For the month of February, to commemorate Black History Month, the Illustrated PEN is republishing graphic narratives that revolve around the stories of black Americans. 

Kyle Baker’s “Nat Turner,” presented by MUTHA Magazine Editor-in-Chief Meg Lemke, is a cinematic reel that integrates beautiful sepia-toned panels, newspaper headlines in period font, photographs, and historical texts. Baker’s work draws heavily from the recorded Confessions of Nat Turner. This excerpt was previously published by the Illustrated PEN on November 30, 2016.

Read Kyle Baker’s essay on creating the graphic biography here.

Kyle Baker has authored more than 15 graphic novels and illustrated hundreds more in a career that extends over three decades. He is the winner of eight Eisner Awards and four Harvey Awards, among others. A pioneer in the graphic novel format since the 1980s, Baker helped define and evolve the medium with works such as Nat Turner, Why I Hate Saturn, and King David. Other titles include The Cowboy Wally Show; Truth: Red, White & Black; and Birth of a Nation. Baker has lectured at Dartmouth, Howard University, the Library of Congress, and the School of Visual Arts, and he regularly teaches homeless teens for the City of New York.