I love the intertwining of real life events with this narrative.
The illustrations are gorgeous and the story has me looking up what was really happening in the 1920's.

Interesting historical comic of a little-known African/Native American pioneer. Histoy in the back makes comic better

Visually this is stunning, but the story is a bit chaotic. Within 50+ pages there is so much trying to be crammed in that nothing is really explored or told in detail. I also wish that the “about” section has been at the beginning of the book as a prologue as it would have made things easier to follow.

Black Angel certainly has massive promise, but I don’t think that the first volume sets this up as well as it could. I will try to read the next instalment because I want to see if this improves.

Bessie the “Black Angel,” makes her living during prohibition with her sea plane, delivering smuggled booze between gangsters. The trade is illegal, and dangerous, and Bessie’s mixed heritage causes even more danger from the likes of the Ku Klux Klan and other racists. This comic is based on the fascinating life of Bessie Coleman.

I love the somewhat recent trend of bio comics. Comics make reading accessible to those who may struggle with traditional books in some way, or maybe are just disinterested or overwhelmed at giant walls of text. Plus, they’re just fun. Add some great art in there, and you’ve got some quality entertainment mixed with some solid history.

This comic seemed a bit disjointed to me. I loved Bessie and the artwork, but it kind of jumped all over the place. I do realize that can be the nature of something biographic in nature. Life isn’t linear, and trying to shove in years of someone’s life into a few issues is quite a daunting task I imagine. It moved quickly, however, and though I would have liked a little more character development, Bessie was a badass, and having never heard of her, I’d like to look up more about this fearless woman.

This one is out now if you’d like a cool intro to her life.

This is a really engaging story about a young woman who is the first black/cherokee woman to fly. Based on the historical figure of Bessie Coleman, Black Angel flies her plane making black market deliveries of alchohol for Al Capone but she faces danger when she fights against the Ku Klux Klan.
The artwork is good and the story is gripping. This is volume one of the story and I do wish volume 2 was available.

Copy provided by Europe Comic via Negalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

What a cool book! This is a visceral and very visually pleasing look into a part of history that I'm largely unfamiliar with, as well as into the life of a truly impressive woman. I'm not sure if this is a stand-alone or part of a series; it definitely feels like part of a larger story, and one that I would like to read more of.

This book would be a great choice for a Black History Month read, and a great choice to read any time of the year. Although this is a fictionalized version of her story, Black Angel definitely made me want to learn more about Bessie Coleman!

I picked up this book because the cover artwork looks fantastic, with bright colors and clean lines, and Bessie Coleman in the description clinched it for me.

I did go into this thinking it was a more complete story, but it’s actually just the first issue, so it feels incomplete. And there are not a lot of descriptive boxes, so it’s very exposition heavy in some places.

But the artwork is engaging and vibrant. And I love the concept of a rum running pilot who is black and Native and a woman. She establishes her place in the world and isn’t ashamed to fight for it, even as the people around her try to shove her down.

Included at the end of the volume is more information about the life of Bessie Coleman, the Cherokee Lighthorsemen, and the KKK.

I’d love to read more of this story, and look forward to it getting published,

I hope there is going to be a sequel soon! I loved the representation and diversity of this graphic novel and the drawing style was really beautiful! The story felt a bit dragging at first, but eventually it picked up speed and proved to be such a wonderful tale!

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well this was readable, but was quite an ungainly mix of adventure and issues. Our heroine, born of mixed parents (one Native American, one of colour) and based on the real-life Bessie Coleman, has survived racism and sexism and got to be a pilot, which involves flying Al Capone's man about the wilds of North America's coastal regions in order to do business with people breaking prohibition and producing/importing alcohol. Some scenes have life, but a heck of a lot of this – both scenes and the actual script – is here as exposition. She never needed to think aloud in the manner she did while flying, if not for our benefit, and so much of it (the initial plane downing, and more) is scene-setting and not really giving us the drama we required. Thus the stand-out scene, of a weapon-less dogfight, is all the more over-stated as a result. While the end-matter provides great biographical information about the real-life personality behind all this, the woman deserved something a lot less clunky. Two and a half stars.

3.5

I was a little bored at the beginning but then it got really interesting and I need the sequel.
The main character was amazing. I admire her determination!

The art of this story was very beautiful. With mangas and graphic novels, the art sways my enjoyment so heavily but this one was stunning. It used interesting ways to cover topics such as racism and women empowerment which I really enjoyed, however I do have to say, I think it was a little on the short end and would've loved it even more if it was just that bit longer

The story was way to short to get the feeling of a whole or to even figure out completely what was going on.

The art is beautiful, though, and I like the main character - a "mostly black, and part Cherokee too!" girl who rides a plane.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

I am grateful to the author and publisher for bringing this story to the world. Bessie Coleman, a multiethnic woman that broke many stereotypes and barriers. She faces down racism and the KKK. This is an introduction to Bessie and her love of flying. Can't wait for part two. The graphics are excellent! Bravo.

A very well-illustrated story about a complex tale. The story finds compelling ways to talk about racism without resorting to stereotypes or conventional scenes, and shows the interesting life lead by a woman who chose to pursue a career that wasn't approved of at the time, who moved forward with courage and cleverness.