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Aaron McGruder

Comics genius who has given up on comics (>sob!<) and gone for the big bucks. Come back, Aaron, we miss you!


Title Creator Publisher Series Price
Public Enemy #2 Aaron McGruder Boondocks $14.35
($15.95 list)
Public enemy2
Read more and comment... 		Boondocks is among the best comic strips in the newspaper today.  It is one of the funniest, and is certainly the most in-touch with America's media dominated political axis as it plays out on the ground.   Aaron McGruder is on our shortlist for most important 20-something cartoonist in America.  This is a book that you'll find yourself picking up again and again for the sweet (and altogether wholesome, despite all the controversy) comic relief that it provides.  If you ain't hep, here it is.
Birth of A Nation Aaron McGruder, Reginald Hudlin, Kyle Baker $13.95
($13.95 list)
Birthofnationsc
Read more and comment... 		This wonderful political satire is now available in an attractive affordable softcover edition.  Here's what we had to say about the hardcover edition:  "This is hands down the most entertaining and insightful political satire to grow out of the mess that was the 2000 presidential election.  Check it out:  Fred Fredericks, idealistic mayor of East St. Louis, rallies his fellow citizens to the polls only to have them become the victims of a trumped up, bogus, mass disenfranchisement.  As a radical form of protest Fredericks -- with the assistance of  shady black billionaire and old friend, John Roberts -- decides to have East St. Louis secede from the union.  Roberts opens an "offshore" bank (albeit in the heart of the USA) et voilá East St. Louis becomes The Republic of Blackland, the new Switzerland!  Soon idealistic young militants, OPEC-funded hitmen, CIA operatives, tabloid reporters and AWOL black servicemen eager to protect and serve the new nation arrive in swarms.  As one might expect, problems arise almost immediately.  There's some real serious food for thought here, along with a love story, whacky antics, male bonding and more!  Highly recommended."  And here's a few other notable opinions the book has garnered since then:  "Birth of a Nation is the wickedly funny marriage of The Boondocks, House Party, and The Battle of Algiers.  Be prepared to laugh yourself silly while repeating over and over again -- 'how true.'" -- Julian Bond, chairman NAACP  "Birth of a Nation is a brilliant, biting and witty commentary on the chaos of the 2000 election.  Hudlin and McGruder have achieved that rarest of things: a political satire that is also an extremely important and moving work of literature, an achievement for any writer or any artist at any time.  Birth of a Nation is a unique event in the history of American literature." -- Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  "Reggie and Aaron are doing to comic books what Public Enemy and NWA did to the music business." -- Ice Cube  While we agree with all these comments we feel that Kyle Baker is not given the props he deserves:  for our money his is the greatest contribution of all.  I mean let's get real for a minute here:  after you've read this book, try imagining it drawn by Aaron McGruder himself; or, say, Denys Cowan, or Ho Che Anderson, or any of the other many talented African American cartoonists and comics artists out there....  You can't.  Only Kyle could have pulled this one off.  So wise up people and give credit where credit is due!  Birth of a Nation is a masterpiece for our times. NOW OUT OF PRINT - WE ONLY HAVE A FEW LEFT!
A Right To Be Hostile: The Boondocks Treasury Aaron McGruder Three Rivers Press $15.25
($16.95 list)

Read more and comment... 		Over 800 strips make up this, the first, Boondocks treasury. The selection dates from the earliest days up through to the waning days of 2002.  Sundays are in color, dailies in B & W.  The observations on America as perceived by media-drenched, suburban-dwelling African-Americans provide a unique -- to comics -- perspective on our times.  Plus, they’re funny.
All the Rage: The Boondocks Past and Present Aaron McGruder Three Rivers Press $15.00
($16.95 list)
Alltherage
Read more and comment... 		Starting out with a front cover that immediately made us think of The Onion, it's clear that this Boondocks book is not your ordinary reprint volume.  It's divided into three parts: I:  The Strips; II:  The Media; and III:  The Controversy.  The first, is the typical strip collection part, which presents Boondocks strips running through the last day of 2005.  The second collects various and sundry media reports of, on and about The Boondocks, and contains quite a few interviews with McGruder.  The third section focuses on the "controversial" strips -- those that were pulled by various  papers around America -- and includes the "before and after" versions of strips where changes were demanded by the syndicate.  Enjoyable and educational, this Boondocks collection continues and extends McGruder's reign as the one of the most savvy and successful cartoonists of our day.