in 2018 In August 2013,
Top Shelf Productions published the first book in the
March trilogy, a black and white
graphic novel about the
Civil Rights Movement, told through the perspective of Lewis, written by Lewis and Aydin, and illustrated and lettered by
Nate Powell. The book had its genesis in Lewis' 2008 reelection campaign, when Lewis told Aydin about
The Montgomery Story and its influence on the
civil rights movement. Aydin, who had been reading comics since his grandmother bought him a copy of
Uncanny X-Men #317 off a
Piggly Wiggly spinner rack when he was eight years old, found a digital copy of the book on the Internet and spent years tracking down an original print copy on
eBay.
The Montgomery Story directly influenced on the creation of
March.
President Bill Clinton has said of Congressman Lewis that, through
March, "he brings a whole new generation with him across the
Edmund Pettus Bridge, from a past of clenched fists into a future of outstretched hands." Apple CEO
Tim Cook has said that
March is "a very unique way to present what is probably the most important story of my entire lifetime. My hope is that everyone reads this, and I would love to see the day that it is required reading in every school."
March: Book One holds an average 9.4 out of 10 rating at the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, based on five reviews. In addition to receiving positive reviews, it won numerous awards and accolades, was selected for college-level reading lists and by first-year reading programs in 2014 at
Michigan State University,
Georgia State University, and
Marquette University.
March: Book One received an "Author Honor" from the
American Library Association's 2014
Coretta Scott King Book Awards.
Book One also became the first graphic novel to win a
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, receiving a "Special Recognition" bust in 2014.
March: Book Two was released in 2015 and became both a
New York Times bestseller for paperback graphic novels and
Washington Post bestseller for paperback nonfiction books. At San Diego Comic Con in July 2016,
March: Book Two won the
Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for "Best Reality Based Work." The release of
March: Book Three in August 2016 brought all three volumes into the top 3 slots of the
New York Times bestseller list for graphic novels for 6 consecutive weeks. In November 2016,
March: Book Three was awarded the
National Book Award in Young People's Literature, becoming the first graphic novel to receive a National Book Award. In January 2017, the
American Library Association awarded
March: Book Three the 2017
Printz Award, the
Coretta Scott King Award, the
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, and the
Sibert Medal. It was the first time a single book won four A.L.A. awards. The trilogy received the
Carter G. Woodson Book Award in 2017. In May 2016,
NYC Public Schools announced that the
March trilogy was added to the systemwide 8th Grade "Passport to Social Studies" curriculum. In October 2016,
Atlanta Public Schools announced the
March trilogy's addition to its English curriculum. Aydin and Lewis collaborated in a 2020 feature by
The Bitter Southerner, which highlighted how March embodied Lewis and Aydin’s shared commitment to
nonviolence and civic activism. Following Lewis’s death later that year,
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted that the trilogy had played a significant role in inspiring a new generation of activists and was widely referenced during the 2020
racial justice protests in the United States. == Recent work ==