This graphic novel biography of the 1960s Native American rock band, Redbone delivers an inside view of the social and political strife that the members of the band went through and how it affected their careers and their lives. Told from Pat Vegas' perspective as he tells his life story to his children, we meet all the people who shaped the band and get a first hand experienced account of Wounded Knee and the tensions building up to it. The subtle and somewhat monochrome color pallet helps put the reader into the time period.

I did not read the whole blurb before requesting this off of NetGalley and solely picked it because I’d never heard of an all-Native American rock band. I love GOTG, so to find out midway through this book that they are the band behind “Come and Get Your Love” was wonderful! First off, any fan of 60s and 70s rock should definitely read this book just to get a snippet of the scene and how the band started from nothing and all that. Then, everyone should read this to learn much more about Native American history and life - especially as it relates to their civil rights protests in the 70s (which I knew nothing about!). It was a bit eye-opening. But having said that, it was a lot of content to get through in a small amount of time and left me Googling a few things to learn more.

Lastly, the illustrations didn’t always do it for me - the style frequently blurred characters together in a way that made it confusing. And a few times the flow of the text was confusing too and I read it out of order the first time around.

This graphic novel talks about the origins of Redbone. But more than that, it shows the racism and destruction that had to be overcome for the group to exist at all. This is a great biography told from Pat Vegas' perspective. It was great to learn how many albums the group released and the activism that was included in their songs.

I learned about Redbone on a recent Morning Book Buzz from Penguin Random House Library Marketing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFbuZZ2QLks&t=4s). It's the story of Pat and Lolly Vegas' band, Redbone, framed by a family conversation between Pat and his daughter as he looks back on his glory days. (Red and turquoise artwork indicates the past storyline, while yellow is the present.) The story of the Native American civil rights movement is woven through the story of Redbone. I do wish that the whole story had been told chronologically, as the modern scenes were not as compelling as the story of the American Indian Movement and Redbone itself. Overall, this is a worthwhile read that will find an audience with fans of rock history, who will want to look up many of the musicians and songs that are referenced throughout.

I received a digital ARC.
I really wish I could give a higher rating to this book. The art style ages throughout the book change to represent the different times and places being discussed. This was done so well while still maintaining the central art style!
As for the topics discussed, many included issues that too often are not mentioned in history books. As a non-classic rock band lover, it was very insightful to see how a band used their position to bring change to their people. This book most definitely gave me more respect for music and artist from the 70s.
Yet while I loved this book, I could not get past the issue that creates the first 1/3 of the book to be ununderstandable. Yet this could have all be cleared up by expressly stating that this book was being told as a conversation between a daughter, her father, and a few other people.
Despite this issue, this book brings greater light to the issues facing Indigenous people today while also being in an assessable format more likely to be read by teens and music lovers that may be reluctant readers.
#RedboneTheTrueStoryofaNativeAmericanRockBand #NetGalley

A graphic novel that gives voice to the 1970s rock band called Redbone. This goes so much further than their music - delving into the creation, events and activism of the AIM (American Indian Movement). The family of Pat and Lolly Vegas helped with this project - which is important because the American Indian voice has been neglected for far too long. This would definitely be something to give to someone who was impacted and influenced by the March books by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nathan Powell.

Redbone tells the a story I was not familiar with - little known Native American musicians who had an influence on major rock icons, who made the decision to stand with other disenfranchised indigenous peoples in the American Indian Movement and letting of their commercial prospects. I appreciate at title like this bringing to the forefront a detail that might have been seen as a timeline blip for bigger stars. It is told in a unique format with illustrations not bound by panel lines. I was able to discern where to pick up the next line visually, but this might be a confusing read for those new to the format/genre of graphic novels. The color choices, both in the illustrations and for the background were intentional and well executed with the story.

This is a title that would be of interest for those looking to develop non-fiction graphic novel collections in public libraries.

I've always loved Redbone's music and (even though they were a little before my time) and was excited about the newer generations experiencing them through Guardians of the Galaxy! Using the graphic novel form to bring their story to life was really smart. I really would have liked to see a section of real photographs at the end.

The layout and the text was too difficult to follow. Text bubbles may help, but I found the book too confusing to read. Couldn't finish it.

I enjoy music, like learning about history, and believe more needs to be told about marginalized groups. This title hit the trifecta.

My only issue with the galley was that the lettering was so small and plain (not bold) that I had to pull out my magnifying glass to read it on my Nook.

Other than that, good story with enough history to make it interesting but not boring.

I will fully admit that I had to google Redbone as I bounced into this graphic novel. I listened to their top hits right after I finished the novel. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I knew one of their hits: "Come and Get Your Love". Abate, I knew this song only because of Guardians of the Galaxy... but kudos to Marvel for making a Native American band's main hit the main intro song to a super popular movie. This is a unique graphic novel as it's true and it's a record of a band (pun intended). I have not read a graphic novel previously that centers around music and a band. And if that wasn't unique enough, the novel is about a Native American band. I have had trouble diversifying my graphic novel class library to include native voices and this is a great one I can bring in. It can connect to my music lovers and those interested in Native American culture. So thank you for making this novel! It is much needed in classrooms.

I like the structure: it juxtaposes a "comic book" like feel of the band's past and the current narration/flashback of the story from one of the band members to his family over a meal/trip. The past and present harmonize nicely. The colors change so it's not hard to follow what time period is being chronicled. I found it interesting that a melody of injustices (a history of just SOME of the injustices Native Americans have faced) is mixed in. The politics are not the main focus, but it is there. While the family is eating their lunch and spinning this story into being, a server is being abused with racial slurs. And the pipeline is brought up when the story is in the present tense. It opens doors to research about the past massacres, the injustices of reservations and boarding schools and the current event of the pipeline.

Graphic Non-Fiction
I received an electronic ARC from IDW Publishing through NetGalley.
Biography of the band Redbone told through the graphic format. My concern with the book design is that it is difficult to follow the text order and which character is speaking.
The color palette works well to support the informative text. Staebler and Paoloni share the band's story from the start. The main person reflecting shares with his grandchildren and tells truth about the past up until the days they are together.
This group broke barriers and that's addressed along with the history happening during their lifetimes.

Redbone was a Native American rock band from the 1960s, and they came together to show that Native Americans deserve a voice. The story is framed around band member Pat Vegas telling his story to his grown children many years later, and it includes sections that explain the historical context of the time period he is discussing with them. The author does a good job of connecting Redbone's story to present-day Native American concerns as well, because the band was all about being part of the political movements that support Native American rights. This history of a rock band is an interesting way to learn about American history.

I love that we're talking about a very overlooked history and a very overlooked band in this graphic. For most people, they know Redbone because of Guardians of the Galaxy. The band with that fun song that that dude from that movie danced to and now everyone has downloaded. This is super great, but that's usually where the interest stops, so I love that this graphic picks up on what happens after, and during, and before, that song happens. I knew about their activism and so I love that this is incorporated throughout the graphic. It not only tells us more about them but gives the reader insight into Indigenous history that is rarely discussed especially more recent events. I do love the overall vibe of the art, it's so very 70s and nostalgic. (I can see it being distracting for some folks, but I think it works and serves a specific purpose.) I also love the comics within the graphic. This very much felt like a love letter to this band, this time period, this work, culture, etc. I quite enjoyed this and I'll be adding it to my to-buy list for both my home and work libraries. Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.

Interesting story of the band, Redbone, but also of the Civil Rights Movement for Native Americans. Upsetting that there is still so much prejudice to fight.

First, a thank you to NetGalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review. And, for that reason - as well as the fact that it is does both the author and illustrator a disservice, but I try as I might I simply could not read the tiny print on the PDF download and it won't be published until September, so it will be a go know for now. I did very much enjoy the illustrations and overjoyed that this book have been so beautifully created as it is a wonderful addition to both Indigenous history and the graphic novel genre. I won't be writing a review on any social media outlets until I've had the chance to read it - which I am very much looking forward to it and I have already ordered a copy to add to the collection at our public library.

Redbone makes the leap from perenially known "one-hit" wonders to true underground heroes in this engaging graphic novel.

For anyone who has seen scratchy you-tube clips of the band performing in native American headdress and thinking that they were being culturally insensitive here is wonderful biographic which will make anyone stand up and cheer for this merry band of outsiders.

A welcome addition into the canon of rock and roll stories.

Redbone was another amazing graphic novel that deals with an underrepresented group in literature: the Native American people. I read Indian No More several days ago which makes it two books more I’ve read about Native Americans than I read in all of last year. We are getting better about creating books about other cultures, but we can do more.
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Redbone is about the band Redbone from the ‘60s and focused also on the persecution and plight of the Native American people, many stories that aren’t shared in our class history books, which makes it so important for students and adults to continue their education beyond what’s taught in the classroom. I learned so many amazing facts about this group, whom I’ve never heard of before reading this and about the Native American protests, people and causes.
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This YA graphic novel tells truths long forgotten or never shared. Their stories deserve to be told. I wish the book was in a graphic novel format. The wording around the images made it difficult to read/follow. Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC. This releases September 22.

Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I was not expecting a graphic novel and that is not my usual genre. I think this was the first graphic novel I have ever read. I found the story was hard to follow and it was hard to know which person was speaking.

I found the parts that focused on the Native American struggles much more interesting than the parts about the band (I had never heard of them prior to this book).

Did not finish. It didn't download properly on my laptop. It looked interesting, but I don't think I'll purchase it.