Congressman Lewis Brings Civil Rights to Fore in March
It’s not a stretch to say that reading a comic book changed the life of Congressman John Lewis.
Rep. Lewis, who serves the 5th Congressional District in Georgia, picked up a copy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Montgomery Story when he was 18. The pictures and words struck a chord with the Troy, Alabama native, and he was inspired to follow the teachings of Dr. King.
Now, over five decades later, Rep. Lewis is using the same medium to tell his story in the graphic novel trilogy March.
Part two arrived in comic shops today from Top Shelf Productions, a division of IDW Publishing. In this volume, Lewis gives his first-hand accounts of the historic 1961 Freedom Rides and the 1963 March on Washington.
Lewis said in a recent interview that the idea to do the graphic novel series came from his Congressional aide Andrew Aydin. Lewis and Aydin share the writing credits on the series, with Nate Powell providing pencils.
The congressman was one of 10 speakers given the opportunity to address the more than 200,000 people gathered in Washington in August 1963, and is the only speaker still alive today.
“I think that I’m lucky but also blessed to be still here and see the changes that have taken place, the progress we’ve made,” Lewis said in that same interview. March retails for $19.95.