In South Africa, a graphic lesson on Mandela's life

JOHANNESBURG -- Many South Africans, and especially the nation's young people, know only the outlines of Nelson Mandela's life -- his early years resisting South Africa's white-minority government, his 27 years in Robben Island prison, and the remarkable freedom he won for himself, and then for his country.

But that could soon change -- because of comic books.

One million copies of the first of a series of nine comic books on Mandela's life will be distributed Monday in newspapers and to secondary schools throughout the country. One million copies will be printed of each of the nine volumes, which cover different stages of his life. The first edition, about his childhood, was unveiled yesterday.

''You know you are really famous when [you become] a comic character," Mandela said at a ceremony to launch the comic at his Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.

The drawings are straightforward, far from the stylized renderings of a comic book character such as Batman. The colors are earthy and dark. And the story stays true to Mandela's life.

''The current generation of youth knows that Mandela was our president and that he was in jail, but that's it," said Nic Buchanan, the creator of the comic books. ''They don't know their own history. We celebrated democracy and the miracle, but the building stones of a progressive and enlightened society needs work."

As four young black artists wearing headphones stooped over their computers or worked on pen-and-ink drawings for coming volumes, Buchanan said in an interview in his studio this week that he decided to take a ''realistic approach to the drawings so that they didn't detract from the severity of the situation. History is the message here."

The opening panels of the first comic book show Mandela as a swaddled baby in his parents' arms in their simple mud hut.

The story continues with the formative experiences of his early days: his family being forced to leave the village of Mvezo in the Eastern Cape because of a dispute with a white magistrate; the death of his father, who in the end was bedridden with a horrible cough; his circumcision ceremony, the traditional entry into manhood; Mandela's decision to steal cattle with his cousin -- in order to raise money so he could escape an arranged marriage; and finally his arrival in Johannesburg as a young man of 22 in 1941.

Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and then helped lead the tense negotiations that created South Africa's first non-racial democratic government. He then was elected as its first president, serving from 1994 to 1999.

''His is an inspiring story," said Luli Callinicos, a historian and consultant on the project. ''It gives insight into the human condition and why people behave the way they do. Mandela's story is an African story, too, and shows African humanism. That is an important message. His story needs to be told, in general, especially since it affirms South African's identity."

Buchanan, 35, runs a year-old comic book company, Umlando Wezithombe, which means history in pictures in Zulu. One of his first books was on Mohandas K. Gandhi's early years in South Africa.

Buchanan thought that the story of Mandela's life should also be told through his medium. He approached the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which agreed to back the project. Anglo-American, a South African mining company, funded the first edition.

To prepare himself, Buchanan read books and consulted historians, journalists and the archivist at the Mandela foundation. He conceived a storyline, hired five artists, and they worked for six months to produce the first 26-page edition. Mandela's story has been told in children's books, scholarly tomes, films, song and poetry, but Buchanan's is the first comic book tale.

He faced many challenges. One was that no pictures exist of Mandela before the age of 19, so Buchanan and his artists had to imagine Mandela's appearance as a boy. For direction, they studied his facial bone structure, including Mandela's prominent cheekbones.

Verne Harris, the foundation's archivist, said he hopes the comic books reach most young South Africans, especially those living in rural areas.

The foundation plans to translate the series from English into 10 other languages widely used around South Africa. It also wants to create a teacher's guide for the comics.

Harris said Mandela, now 87, ''laughed with pleasure" when he saw the preliminary artwork for the comic books.

The comics, in fact, may not just appeal to young people.

''Even adults will read it," said Amina Frense, a journalist and a friend of Mandela. ''This comic book will be treasured and passed around."