Isn't Willie the best?! I love Willie Nelson and will follow him anywhere. I liked how different illustrators took different parts of Nelson's life for the book and learned a lot about him.

I loved getting the chance to read this. The different art styles by different artists between chapters really helped to capture how he’d changed at each point in his life. I definitely learned a lot about him.

I love graphic novel biographies and was SO EXCITED to be approved for the ARC for this one. I adored this book! Willie Nelson is an interesting musician and this graphic novel did not disappoint. Multiple art styles during different points in Nelson's life really kept me reading. I will be adding this to my recommendation list ASAP.

I had a great time reading this graphic novel. Going in, I knew a bit about this musician but overall not much about their life story. From a young age, this man knew what he wanted to do with his life. They faced a ton of struggles along the way, but refused to let them stop them from achieving their dreams. Fans of this musician will want to check this graphic novel out.

this is a really well done graphic novel. I've been a fan of Willie's music for almost my entire life,but I didn't know much about him. I really enjoyed reading about about his career and personal life. I never knew he struggled so much to get his career off the ground. He's such an icon that I never would have thought music executives didn't like the style of his music. There were some great & very life like illustrations included in this book.

Willie Nelson is an incredible musician. This graphic biography starts from the beginning of his life to the present time. In his young adulthood he taught Sunday school. He is also introduced to marijuana. Nelson plays in bars and is a dj on the local radio. Later he moves to Nashville where he Becomes a songwriter and writes “Crazy.” When Pasty Cline sings it, the song is a hit. Sadly, Nelson didn’t like dealing with Nashville’s requirements for him. He leaves and goes to Texas. He writes and performs his music even though the IRS goes after him for millions of dollars. He eventually works out a plan with the IRS to pay the money he owes them. His wives and affairs are included. The amazing illustrations of the book show what a laconic character Willie Nelson is. The illustrations of each chapter is done by a different illustrator. I enjoyed learning the facts in this book. It’s a fascinating story of Willie Nelson.

This graphic novel is a biography of Willie Nelson, famous American country musician. The book is divided into seven parts, each about a certain period of Willie Nelson’s life and each drawn by a different illustrator. I thought it was a really good idea even though it made it more difficult to follow who was who has the style changed sometimes drastically. My experience didn’t take place in the best condition as the PDF I download from Netgalley wasn’t in good quality and made it really difficult to read. However, I enjoyed learning about this famous musician and I listened to his songs while reading which, I think, suited the story well.
Overall, It is not my style but I liked it and enjoyed the different artworks. I think it’s perfect for country lovers.

3/5

Who doesn’t know Willie Nelson? From his iconic long braids to his Farm Aid concerts, Willie has long been in the public eye. But what other things about Willie’s history are most people aware of? Not many. For that, there is Willie Nelson: A Graphic History.

Willie was born in a small Texas town during the Great Depression. Raised by his grandparents after his folks ran off, Willie always loved music. But his first real music job was working in a polka band. Marching to his own tune was the rule for Willie. He had a huge variety of jobs before hitting it big. Willie had three wives and many children to support. So he was, and continues to be to this day, constantly on the road.

Willie Nelson: A Graphic History is the perfect gift for the country music fan in your life. 4 stars!

Thanks to Papercutz and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Love reading about Willie Nelson. He has provided such unique and groundbreaking art to the American music world. His life and personality are always a fascinating read. This graphic novel includes a Bibliography of sources, many of which I have already read, and this title does a good job of summarizing his life.
Of special note is the really cool artwork in this book. Each chapter is a different style that kind of matures along with Willie. The final pages are just absolutely gorgeous and and I also enjoyed the splash chapter intro pages which feature portraits of Willie growing older.
I am unsure where this book should be placed in a library collection. I would like to recommend it to young people because it does share Willie Nelson's unabashed love of poetry, literature, and songwriting which I believe would encourage young readers to embrace their own emotional, philosophical, and sensitive sides. However, there is a lot of violence, pot smoking (I mean of course), and some sexualization that might get some complaints from parents. Therefore it may "fit" better in the general graphic novel collection. With that being said, I would let my kids read as I think it would spark some great conversation.

I'm sure fans of Willie Nelson already know his story. For someone like myself who isn't, this graphic format will provide a good introduction to the man and his music. He lived his life with some stumbles along the way, but never lost sight of his goal: to have his voice and his songs heard by all. Not letting himself be stuffed into the Nashville mold, Willie marched to his own beat and made his own path. To paraphrase from the book, he's living the life he wants, surrounded by the people he loves. That's success.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Willie Nelson: A Graphic History is a succinct graphic novel covering all the important points of Willie Nelson's life from childhood to today. Despite being a graphic novel of under 100 pages, this book is not for children, as some adult themes are discussed.

I love the art style in this book, and it was really interesting learning about Willie Nelson's life. I like that they used a different artist for each chapter of the book. For those who want a brief summary of Willie Nelson's life, this graphic novel is worth checking out! If it leaves you wanting to know more about him, there is a list of novels referenced in the creation of this graphic novel where you can get more detailed information.

I really liked the concept of this graphic novel more than the execution.
The change in arts style was not something I enjoyed. I really liked the art on the cover and expected it to be like that and also in color. It's all in black and white. A lot of it is very much like a newspaper cartoon.

I understand that there was a lot of moving around and job changing in Willie's life and I liked hearing about them but there were also some very repetitive moments. I feel like this potentially could have been a faster and more enjoyable read with a more concise timeline and more dialogue between the characters instead of so many dialogue boxes from a narrator.

I really liked the illustrations in this book, great attention to detail. It was an interesting read, I learned a few new things.

*Thank you to Net Galley and Papercutz/NBM Publishing for the advance copy*

Kirch's graphic novel biography of Willie Nelson offers a barebones biography of one of country music's most legendary songwriters and performers. For someone with such a prolific career, I was hoping for a more robust biography, but it still had a few humorous anecdotes that passive Nelson fans may not have heard before.

The illustrations are fantastic. I especially loved the attention to detail on each portrait that began a new chapter; they almost look like photographs.

This book left me wanting more. However, I think it's a great intro and would love to see other musical artists graphic novel biographies.

I really liked how each chapter was done in a different artist's style, plus that each chapter was set at a different stage of the musician's life. There were times I felt that it could have gone deeper into certain aspects of his life, but in a graphic novel format, I know that is difficult. If you are a fan, there is a good chance you will enjoy this.

Thank you for the ARC Netgalley.

The graphic novel version of Willie Nelson's biography is an enticing look into his legacy. What is unique about his book is that each chapter is illustrated by a different artist as it follows his life from childhood through 70 years in the music business. There is use of some graphic language and reference to pot smoking (obviously), so note that it is for a more mature audience (PG-13 most likely). It was a fun way to learn about his life and made me better appreciate seeing him in concert twice! 3/5 stars.

Advanced copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The graphic novel experience of Willie Nelson’s life is professionally done and features detailed images. I love the use of the graphic novel is biography for my own reading, and for use in the classroom. This is a lovely example of how the medium can be used in different ways.

A decent comic book biography of country and western star Willie Nelson. The genre isn't always done right, but this – even when saddling itself with the idea of a different artist for every stage of the man's life – is. And so even when we jump from painterly beginnings to a brasher, more cartoonish black and white of his young married life, and growing local renown, we don't mind (and the whole concept is a lot more easy to take than, say, that oddball Bob Dylan movie that did similar a few decades ago). Ultimately it's a little too indiscriminate – both trying to be as pro-weed as the old hippy (sorry, outlaw) himself, and doing a fair bit of arse-licking at the end, when something critical might have actually been allowed to creep on to one page at least. (On that regard, everyone's failed marriage seems such a common thing to be just a fact of life, and nobody's real fault.) So it isn't exactly unbiased, and is a little light at times, but it certainly contained as much detail and music in tribute as I, a non-fan, would have wanted. Four stars is a little generous, but not too OTT.