Posted in: Boom, Comics | Tagged: big black: stand at attica, boom studios

15 Pages from Big Black: Stand at Attica by Frank Smith, Jared Reinmuth, and Améziane

Published Wed, 05 Feb 2020 17:43:41 -0600

Explosive publisher BOOM! Studios has unveiled a first look at Big Black: Stand at Attica, the upcoming original graphic novel about the 1971 uprising at Attica State Prison from the perspective of the titular Frank "Big Black" Smith. Smith and his wife chose writer Jared Reinmuth to pen Smith's biography before Smith passed away in 2004, with Améziane providing the art to bring the project together. Now, more than fifteen years later, the biographical graphic novel will be published next week, and BOOM! is showing off fifteen pages from it, which you can see below.

LOS ANGELES, CA (February 5, 2020) – BOOM! Studios today revealed a first look at brand new original graphic novel, BIG BLACK: STAND AT ATTICA, written by Frank "Big Black" Smith and Jared Reinmuth and illustrated by Améziane (Muhammad Ali) with letters by AndWorld Design, available in stores February 2020. This is an unflinching look at a true story about the price of standing up to injustice in what remains one of the bloodiest civil rights confrontations in American history, told for the very first time from the man at the center of it all – Frank "Big Black" Smith.

In the summer of 1971, New York's Attica State Prison was a symbol of everything broken in America – prisoner abuse, rampant racism and a blind eye turned towards the injustices perpetrated on the powerless. But when the guards at Attica overreacted to a minor incident, the prisoners decided they'd had enough – and revolted against their jailers, taking them hostage and making demands for humane conditions.

A natural leader, Frank "Big Black" Smith found himself at the center of this uprising, struggling to protect hostages, prisoners and negotiators alike. But when the only avenue for justice seemed to be negotiating with Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Big Black soon discovered that a peaceful resolution for the prisoners in Attica was unattainable.

BIG BLACK: STAND AT ATTICA is the latest release from BOOM! Studios' award-winning Archaia imprint, home to inspiring graphic novels such as The Realist by Asaf Hanuka, Girl on Film by Cecil Castellucci and Vicky Leta, Melissa Duffy, V. Gagnon & Jon Berg, New World by David Jesus Vignolli, About Betty's Boob by Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau, Waves by Ingrid Chabbert and Carole Maurel, The Grand Abyss Hotel by Marcos Prior and David Rubín, and more.

Print copies of BIG BLACK: STAND AT ATTICA will be available for sale on February 12, 2020 at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one), and on February 18, 2020 at bookstores or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Madefire.

For continuing news on BIG BLACK: STAND AT ATTICA and more from BOOM! Studios, stay tuned to www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.