Flipping through a graphic novel, images from history come alive, illustrating the story of the first all-African-American infantry regiment facing racism, wartime conflict and eventually, rightfully earned glory.
While this pictorial record is available at bookstores, the author himself will speak at Texas Tech University today, with a Q & A portion open to audience questions.
Immortalizing this 369th Infantry Regiment who fought in the first World War in his newest book, “The Harlem Hellfighters,” Max Brooks strays from the zombie genre that gained the author best-selling titles, such as “The Zombie Survival Guide” and “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.”
“It was a story about a unit of African-American soldiers that were set up by its own government,” Brooks explained, in a phone interview with The Hub. “The U.S. government actually tried to keep them out of the fighting, tried to prevent them from, god forbid, winning any glory and actively sabotaged them. They ended up fighting with the French and came home as one of the most decorated units in the whole U.S. Army.”
The writer recalled originally hearing of the unit dubbed the “Harlem Hellfighters” as an 11-year-old child, and said he has been fascinated with the tale ever since. Writing a screenplay about the Hellfighters in the mid-90s, Brooks could not get a contract with any filmmakers, as many thought a movie centered around a black cast would not be profitable.
“I never gave up and when I got into comic books, I thought, ‘Wow, what a great way to tell the story without worrying about Hollywood economics,'” Brooks said, describing his work becoming a graphic novel. “The irony is that two weeks before the comic book came out, Will Smith’s company snatched up the movie rights, and we’re trying to get a movie made.”
Detailing similarities between “The Harlem Hellfighters” and his zombie books, Brooks recalled extensive research was involved in both, in order to keep the stories realistic and accurate.
Photo courtesy of Max Brooks.
“This book is a lot more violent than my zombie books,” he said, of the comic book. “You would assume that my zombie books, because it’s a violent genre, would be a lot gorier. But the truth is, my World War I story has a lot more gore because the war was a terrible, terrible war, and none of it is for shock value. Everything that happens in “The Harlem Hellfighters” really happened in the first World War.”
Mentioning what happens to the human body when hit with an explosive shell, or a pair of lungs that breathes poison gas, Brooks validated his claim.
“If I was a better businessman, I wouldn’t be wasting my time with this story,” Brooks joked. “I’d be working on “World War Z, Part II: The Search for More Money.” I’m going to keep telling the stories I want to tell. I’m going to keep doing what excites me me. I’ve gotten where I’ve gotten by following my heart and that’s sort of the only compass I can do.”
The author explained this story was rejected for years, prior to films such as “12 Years a Slave” and “The Butler,” featuring African-American leading characters. Before its completion in 2014, the story had been in the works for 16 years.
“You have to deal with tons of rejection and you have to understand that no one is an overnight success,” he said, advising striving artists to alleviate financial burden off themselves by not attempting to make a living off of their creations — “that way, you’re not putting pressure on yourself to prostitute your art, you can do whatever you want to do.”
But before his success in publishing, Brooks explained his path was a struggle, as the writer suffers from severe dyslexia, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
“My brain is a million different places at once,” Brooks said, “but the moment I wrote my first short story when I was 12, time stopped and I was in the moment for the first time in my life. I knew this is what I’m supposed to do.”
Though the writer visited Texas Tech five years ago, sharing stories about zombies, Brooks expressed interest in returning to the campus, and receiving feedback from students.
“You don’t forget a town like Lubbock,” Brooks said. “I have to say, quite frankly, I enjoy the “question and answer” much more than me giving a speech. I know what I sound like and I know what I have to say, but I’m much more fascinated by taking questions from the audience and seeing who they are, and also seeing what interests them.”
Brooks will be speaking in the College of Media & Communication today (Wednesday) at 5 p.m., in Room 057.
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