The Talk

Starred review from March 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.

Starred review from January 1, 2025

Gr 10 Up-Each of the four narrators take turns with dedications: "for Breonna Taylor, for Freddie Gray, for Trayvon Martin, for Ahmaud Arbery... for Tamir Rice... for Walter Scott...," building furious speed and overlapping names until their voices merge into a cacophonous, shocking witnessing to Black murder. Those sobering 30 seconds set the tone for Bell's mega-award-winning 2023 graphic memoir, extraordinarily adapted for audio with Bell as primary narrator, his young son as himself, and actors Bradford and DeMerritt creating a significant cast of parents, teachers, friends, colleagues; additional background scoring and archival recordings (featuring political figures, including George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump), chillingly enhance the stupendous production. Bell, who won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning for "beautiful and daring editorial cartoons that took on issues affecting disenfranchised communities, calling out lies, hypocrisy and fraud in the political turmoil surrounding the Trump administration," seems urgently relevant with the 2025 return of that administration. VERDICT A significant, immediate necessity for all collections.

Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2025

Cartoonist Bell's (We Eat the Poor) haunting graphic novel about the realities of being Black in the United States comes alive in audio. A full cast, led by the author and including Brittany Bradford, Emyree Zazu Bell (the author's son), and William DeMerrit, offers an immersive listening experience. Bell solemnly recalls a moment in his childhood when his mother allowed him to have a green water gun--not a black one, for as she cautioned during his first experience of "the talk," the rules are different for Black people. When he sneaked outside with his new water gun, Bell's mother's words were devastatingly realized. The young Bell was harassed by the police (indicated in audio by the chilling sound of barking dogs), setting the stage for future tense interactions. Bell ruefully notes that he couldn't quite believe the reality of racialized violence until he grew older; then, as a parent, he sorrowfully recognized that his son would have to learn this too. Well-timed sound effects evoke the book's illustrations, but it is Bell's voice--somber, measured, and direct--that hits home. VERDICT This thoughtful audio adaptation of Bell's powerful work is not to be missed. A timely production that should be showcased everywhere.--Sarah Hashimoto

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2025

Supported by his son Emryee Zazu Bell and actors Brittany Bradford and William DeMerrit, cartoonist Bell takes center stage as he narrates this phenomenal version of his 2023 graphic memoir. Archival recordings and pitch-perfect sound effects evoke the book's illustrations as, with a somber and measured tone, Bell reflects on his childhood, his responsibilities as a Black father of a Black son, and the bitter realities of racialized violence in the U.S.

Copyright 2025 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.