Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Ally Shwed, Beka Feathers, democracy, first second, graphic novel, Why The People

Why The People: The Case For Democracy by Beka Feathers & Ally Shwed

Why the People: The Case for Democracy is a new graphic novel by Beka Feathers and Ally Shwed to be published by First Second in June as an addition to their World Citizen Comics line of comic books, aiming to offer an analysis and history of American democracy, framed as a debate between two people waiting at an airport.

This witty and well-argued graphic novel is a must-have for anyone wanting to learn what power "we the people" actually have in a democracy. Why the people? Is democracy actually the best form of government? Does it ever work like it's supposed to?
Join Lin and Julie in the middle of an airport, as they wonder aloud how America can ever be a democracy when citizens seem to disagree about everything. With them, we are whisked through political history, and journey through different systems of power, including monarchy, theocracy, dictatorship and oligarchy.
Beka Feathers and Ally Shwed shine a bright light on power, justice, and the promise of true democracy.

Said First Second Creative and Editorial Director Mark Siegel about the line a couple of years ago "Why comics? It's my medium, it's where I live,. It's also where I see young people living and, increasingly, adults, too. We're in a highly visual age, and the graphic novel blurs age categories, genres, and connects across all popular culture. In the last two years, Democracy has taken a heavy blow. We are in a time of great testing for the American experiment, and for Democracy everywhere. At first I was filled with anger, to the point it wasn't good for me. When leaders are brazenly dishonest, have no use for democracy, a free press, or the foundations of this nation, and there's mounting evidence that criminals have taken over the Oval Office itself, it's easy to feel helpless."

Beka Feathers is a legal adviser on political development in conflict-affected states. Her writing is influenced by her work with clients and partners in more than a dozen countries, where she has helped to draft constitutions, design transitional governments, facilitate peace processes, and advocate for improved access to justice. She is a proud alumna of Lewis & Clark College, the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, and American University's Washington College of Law.

Ally Shwed is a cartoonist, writer, and editor from New Jersey. She received her MFA in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art & Design and has worked with The Boston Globe, The Nib, First Second Books, and Lion Forge Comics. Together with artist Gerardo Alba, she runs Little Red Bird Press, a visual arts studio specializing in comics and printmaking. In 2017, Ally concluded a visiting professorship at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Querétaro, México, where she spearheaded a program in sequential art studies. Later that year, she was selected as a Creator-in-Residence at the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, during which she published Little Red Bird's comic anthology Blocked: Stories from the World of Online Dating. In 2018, she was selected as a Denver Independent Comics & Art Expo Fellow and asked to be a featured contributor to the Oxford Handbook of Comic Book Studies. Her recent projects include a graphic novel adaptation of Fault Lines in the Constitution (First Second Books) and Votes for Women, a comic anthology celebrating the centennial of the 19th Amendment (Little Red Bird Press).

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