A Japanese author and illustrator, Akira Hiramoto, has a new graphic novel based loosely on the life and times of blues guitarist Robert Johnson. Me and the Devil Blues: The Unreal Life of Robert Johnson is published by Del Rey Manga [US$19.95, 544p] and due soon. In Hiramoto's rendition, Johnson actually does make a deal with the devil. According to PW Comics, the story progresses through the background of post-slavery segregation, Prohibition and the Great Depression, with cameos by American gangsters Bonnie and Clyde as well as blues masters Son House and Willie Brown, and mentor/blues teacher Ike Zinnerman. The book is drawn in the seinen manga style reserved for mature stories, with accurate depictions of people and places. There are illustrations of lynchings, adult content and nudity.
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