I liked the stories that Joel Gill chose for this book.. The characters were not all world changers and not all had been the first to accomplish some great feat. The people in these stories shined through adversity with memorable character traits, like persistence or a great sense of humor that shined even while they struggled.

An amazing collection of real stories, opening our mind and history for this black heroes. I was touched by each tale, who was delicate, sensible but also sharp, telling the truth about the cruelty of discrimination and the still open wound of racism.

Even the stories we are familiar with, like Victor Green and Blind Tom Wiggins, are presented in a refreshing and original way, keeping apart and rewriting whitewashed versions of these facts.

The art and illustrations are beautiful, simple but attractive.

A pleasant and educational reading, for all ages.

"Strange Fruit Volume II" is a surprisingly well done and well illustrated graphic novel with a focus on black history. As a bit of a history buff, I definitely enjoy learning more about interesting figures from the past in all time periods but reading more about black history definitely appeals to me as a black woman. I'm glad I got the chance to read this one as it was so informative. I'll definitely pick up the first and any future installments. This is definitely something I'd recommend to people in the future.

A book to celebrate black history every day, with lesser-known African American stories, that deserve to be told.
This graphic novel emphasizes the victories of 8 people, informing the reader of their situation and how they overcame it.
The author also found a nice way of portraying the bad words they were called, making this an uplifting book that anyone can enjoy.
This book was provided by NetGalley.

Good source of information on Black History. Very well presented and informative. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Strange Fruit, Volume II: More Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History is a graphic novel collection of 8 biographies from black history. Released 1st Feb 2018 by Fulcrum Press, it's 112 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

None of the 8 subjects were previously known to me and all of the stories of their lives including slavery, physical assault and abuse, danger, casual institutionalized racism and sexism left me saddened. These are stories of children, men, and women who succeeded -despite- the most daunting odds imaginable. Their lives were varied as were their talents: music, patriotism, bravery, aptitude, gender role defying, and surviving merciless exploitation.

The art, by Joel Christian Gill is clean and crisp, appealing, but unapologetic in its representation of the blatant racism and exploitation of the time (19th-20th century USA - with some of the subjects also spending time in Europe). There is no direct depiction of graphic violence in the book and it would be appropriate (perhaps contextualized by an adult/teacher) for younger readers. There were several scenes in the books which gave me chills and most of it was difficult to read emotionally. I appreciated the author's substitution of a graphic stylized "golliwog" in place of a written hurtful racial slur in the dialogue. The semiotic symbolism was just as effective (maybe more so) than writing the 'n-word' would have been. There's also an included bibliography and resource list at the end of the book for further reading.

Especially now, when the dialogue is fraught in the USA and we're being faced with deeper and more painful divisiveness in our political, social, and racial discourse, I think this is an -important- book and deserves a wider audience. This would make a superlative classroom, school, or public library book, as well as a good selection for a group read. The art alone would make it a good choice for the home library for fans of graphic novels, social/racial history, or biography.

Four and a half stars. Well worth a read.

This is a fantastic resource for highlighting the unsung heroes of African American history and brings their stories to life in an informative and engaging manner, illuminating the richness of the African-American contribution to American society.

Perhaps the title should say “African American” instead of simply “black”; as a teacher in the U.K. I wouldn’t incorporate this into my teaching but this is definitely a book I’ll be recommending to my students to explore by reading for pleasure. I hope there are many more titles in this series.

This book is an amazing read for both young and old. It provides brief stories about some well known historical figures and some who are little known. The art work was fantastic and as I read the stories I kept thinking, wow, kids can really get into these stories. Bravo to the author. I will locate volume I and add it to my collection and look forward to future volumes.

Strange Fruit, Volume II from Joel Christian Gill builds on the foundation of the first volume to become even better and more inclusive.

There are so many lesser known people of color who are regularly overlooked in history, especially US history. Even after quite some time of rediscovering these people it can be a task to find information about them. This book, and the one before it, helps to both fill that need and make the information more accessible to younger readers. And it is with them that the success or failure of society rests.

As with volume I, the artwork is very good and the way each person's story is told is a treat. It is not simply a brief recounting of birth date, an accomplishment or two, and their death. It is a scene from their life, or a series of small vignettes from their life to illustrate the arc, and ongoing obstacles, of their life's work and success. And equally important, the message all of their lives have for us today.

Highly recommended for any reader who wants to learn more history and especially those with children. Teaching our young about the contributions and struggles of everyone are lessons that will pay huge dividends down the road.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the perfect book for the classroom. The graphic nonfiction covers little-known African Americans who should be in the history books. When read individually, the pieces give enough information to intrigue the reader but also allows space for the reader (my students) to research the people on their own. When read together as a collection of vignettes, the piece covers various people that gives the book a holistic feel. Overall, this is a need in every classroom.

I very much enjoyed this comic. I knew the letter of Jourdon Anderson and about Victor Green, but the rest of the people showcased were new to me. I appreciated the artwork and the straightforward storytelling - not skipping the negative truths in history but focusing on uplifting parts of the stories as much as the upsetting. I think this will be a good book to share with my daughter someday.

I love this book. In fact, after reading it, I went and got volume 1. Some of the stories I had heard before but many of them, I had not. The illustrations are great and the way the stories are told bring levity to some very grim moments in US history. It's a fun, quick read and I am definitely going to purchase this book for friends and family of all ages.

I absolutely love these stories and the illustrations. I just wish they were longer! Some of these stories would make thrilling novels and films.

Strange Fruit, Volume II
More Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History
by Joel Christian Gill is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary.
Wow, I am glad there were people in this book I haven't read about before! Each had unique stories from about slavery to civil war or after. This is a graphics novel for teens but I am well past that and enjoyed it too!
My favorite person was Mary Fields! She was a stage coach driving, tough gal that was not going to put up with no messing! Lol!
All the people in here should be known, not an unknown hero in history! They deserve it even if they aren't around to see it.
Great historic graphic novel!

Oct 28, 2018 destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries] rated it it was amazing
Shelves: diverse-reads, graphic-novels-manga-comics, nonfiction, anthology
This little graphic novel is absolutely PHENOMENAL and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It covers eight stories of important black historical figures, and makes them perfectly readable for any age range. There is some creative censoring in place for young readers whose parents might not be comfortable with them seeing slurs in print, as well as older readers who don't want to be reminded of those hurtful phrases, but the point is never glossed over.

The stories included in this volume were very interesting. It showed great diversity among the different characters, their history and life story. The art style was great and was not jarring, despite some of the ways it could have been. I had heard of none of these historical figures before, but I found their struggles and triumphs interesting to read. I felt like they put a lot of information and history in these short stories and I would love to read Volume 1 in the future.

Big fan of this - in concept, format, cover, and content. These are stories that need to be told, and I'm glad that they are. The trick will be to get them into readers' hands. I think it will take a little push from librarians, but I really don't think it would be that hard....

Review to post on my blog March 21, 2019

Primeira Graphic Novel que dou 5 estrelas este ano.
Neste livro contamos com várias histórias de personagens Negros que lutaram para terem a sua liberdade e para serem tratados com os mesmos direitos que os brancos.
É precisamente deste tipo de graphic novel que gosto, aqueles livros que nos fazem pensar a sorte que temos em termos nascido numa época, em que apesar de ainda existir racismo, as pessoas de cor não têm de ter medo de sair à rua ou de entrar num local publico.
Estas são histórias reais, aquelas que ninguém conhecia. Nas aulas de história contam-nos as guerras, as diferenças socias entre épocas e outras coisas. Mas ninguém nos conta os nomes daqueles que foram vitímas de escravidão, os nomes dos que não tinham liberdade e que lutavam diariamente pela mesma.

Really nice presentation of some lesser known figures in African-American History. Told and illustrated in a nice folk art style. Some great stories here. Honestly, the only one I was even vaguely familiar with was the one about the gentleman who created the Green Book.

I think this would be a great story time book for parents to share with their children.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Joel Christian Gill has an incredible talent for bringing the stories of important but lesser-known figures from Black history into the spotlight. The stories Gill shares in Strange Fruit Volume II are the exact kind of stories I wish I had heard as a child, but I am incredibly glad for everyone, adult or child, who gets to read these stories now.

Gill uses an accessible art style to portray history in a way that is appealing without ever feeling condescending, as well as in a way that is interesting without ever appearing sensational. The storytelling style feels exactly the same, and there's something that I think is vital in getting to experience these stories for the first time from someone who cares about how those stories are being presented.

The assortment of people who are featured in this collection is quite broad. I had only properly read about one of them before (Mary Fields), and I had heard of maybe two others. I am always delighted when a collection of biographies can show me so many incredible figures that I was unfamiliar with before. I think the ability to make unknown figures known and accessible for a broad audience is vital and makes Gill a force to be reckoned with.

I highly recommend all of Joel Christian Gill's work, and Strange Fruit Volume II is no exception. Reading the first volume is not necessary to read and love the second volume. While the series isn't targeted towards younger readers, I think that anyone middle grade and up will find something to love here.