Why a Robert Smalls Graphic Novel?

I’m creating a graphic novel about Robert Smalls but why? Why am I creating a Robert Smalls graphic novel? Why him?

The cover of Robert Smalls - A Life Reclaimed - the first of a series of historical graphic novels
A potential cover image

I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of Robert Smalls until the end of 2018. That’s when I saw the picture below pop up on Facebook:

Robert Smalls Meme
Robert Smalls Meme

He freed himself from slavery and immediately started doing his bit to help end slavery. The man sounds like a genuine badass! At first I was sad because I can’t make a film, but I’m an illustrator and have done a bit of writing before. I’ve never made a graphic novel before, but there’s no reason why I couldn’t…

Once I had the idea, I started to research him and found out so much more about him that just made me love him more! For example; he was a big advocate of free education for freed slaves in particular, but also for everyone!

To be honest, that’s all I’ll say about him at this stage, mainly because if you stay tuned, you’ll see the creation of a graphic novel that will tell you all about him!
Secondly; if that picture doesn’t get you excited about him and this project, I’m not sure I can say anything more that will!

I’ve never made a graphic novel before so this is going to be a project involving a lot of learning for me, but I hope to take you on that journey with me and share with you what I learn as I go.
I’ll be posting thoughts, discoveries, and struggles on this here blog so check back often.

If you’ve got any comments, questions, or suggestions, please hit me up on my Contact page.

If you’d like to help support the project, visit my Patreon page.

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