Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist

I was hoping for a bit more art, but it's mostly Ormes life story, which is cool and deserves to be told. Also the art that is reproduced is not from original art sources, but from printed matter so the quality is often mediocre. Still a good book. Well researched.

The story of Jackie Ormes is unique that she was female cartoonist at time when that field was solely male. Secondly Jackie Ormes was an African American in a field predominately white. With two strikes against her, what does Ms. Ormes do but hit a home run. She was a timely and politically correct artist who kept herself and her work contemporary and relevant with her African American community at a time when they were neglected in the mainstream white papers. Jackie's work was artistically well done with dialogue and a story line to keep her readership ready to read the next issue. The research done by the author Nancy Goldstein was thorough and the writing keeps the reader's interest focused without losing a beat page after page. I wish that someone would publish her columns in a single volume so that today's readers could get a feel for this talented artist who needs to be recognized for her consistent and her ground breaking work that would allow other female artists to follow in her foot- steps. I highly recommend this scholarly book to anyone interested in the field of writing, cartoon artwork, and in African American history.

This is a welcome addition to Black History literature, especially during Black History month. For those who espouse getting rid of this annual celebration, the Jackie Ormes book is testimony to the continued need to learn more about blacks from the past whose lives would be forgotten without diligent authors and researchers determined not to let black talents disappear. The Ormes biography is well written, fully illustrated, and inclusive of historical data about Ormes's family and the geographic areas where she and her family lived. Readers also learn about the effects of politics on the entertainment and journalism industries of the Ormes eras. It is a certainty that many readers old enough to remember E. Simms Campbell and the "Jess Be Simple" columns had never heard of Jackie Ormes. It would be a disgrace to have gone through life not knowing about such a charismatic and talented artist.

Jackie Ormes was a fascinating woman. I found this book to be interesting, fun, and well-done. The author uses a great deal of Jackie's artwork throughout the book. Readers also get a very detailed biography about the woman who is known as the first African American woman cartoonist. I think readers will enjoy this item.

Should have been more pictures since she is an artist.

Excellent book, very interesting, I have been reading comics for sixty years but only heard about her recently.

Nancy Goldstein has struck gold with this biography of Jackie Ormes. Ormes is a Black cartoonist who drew cartoons for Black newspapers during the 1940's and 50's. She also made a foray into early Black doll production.Goldstein writes about the tribulations of Ormes and her contemporaries making satire during a time of repression, belittlement, bigotry, and official investigations. Through it all, she shows that Ormes continued to raise the consciousness of African-Americans despite their hardships.This book is a must-read for any students of Black history.Larry Bush

I had never even heard of her, my father and I used to read the comics daily, so finding this hidden jewel was an amazing discovery. It was a wonderful way to look back in time and see the foresight of Ms. Ormes . Love it !

A Great book to add to the collection