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By day, Superman is Clark Kent; Incognegro is Zane Pinchback. Clark Kent works for the Daily Planet as a reporter; Zane Pinchback is a reporter for the New Holland Herald. Just as Superman has special powers, so does Incognegro. However, Incognegro's power allows him to report gruesome details about the lynchings of African Americans, while being black. Due to his skin complexion, he has the ability to “pass” as a white man.

This‘s written in a way that pulls you in, even if you think you know where this is going, with a nice bit of revenge in the closing pages. The tale feels both familiar and new, some pieces I haven‘t read in a story this type before. There are layers here that fade if not looked at quickly enough, “passing” a few different ways. That makes this clever and worth a repeat read, with a plot that‘s worth looking at again, too. You don‘t know who‘s who

“Couldn‘t even bury her. I must have sat there an hour, I couldn‘t move. Then the dogs came, and the sheriff with them.”

This was as much fun as a story about lynchings can possibly be.
Based on the story of Walter White (former head of the NAACP, not that other one), Johnson turns his protagonist into something of a “masked man” superhero. Zane can pass for white, so he travels to the South in the pre-Civil War era to investigate lynchings & record what he can. It‘s fraught with life-and-death situations. But Johnson manages to inject some humor where he can.

Johnson's graphic mystery based on the true story of African-Americans who could pass as white and went undercover to investigate lynchings in the early 1900's is compelling and horrifying at the same time. The art style worked well with the storytelling.

[Book 2 of 2018 (the year, not my goal 😂)] Great story about a black journalist who passes as white and covers lynchings. Haunting reminder of the not-so-distant past.

A powerful graphic novel about a reporter who “passes” for white as he investigates and reports on lynchings in the deep South in the early 20th century. He soon is investigating a murder while trying to save his brother. An often disturbing, compelling story from a dark part of American history. Highly recommended.

Celebrate #AfricanAmericanHistoryMonth by reading these graphic novels. These graphic novels touch on police brutality, the mid-century civil rights mvt, our own Rep. John Lewis, and reporting lynchings in early 20th century. They will make you uncomfortable. That's the point. If you have white/non-black POC privilege, reflect on that while reading these books. Share them with others. Titles tagged in comments. #BlackLivesMatter