mother explains to him that his water gun must be green so it can't be mistaken for a real weapon. But even heeding her words and opting for a green toy gun didn't prevent him, as a six-year-old, from being threatened by police over the toy. Bell takes us from his youth through to current day, presenting how he navigated racism alongside his growth as a cartoonist taking on social issues. The powerful ending demonstrates how the sum of his experiences impacted the way he guides his own children. Bell is the first Black editorial cartoonist to win the Pulitzer Prize, and the inclusion of some of his work adds depth to the story. He faces difficult issues around racial and social upheaval in the U.S. clearly and boldly. The art is dramatic and expressive, conveying powerful emotions that words alone cannot. Breaking out of a confining panel structure makes the story bigger yet more personal. VERDICT This story, told with equally powerful narrative and illustrations, gives a poignant explanation of racism's toxic effects on individuals, communities, and society at large—and what it might take to heal. The Talk belongs in all libraries serving teens.—Carla Riemer
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2023-01-31
A graphic memoir explores the author’s experiences with and understanding of racism.
When he was 6, Bell, a contributing cartoonist to the New Yorker and recipient of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for his editorial cartoons, was playing with a neon-green water gun when a policeman told him to drop his weapon. Earlier that day, he’d asked his mother why his toy had to be green. “That’s what’s going to keep you alive,” his mother, who is White, told him. “The world is…different for you and your brother. White people won’t see you or treat you the way they do little white boys.” The author continues, “If they see me with [the gun], they’ll see a menace. A thug. A threat to be dealt with.” Throughout this powerful graphic narrative, the author traces pivotal events in his life and career that were in some way connected to this conversation. As a kid, he encountered racist teachers, one of whom tried to fail him despite his high grades. In college, he sat with White classmates who argued “that colonialism was GOOD for Africa.” “I bite my tongue,” he explains, “because I’m tired of being ‘The Other.’ ” Bell’s story reflects his awakening to—and gradual comprehension of—the realities of American racism. At first, he didn’t want to believe what he saw. Composing an essay for his college application, he wrote, “I am not a ‘Black’ American. I am not an ‘African American.’ I am not any sort of hyphenated-American. I am not even an ‘American.’ For these are all social constructs.” Bell’s deft drawings perfectly complement the text, with a watery blue wash and panels of varying sizes and shapes matching the contemplative mood. Funny and nerdy—note multiple references to Star Wars—the book is also deeply moving. Part memoir and part intellectual awakening, Bell’s memoir is a triumph.
A beautifully drawn book, rich with insight, humor, and hard-won knowledge.
