/internal/media/dispatcher/53241/full"Martin Luther King and The Montgomery Story" comic book195710 1/4 × 6 5/8 in. (26 × 16.8 cm)NewsprintThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection2019.016.00020First edition comic book titled "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story" printed in full color beginning in December 1957. Comic book published by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and Toby Press under the authorship and leadership of FOR's Director of Publications, Alfred Hassler. Mr. Hassler had assistance from Benton Resnick, the manager of Toby Press, who helped FOR connect with the comic book world. The artist responsible for the illustrations remains unknown though the style resembles that of several contemporary African-American illustrators.
Front cover of comic book has large image of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. centered wearing a black suit and gazing into the distance to his left slightly. He is illustrated superimposed behind a scene of individuals getting into cars and buses with a municipal building in the background. Diagonal straight lines radiate from the upper left corner against the natural background of the newsprint until they intersect with the image of Dr. King causing him to appear bathed in a ray of light. A text box next to the right side of his face says the following:
"How 50,000 Negroes
Found A New Way To
End Racial
Discrimination."
There is text beneath the green automobile in the foreground in the lower left corner of the front cover that reads "December 5, 1955 \ Walk To Freedom", and text beneath the orange bus in the foreground in the lower right corner that reads "December 21, 1956 \ Victory for Justice". The destination sign on the bus says, "Washington Park."
This comic book originally cost ten cents. It consists of three parts on the inside pages. The first nine pages illustrate the steps taken during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The tenth page has a wide yellow banner across the top of the cartoons that has text printed in black as follows:
"Martin Luther King Tells
How A Nation Won Its Freedom
By The Montgomery Method".
On this page and the next, the story of Gandhi and his nonviolent peace movement is told through illustrations and examples of how India won its independence from Great Britain. The last four pages of the comic book illustrate in small vignettes, accompanied by text, "How The Montgomery Method Works," and explain to readers how to implement nonviolent peace actions into their daily lives to bring about social justice.
This is described as the first time a comic book medium was used as a way of communicating a serious story as part of the civil rights movement. Despite initial public hesitation, the comic book proved to be a successful way of spreading the word about the nonviolent Montgomery bus boycott of 1955.
This copy is apparently a never-read, non-circulated copy, in near-pristine condition.
Comic book in very good condition. No noticeable folds or crease on corners or edges of pages. Newsprint has faded and yellowed. (JM 02/05/2019)Newspapers & Magazines6566716.827533655126.000000000060337Comic book0E-10First edition comic book titled "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story" printed in full color in December 1957. Comic book published by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and Toby Press under the authorship and leadership of FOR's Director of Publications, Alfred Hassler. Mr. Hassler had assistance from Benton Resnick, the manager of Toby Press, who helped FOR connect with the comic book world.
Text on the front cover:
"How 50,000 Negroes Found A New Way To End Racial Discrimination"
The buses on the front cover are captioned "December 5, 1955 \ Walk To Freedom" and "December 21, 1956 \ Victory for Justice".
This comic book originally cost ten cents. In addition to telling the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, it also depicts the story of Gandhi and his nonviolent peace movement that helped India win its independence from Great Britain. The last four pages of the comic book illustrate in small vignettes, accompanied by text, "How The Montgomery Method Works," and explain to readers how to implement nonviolent peace actions into their daily lives to bring about social justice.
This image is not available online larger than a thumbnail to protect the copyright of its creator(s). For a more detailed examination of this item, please schedule an appointment in the Museum’s Reading Room.
Civil rightsProtestsPop CultureComic booksKing, Martin Luther, Jr.Gandhi, MahatmaAbernathy, Ralph DavidKing, Coretta ScottNyackThe history of Martin Luther King and The Montgomery Story comic book has only recently begun to be researched and understood. As part of his graduate degree at Georgetown University, a student named Andrew Aydin wrote the first long-form history of The Montgomery Story as his graduate thesis. With the help of Carlow University Professor Dr. Sylvia Rhor and a collection of letters at Swarthmore College's Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility, Aydin established most of what is known about the comic's creation and use. In August 2013, Aydin published a shortened version of his thesis as the feature article in Creative Loafing's award-winning "Future of Nonviolence" issue, which was guest-edited by Congressman John Lewis and Aydin.
https://creativeloafing.com/content-185638-Cover-Story:-The-comic-book-that-changed-the-world