This is such a well done, important graphic novel,. It details the living conditions in Attica for inmates back in the 70s, and the takeover they staged to protest same. One roll of toilet paper a month ?? The abuse that these ( primarily black) inmates suffered was atrocious, and sadly much of it is still true today, 52 years later.
The artwork is mostly black and white, with colours reserved for impact. Very smart choice.

I think this is a book that many people should read.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book. I loved this so much! Please do yourself a favor and read this!

This one was a really important story from history that I did not know a lot about. However I feel the graphic novel format wasn't the best way to get to learn about it. It was hard to figure out what was happening with all the negotiation scenes, and since there was a lot of talking and not a lot of action it didn't translate well what was going on. I definitely learned something new but will want to seek more information elsewhere as this was just a starter of knowledge with people and a timeline.

This was a fascinating graphic novel depicting real historical events. I had vaguely heard of Attica before but hadn't really known what had gone on, so I learned a lot from reading this book. It happened nearly 40 years ago, but it's still relevant today.

This telling of the Attica Prison riot was intriguing. I have not read about this topic before, so it was especially enlightening. Some parts of this graphic novel were a bit confusing because the transitions weren't always marked clearly. The second half of this book really pulled me in and made me rush to the ending.

Teens will find this account interesting and accessible. Overall 4/5 stars.

It's troubling how much the social issues of today look the same as they did 50 years ago. In 1971, black prisoners rioted and took over their block of Attica prison. All they wanted was to be treated as human beings. The conditions there were awful. One shower a week. One roll of toilet paper and a bar of soap per month. Constant beatings and beratings by racist guards. After 4 days Governor Nelson Rockefeller ordered white officers to storm the prison, killing 10 hostages and 33 inmates. It took 26 years for Frank Smith to get even the smallest bit of justice for the torture and beatings he received from guards.

The story is both fascinating and heart-wrenching. However, the storytelling often lost me, especially in the beginning. It jumped around in time too many times, making it difficult to follow the story. It's telling that the author is an actor, not a writer and the stepson of one of Smith's lawyers and that this was published 16 years after Smith's death.

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel, and I gave it 5 stars. First, I love the story as a whole. I think the plot was interesting, and kept my engaged. Also, I loved the illustrations! Next, I think the characterization of the characters were really well done. I felt the pain and passion that they had, and I really look for that in books. I think what I loved most about this book was that it takes place near where I live, so I believe that peaked my interest as well!

This was a very interesting graphic memoir, it taught me a lot about what happened at the Attica prison on the 13th September 1971. It relates the true story of the Attica Prison Uprising. I found it to be a really powerful graphic novel as it is from the point of view of the inmate and chief of security Frank Smith aka “Big Black”. It explains why it happened, what happened during and after. The graphism in this book is quite powerful, not too bloody but at the same time it depicts well the horror that happened. I think prison is a difficult subject to talk about as most of the time, people who are there deserve to be in prison. The controversy is often about the condition in which the prisoners are. At the Attica prison, I think most people will agree that those conditions were horrible, and prisoners should be treated as human beings everywhere. However, finding the balance is really difficult I think. This graphic memoir made me wonder about it more which is the first thing toward better education.
Overall it is a powerful memoir about justice, fairness and human rights and I recommend it.

A cool addition to the non-fiction graphic novel genre (a very rapidly growing section with some fine titles)

It's always hard to find titles for reluctant readers, I think older kids (I mean YA...they are all kids to me) would find this a very compelling, hard to put down the title.

Synopsis: This graphic memoir details the events leading up to the 1971 Attica Prison Riots from the perspective of survivor Frank “Big Black Smith”.


My Thoughts: In this still troubled day and age, much of the social issues addressed in this book continue to remain relevant as the mass incarceration and recidivism rates exponentially rise among racial minority groups due to institutional prejudices and barriers within our criminal justice system. I must confess, shamefully, as a black American and native New Yorker, I wasn’t very aware of the historical significance of the riot hitherto when I picked this book. It gives the limelight to a minorities groups that are all too often either overlooked or vilified especially in the comics industry, African-Americans and prisoners, the latter of which are generally regarded as one of the lowest of repulsive degenerates who aren’t deserving of even the tiniest sliver of sympathy or humanity. This is as shown here with unrelenting honesty as the prisoners at the cell are denied basic survival commodities and decency including lack of medical attention, unpaid labor, one shower a week and soap a month. One of the most impressive parts of the graphic novel is its use of a limited color palette to an astounding dramatical effect. Most of the coloring consists of black and white hues but when other colors are employed, they help enhance the intensity of many of the sequences. Some noteworthy examples of this include how red emphasizes the violence of a scene (i.e. the penitentiary riots and torture scenes) and blue is saved for the more morose bits. Meanwhile, the silhouettes evocatively conveyed the grit and shabbiness surrounding the settings and serve as a stylistic time saver. The most heartbreaking part, however, was how Big Black wasn’t recompensated for his brutal treatment until 26 years after the rebellion for $4 million. Yet this settled doesn’t expunge or make up for what he went through as he continued suffering from PTSD for the rest of his life.


Final Thoughts: Big Bad: Stand at Attica touches upon a significant chapter in history often ignored and does so with painstaking excellence. I would recommend it as required reading to anyone who cares about U.S. or black history and social justice.

Notes:
Digital review copy provided by NetGalley. My experience was marred by not being able to view the double-page spreads properly.

Attica. Being British it is not an event I knew a lot about. In fact, my knowledge of it comes from films like Dog Day Afternoon and references in popular culture. The state-sanctioned murder of prisoners and the subsequent cover-up are an affront to the rule of law. Some of the panels drawn by Ameziane are sickening. The depictions of torture, in particular, were difficult to read, the desperation and terror felt by the prisoners as the guards take their revenge are brought to life skillfully.

Frank “Big Black” Smith is the focus of the book. He is a magnetic presence, and you get a feel for the charisma he must have had in real life. One does get a sense that he is blowing his own trumpet and the book, in my opinion, glosses over any flaws he has.

It would be impossible to review this book without having BLM in the back of one's mind. The racism, both systemic and outright that caused the kidnappings and riots at Attica all those years ago are still present today.
The dialogue stands out. It is not often in a comic that you get a real sense of a character’s personality and goals just from a few lines, but that happens here. Even the minor characters seem well rounded and 3rd dimensional.
My experience was marred by Adobe Digital Edition. I wasn’t able to use two-page view mode, and that made sections of the book that relied on two-page spread challenging to read. I enjoyed Big Black: Stand at Attica, but it did make me wonder about the inherent limitations of the graphic novel format. I just felt like there so much more to know. With as many characters as there are some of the talking head sections felt crowded. Maybe with a story like this that has so many strands any art form would have struggled to convey what happened. Frank’s story touches on political corruption, a flawed justice system, institutional brutality, and, the media’s complicity when the state abuses its power. Heavy themes.

As an introduction to Frank, Attica, and, the events that happened in 1971, Big Black: Stand at Attica serves as a compelling introduction. Ameziane artwork is impressive, and I am eager to get my hands on a hard copy so I can appreciate it fully.

Excellent and unflinching graphic novel about the Attica Prison Uprising and, in particular, the long term psychological damage inflicted on Frank "Big Black" Smith by both the prison system writ large and the specific unforgivable acts of prison, government, and military officials during the Uprising itself.

Incredibly important and moving graphic novel about an oft overlooked crucial event in our history. Half memoir, half historical nonfiction, it is a brutal and eye opening story that should be read by everyone.

This graphic novel is incredible. It is harrowing and heartbreaking, and talks about an event that does not get the attention it deserves. To say I enjoyed this book would be a lie, but it definitely is one of those books that I wish every single person would read!

An immensely powerful book and a successor to activist graphic novels like March and Persepolis. An incredibly informative book suitable for middle grade and up- though justifiably graphic at times given its weighty subject matter. Definitely something everyone interested in history, social justice, and activism should read.

An intense but important read nonetheless depicting the violent events of 1971 in New York’s Attica State Prison. Most people have no idea this event occurred let alone at how violent it was and how vital the repercussions of it were for us to understand that our prison system is just modern-day slavery. Unfortunately things have not changed much. This story is heavy and graphic but it's important and necessary. I think that a lot was covered in those brief pages and yet it also made it feel a little rushed in parts as I lost track of few events while reading. There were times when the art left something to be desired and there were moments when the action came to a full-stop for Big Black monologues. Nevertheless, required reading for everyone.

Wow. This is up there with "March" bu John Lewis on the list of books that I think should be used in high schools, or honestly read by anyone. I admit to not knowing a lot about the Attica Uprising, but this work has inspired me to learn more. I really felt for Frank "Big Black" Smith and was horrified at the violence he endured. This is certainly a must read. I agree with some of the other criticism of the work -- the way some of the 2 page spreads were set up made it hard to figure out how to read it and interrupted the flow of the work. But this truly is an important read and one that I cannot recommend enough.

Big Black: Stand at Attica is an absolutely essential read. It follows Big Black, who was part of a group of prisoners demanding humane treatment at Attica Prison I’m the 1970s. This graphic novel is partially about Big Black’s life, history, lessons, and perspectives, and it’s partially about the history, legislation, and culture leading up to the rebellion that made such a rebellion necessary - and, unfortunately, makes it clear that the horrifying military response wasn’t surprising.

I loved learning about Big Black’s life, his family. There were also incredibly important historical, cultural, and sociology-political facts included that make this a must-read in my book. Readers will encounter the PPP cycle - prison to parole to prison - and start to really see the modern-day slavery system that our incarceration is.

We also get to learn about the response to this atrocity and how activism and perseverance can start to change a system. The last quotation is, “Wake up, because nothing comes to a sleeper but a dream! The struggle continues!” It’s a reminder - a plea - for us to see that this was not an isolated incident and we must continue to take up this fight. Black and Brown, including Indigenous, people are incarcerated with a frequency and severity that white people will never face, and this is, without a doubt, the way the system was designed to work. Big Black: Stand at Attica is a deeply moving, deeply igniting graphic novel that I hope to buy for my own collection. It’s important, engrossing, and tells the story of a true hero.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance copy.

"Attica prison uprising" is a historic event that took place on 9-13 September, 1971. Incidentally, a big event in the life of Frank Big Black Smith.

The book depicts what happened during the rebellion, the way tv broadcasted it, how people took it, how the inmates fought for justice and how they carry the nightmares to this day...

The story touched me. I could feel the toxic air of racism inflicted on the black people while reading this book.

Quotes from the book that touched me -
"They come in angry and this place makes them angrier"
"How many times can we die when the massacre comes?"
"We no longer wish to be treated as numbers. We want to be treated as human beings."
"The wild cruel beast is not behind the bars of the cages. He is in front of it." - Eldridge Cleaver

At first, I was losing track of few events while reading. Then I was glued to the story. The writing was simple and covered important events. It showed how a struggle never ends. The illustration was dynamic. You can see the terror on a face and the face that caused the terror through the illustration - and get an intuition of the situation there...

A good book to travel to a historic event. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me the ebook!

'Big Black: Stand at Attica' by Frank "Big Black" Smith & Jared Reinmuth with art by Ameziane is a graphic novel memoir from someone who was in Attica.

Prison conditions in Attica State Prison in 1971 were bad. The prisoners were abused by racist guards and injustices were occurring. The prisoners wanted some demands met, so they started a riot. After the stand off, the authorities ended things violently. Frank "Big Black" Smith as a leader, and someone who was trying to keep the peace, was tortured by prison guards. It took years for him to get justice.

This is a pretty harsh story, but it's a good one and exposes problems as they were in the early 1970s. The art has a kind of retro comic book look and a color palette that I really liked. I really enjoyed reading this.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Boom! Studios and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.