“Visually inventive, cleverly written, and brimming with knowledge and joy, this passionate and funny book is a rare pleasure.”—Warren Ellis, writer and creator of Castlevania, co-creator of Transmetropolitan, and author of Gun Machine
“A book from the mind of a polymath like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could never be less than a half-dozen different things, and Champion manages them all with deft and grace. It’s a coming-of-age story about basketball, getting in (and out of) trouble, and falling in (and out of) love. It’s a mini-history of the Civil Rights Movement, an object lesson in discovering and embracing Blackness, the burdens of talent, and the responsibilities we carry to ourselves, our teams, our families, and our communities. . . . It even manages to be a biography of Kareem himself and the awakening of his social conscience. Kareem, Raymond, and Ed’s book has made my world—and the world of comics—bigger and brighter indeed.”—Matt Fraction, writer of Marvel’s Hawkeye and DC Comics’s Batman
“The co-authors skillfully weave biography, Black history, and realistic fiction into a cleverly conceived story . . . An engaging blend of sports fiction, history, and real-life issues.”—Kirkus Review
“The actual Abdul-Jabbar, a true paragon of achievement in both mind and body, teams with a pair of versatile industry pros for his first graphic novel here. And how’s their game? He shoots, he scores, with a cleverly constructed story . . . a win for teens ready to focus on the book’s many strengths.”—Booklist
