Reviews

Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery, by Mat Johnson

shanaedidgood's review against another edition

5.0

Fantastic writing.
Excellent artwork.
Intriguing story line.
Definitely worthy of 5 stars!

jujubahn's review

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

readwithmoniqua's review

5.0

Sweet, sweet justice

That ending was everything. The icing on the proverbial cake. I feel bad for Pinchy, but I'm glad Zane got him out of there. and Michaela. After all that, she still didn't make it.

mezzythedragon's review against another edition

4.0

TW // blatant racism, lynching, desecration of lynched corpses

Definitely not an easy read. While not over-the-top, the illustrations really show how harrowing the racism was at the time. Sadly there’s still more work to be done in addressing racism today.

mikhaela_reid's review against another edition

4.0

I tore through this book in 45 minutes. A well-written and well-drawn graphic novel mystery about a light-skinned black reporter from Harlem who goes undercover as the "Incognegro" in the KKK-infested South of the 1920s to get the truth out about lynchings. The book becomes a mystery when the Incognegro heads to a small Mississippi town where his own (not-so-light-skinned) brother is accused of murdering a white woman.

mariaelenasanchez's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

cadeunderbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

robertrivasplata's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Bleak murder mystery set in 1930s Mississippi. Depicts the horror of the racist regime of the time. I saw some of the twists coming, but not the one at the end. Overall, Incognegro felt very bleak, perhaps because of the current resurgence of proud white supremacists, nazis, what have you, or maybe just because of all the murders and lynchings going on in the story. In some ways, it reminded me of some of Cormac McCarthy Border Trilogy novels I've read, where someone goes to a place (usually Mexico) to right some sort of wrong, and ends up losing everything but still somehow surviving. The big difference is that unlike the McCarthy protagonists, the titular Incognegro isn't a fool, & isnt foolishly going on an adventure in Mexico, but is really going on “one last job” to to a place whose dangers he is familiar with. 

junosdaughter's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

vekenega's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0