Andrew Aydin

Andrew Aydin
Born (1983-08-25) August 25, 1983
Atlanta, Georgia
Nationality American
Alma mater
Occupation Political aide, Graphic novelist

Andrew Aydin (born August 25, 1983) is an American politician and award-winning comics writer, known as the telecommunications and technology policy aide to Georgia congressman John Lewis, and co-author, with Lewis, of Lewis' #1 New York Times bestselling[1] autobiographical graphic novel trilogy March—with Representative John Lewis, which debuted in 2013 by Top Shelf Productions.

Early life

Aydin was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended the Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia, earned a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College and a Master of Arts in public policy from Georgetown University.

Career

An Atlanta native, Aydin grew up reading and collecting comic books. After college, upon taking a job with Congressman Lewis, Aydin learned that the civil rights legend had been inspired as a young man by a classic 1950s comic book, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story. They discussed the impact that comic books can have on young readers and decided to write a graphic novel together about the civil rights era. The March series was born in 2013

Aydin wrote his master’s thesis on the history and impact of Martin Luther King & The Montgomery Story. His best-selling graphic novels March: Book One and March: Book Two are taught in high schools and colleges across the country. Aydin frequently lectures about the history of comics in the civil rights movement and has appeared as a guest on the Rachel Maddow Show, National Public Radio, CBS This Morning, CNN, the BBC and many other programs. He is a popular presenter at Comic-Con and at U.S. corporations and recently appeared as a guest speaker at Google and at the Apple headquarters in California.

President Bill Clinton has said of Congressman Lewis that, through March, “he brings a whole new generation with him across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, from a past of clenched fists into a future of outstretched hands." Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that March is “a very unique way to present what is probably the most important story of my entire lifetime. My hope is that everyone reads this, and I would love to see the day that it is required reading in every school." [2]

Aydin currently serves as Digital Director & Policy Advisor to Representative Lewis in his Washington, D.C. office. Previously, he served as Communications Director and Press Secretary during Rep. Lewis' 2008 and 2010 re-election campaigns. Prior to joining Rep. Lewis' staff, Aydin served as District Aide to Representative John B. Larson (D-CT) and as Special Assistant to Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Kevin Sullivan.

Creation of March

While working on his 2008 reelection campaign, Lewis told Aydin, about the The Montgomery Story and its influence.[3]

Aydin, who had been reading comics since his grandmother bought him a copy of Uncanny X-Men #317 off a Piggly Wiggly spinner rack when he was eight years old,[4] found a digital copy of the book on the Internet and spent years tracking down an original print copy on EBay. Aydin explains The Montgomery Story 's influence on March thus:

“ Once he told me about it, and I connected those dots that a comic book had a meaningful impact on the early days of the Civil Rights movement, and in particular on young people, it just seemed self-evident. If it had happened before, why couldn’t it happen again? I think part of that impulse was born out of a frustration with the way things are in our politics and our culture. The election of Barack Obama seemed like it was opening a huge door, and I think perhaps we put all of our dreams and aspirations on him, and failed to recognize that we too have to rise up, and we too have to make our voices heard. He's one man and can't do it alone, and we did not make Congress, we did not make our state legislators do what we needed them to do to make the society we all imagined in that campaign. And when I look back on it, the Civil Rights movement was so successful at using non-violence in so many different ways: Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma in particular, the Mississippi Freedom Summer, the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, all held different aspects, and when you look back at the comic book it was one tactic. It was the way they did it in Montgomery. But what if we took the broader story and showed all of the different tactics. Because what worked in Birmingham and what worked in Montgomery didn’t necessarily work in Albany, and there were different reasons. The Sheriffs started adapting. They were moving prisoners out of city jails and putting them in county jails, and things like that, so you couldn’t fill them up as fast. And we need to adapt. The tactics, the principles, they still work, but we need to adapt our use of them. And so showing how others had done that and how it had progressed seemed like such a natural way to sort of pursue those ends.[5] ”

Reception of March

Book One

March: Book One holds an average 9.4 out of 10 rating at the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, based on five reviews.[6]

Jim Johnson of Comic Book Resources gave the book four and a half out of five stars, calling it "an excellent and fascinating historical account" of Lewis' life and "an absolutely wonderful story about one man who played a very important role in one of this country's most important social revolutions, and continues to play an important part to this very day". Johnson further commented, "Powell's washed-out greytones combine with Congressman Lewis and Aydin's captivating words and story to give the entire account the feel of a compelling, period documentary."[7]

Noah Sharma of Weekly Comic Book Review gave March Book One a grade of A-, calling it "an artful and important graphic novel". Sharma praised Lewis as a talented storyteller, called the dialogue "sharp and cleverly delivered" and remarked that Powell "fills his panels with depth and vibrancy". Sharma concluded, "The narrative tools employed by March are simple ones, but they form together to create something moving and complex. Aydin and Powell know when to let their art support the congressman and when to let his experience speak for itself."[8]

March: Book One received an "Author Honor" from the American Library Association's 2014 Coretta Scott King Book Awards.[9] Book One also became the first graphic novel to win a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, receiving a "Special Recognition" bust in 2014.[10]

March: Book One was selected by first-year reading programs in 2014 at Michigan State University,[11] Georgia State University,[12] and Marquette University.[13]

March Book One was ranked #2 on The Village Voice 's 2014 list "The 10 Most Subversive Comics at New York Comic Con".[14]

MARCH: Book One was named one of the best books of 2013 by USA Today, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, School Library Journal, The Horn Book Review, Paste, Slate, Kirkus Reviews, andBooklist, among others.

Book Two

March: Book Two was released in 2015 and immediately became both a New York Times and Washington Post bestseller.

The March series is used in schools across the country to teach the Civil Rights Movement to the next generation of young activists, and has been selected as a First-Year common reading text at colleges and universities such as Michigan State University, Georgia State University, Marquette University, University of Utah, Henderson State University, University of Illinois Springfield, Washburn Univeristy, and many others.

Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story

Until 2012, no history of Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story had been written, and most versions of how the comic was created listed Al Capp as the actual creator. As part of his graduate degree at Georgetown University, Aydin wrote the first long-form history of The Montgomery Story as his graduate thesis. With the help of Carlow University Professor Dr. Sylvia Rhor and comic book icon Eddie Campbell, Aydin established most of what we know about the comic’s creation and use. In August of 2013, Aydin published a shortened version of his thesis as the feature article in Creative Loafing’s award-winning “Future of Nonviolence” issue, which was guest-edited by Lewis and Aydin.[15] [16]

Awards and honors

Aydin is the recipient of the 2014 Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor,[17] the 2013 Gem Award (Independent Graphic Novel of the Year)[18] and the 2014 YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens.[19]

In March 2014 Aydin and co-authors received a Special Recognition award at the 2014 Robert F. Kennedy Book Awards.[20]

That same year, Aydin’s work on March was nominated for two Eisner Awards: Best Publication for Teens & Best Reality-Based Work.[21] Aydin's work was also nominated for two Harvey Awards: Best Graphic Album – Original & Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation. [22]

References

  1. ↑ "Best Sellers - The New York Times". Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Biography". Andrew Aydin. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Hughes, Joseph. "Congressman John Lewis And Andrew Aydin Talk Inspiring The ‘Children Of The Movement’ With ‘March’ (Interview)". Comics Alliance. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Herbowy, Greg. "Q+A: Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell". Visual Arts Journal (School of Visual Arts) (Fall 2014): 48–51.
  5. ↑ Hughes, Joseph. "Congressman John Lewis And Andrew Aydin Talk Inspiring The ‘Children Of The Movement’ With ‘March’ (Interview)". Comics Alliance. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "March: Book One #1 Reviews". Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Jim. "March: Book One". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  8. ↑ Sharma, Noah. "March (Book One) - Review". Weekly Comic Book Review. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Coretta Scott King Book Awards - All Recipients, 1970-Present". American Library Association. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  10. ↑ MacDonald, Heidi (21 March 2014). "March Book One is first graphic novel to win the RFK Book Award". Comics Beat.
  11. ↑ "About the Book". City of East Lansing & Michigan State University. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Fall 2014 Selection". Georgia State University. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "About the Book". Marquette University, Office of Student Development. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Staeger, Rob (10 October 2014). "The 10 Most Subversive Comics at New York Comic Con". The Village Voice.
  15. ↑ Aydin, Andrew (1 August 2013). "The comic book that changed the world". Creative Loafing. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  16. ↑ Michaud, Debbie; Williams, Wyatt (1 August 2013). "Congressman John Lewis takes over Creative Loafing". Creative Loafing. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "The Coretta Scott King Book Awards". Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Diamond Comics Distributors Award Winners Announced".
  19. ↑ "Great Graphic Novels 2014". YALSA. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  20. ↑ "March: Book One wins Robert F. Kennedy Book Award -- Special Recognition!". Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  21. ↑ "2014 Eisner Award Nominees Announced". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "The 2014 Harvey Award Nominations are Revealed". IGN. Retrieved 14 October 2015.

External links

Media related to Andrew Aydin at Wikimedia Commons

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