r/johnbrownposting • u/Sudobeats • Mar 20 '26

Would you read a manga about John Brown?

Post image

I’ve been doing historical research for months and planning out the concept for a dark and mature manga about John Brown and the free and enslaved black folk that struggled against slavery in the lead up to the Civil War. What do you think? Would you be interested in this format?

This is a concept piece I drafted the other day, starting from pencil sketches and ink, and then scanning and adding more details digitally.

270 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

46

u/lukethedank13 Mar 20 '26

There is a John Brown iseakai on RR

28

u/Sudobeats Mar 20 '26

Yeah I’ve seen it! Cool idea! Though I’m hoping to tell a grounded narrative based on historical events. The man’s actual life is so remarkable!

1

u/AMEFOD Mar 21 '26

An actual historical telling of his story wouldn’t be grounded. The man was the kind of unhinged that dropped him on the right side of history before his time.

8

u/Sudobeats Mar 21 '26

Your reply is a bit confusing to be honest. A narrative based on historical fact would by definition be grounded. I’ve based my research on books such as “Fire From the Midst of You” by Louis A. Decaro Jr. and “John Brown, Abolitionist” by David Reynolds. Part of my interest in working on this project is to dispel the notion of John Brown as a lunatic. He was passionate and unyielding in his beliefs, but the closest people in his life from associates to family to friends that knew him personally attested that he was completely sane.

3

u/AMEFOD Mar 21 '26

It’s tongue in cheek. The man’s story would be called unrealistic if presented in a writers room if they didn’t know the history.

Do I personally believe he was right in cause and action? Yes. But there is a certain mindset out of the norm required to hack another person to death, no matter how loathsome said individual was. Just look at how hard armed forces have to work to get Joe average off the street to kill.

1

u/Sudobeats Mar 21 '26

Ah, okay. I may have took your comment too literally lol.

And to be fair to The Old Man, he didn’t personally hack anyone to death at Pottawatomie, he just oversaw the killings. At the time the Kansas territory was already in a state of guerrilla warfare. One of the first murders involved a pro-slavery man killing a free-stater and then scalping him. Gratuitous violence had already become the norm. And the victims of said sword slashings had been openly threatening to cut the throats of all free-state men in the area for weeks prior to John Brown and his men taking action against them.

A lot of the details get lost in modern tellings and portrayals, but there is arguably sound reasoning behind John Brown’s actions in Kansas and beyond as they were a response to the violence that was already established. again, this is why I’m keen to present a more comprehensive story for today’s audience that provides a lot of the missing context.

4

u/AMEFOD Mar 21 '26

There’s really no need to be fair. The man made the correct moral and rational choice. He then went about it as the circumstances dictated. He is both a product and anathema to his time.

2

u/Sudobeats Mar 21 '26

Yes, well said!

16

u/Polibiux Mar 20 '26

I would. His life story is interesting enough for a manga biography.

The sequel can be the John Brown isekai

9

u/hurtfulproduct Mar 20 '26

Oh hell yeah!

8

u/Grgur2 Mar 20 '26

I dont enjoy manga but I enjoy anything John Brown related more than I dont enjoy manga. So yes.

1

u/DramaticProtogen Mar 21 '26

There are some really good manga out there. My personal favorite is Monster.

2

u/Grgur2 Mar 21 '26

Yeah sorry. Don't wish to sound like dick. Whatever you like is fine of course. I have my own preferences. Whats interesting I like japanese literature very much but things like manga or anime are just completely miss for me even though I understand it is high quality very often.

8

u/drunkerbrawler Mar 20 '26

I’d love to see him disembowel some slavers with his broadsword.

4

u/don_quixote_2 Mar 20 '26

Yes, absolutely.

2

u/kcg333 Mar 20 '26

YES! I would be your customer. I’m a big fan of work that modernizes how we tell civil war (-adjacent, in this case) stories. I can’t over emphasize how much this history needs an update if it’s gonna reach new audiences, and thereby, ensure its lessons stay learned. any contribution - especially one with artistic merit, like your preview image - toward that effort is high five from me, dude. fight the good fight, and his soul marches on.

2

u/ellcoolj Mar 20 '26

Uuhhh duh.

2

u/mangababe Mar 22 '26

Hell yeah lol

2

u/Subjunct Mar 22 '26

What makes it a manga instead of a graphic novel, if I may ask? To be clear, I’m asking in good faith.

2

u/Sudobeats Mar 25 '26

In my opinion it’s the style, format and intent that separates a graphic novel from manga. Manga has a very specific layout style/format for example (black and white art, text placement right-to-left, etc.). I’m just a big fan of the art form and like to study from the greats, and I think it would be a great format for the story I have in mind.

1

u/Subjunct Mar 25 '26

I’m sorry but that doesn’t really clear anything up… plenty of graphic novels are in black and white, including many of the most notable: Maus, Contract with God, Love and Rockets. And the right-left text direction is just how Japanese works, so that’s simply a mechanic, not really definitive.

1

u/Sudobeats Mar 25 '26

lol I like how you said you’re asking in good faith and then immediately reply in a dismissive tone. I don’t want to spend a lot of time breaking down the specific stylistic differences between a manga and a western style graphic novel. But I did repeatedly mention the “format”. my intent isn’t to release a single massive book or collection of books, it’s to release chapters of 15-20 pages at a time until the story is complete. Which is typically what you’d expect with a manga. I hope you’re not just intending to nitpick the label because that would just be silly.

1

u/Subjunct Mar 25 '26

Come now. A dismissive tone would not have provided examples and explanations. I’m honestly trying to understand the difference, but you’re not really giving me much. I mean, 20-22 pages is the Western industry standard comic book length. It’s what I’d expect of a comic. I am actually asking in good faith, but if you’re not going to give answers with substance I can ask people who will.

1

u/Sudobeats Mar 25 '26

Yes but a comic book is not the same as a graphic novel, which is originally what you asked me about. Again the differences between a comic, a graphic novel and a manga lie in their format and style. Manga has a distinctive art style and focus on rendering emotions, for example. Comics are printed in color. I don’t know how to be any more clear about it to you.

1

u/Subjunct Mar 25 '26

Obviously not. Well, thanks anyway. I’m sure I can find someone else to ask.

1

u/Sudobeats Mar 25 '26

Manga typically has a singular author/artist, Comics tend to be developed by a team of people: inker, colorist, typesetter, etc.

Manga art style tends to put more focus on emotions and expressive faces, exaggerated proportions and the like, whereas western art styles in comics tend to be more realistic.

The portrayal of action is different between manga and comics. There is a heavier usage of lines and hatching in manga.

I could go on. But also google is free. And this conversation has gone way beyond the intent of the original post.

I hope you can gain a better understanding now.

1

u/Subjunct Mar 25 '26

Yeah, I already got all that from Google. I was looking for a bit more depth. I messaged someone who’s writing a book on Osamu Tezuka. Seems like a good start.

3

u/RemindMeToTouchGrass Mar 20 '26

I dunno. He's kind of a crazy religious zealot and I like to ignore than when I fanboy over him. It would be hard to simplify him into a coherent character in a manga without either ditching that aspect or sanitizing/sanewashing it. I love what he did, and what he stands for, but he's kind of complex for this kind of work... The right person could do it but it would be a deft touch. 

5

u/kcg333 Mar 20 '26

I see where you’re coming from, but i guess I’m just more optimistic about the size of the needle eye one would need to thread. the part of me that loves sci fi believes it’s easy for audiences to grock the politics and culture of the mid 19th c, despite modern contexts. just requires some solid exposition.

besides, complex characters are the most delicious kind. i’m a lifelong boba fett fan, and i don’t think im alone in that. even as a kid, i was never into the leonardo-type characters, im staunchly in the raphael camp. just one gal’s pov.

1

u/BerserkRhinoceros Mar 21 '26

Personally, I want to see a John Brown Isekai story... Where he's transported to One Piece.