Champion - by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Raymond Obstfeld

Book Synopsis

A high school student whose promising basketball career is in jeopardy discovers the triumphs and hardships of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's life as a social justice advocate in this stunningly illustrated graphic novel.

Monk Travers is the star basketball player on his high school team. Confident about his future as an NBA player, he doesn't see the point in caring much about school, let alone his community. But his world is about to change--big time!

After getting caught graffitiing his team's rival school, Monk comes to the awful realization that his actions have put his place on the team--and his future--in jeopardy. Fearing the worst, he's taken by surprise when his coach offers him an unorthodox way to atone: completing a report on the life of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Monk is ecstatic. He knows all Kareem's records and stats. He smugly announces that the project will be a snap, but his excitement is short-lived when coach tells him that the project is not about Kareem's basketball career--it's about his life as an advocate for change.

As Monk grudgingly begins his research, he discovers a history of struggles, conflicts, frustrations, and violence that he'd never been aware of, awakening a passion for social justice that rivals Kareem's own.

Review Quotes

"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

About the Author

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest basketball players of all time as well as a committed social justice activist. In 2020, the NBA created the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award in his honor. He is a New York Times bestselling author, an award-winning documentary producer who has won two NAACP Image Awards, and a twice Emmy-nominated narrator. He is the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Ford Medal of Freedom, the Rosa Parks Award, the Double Helix Medal, the University of California Presidential Medal, and Harvard University's W. E. B. Du Bois Medal of Courage. He holds eight honorary doctorate degrees and is a U.S. Cultural Ambassador. Currently, Abdul-Jabbar serves as the chairman of Skyhook Foundation, bringing educational STEM opportunities to underserved communities. He also writes a biweekly newsletter commenting on the intersection of news, sports, and popular culture, for which he has won nine Columnist of the Year awards.

Raymond Obstfeld is a poet, novelist, screenwriter, and nonfiction writer. He has coauthored several books with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and has published over fifty books of his own. He teaches creative writing at Orange Coast College.

Ed Laroche is an illustrator, storyboard artist, and graphic novelist who has created advertising and commercials for clients such as CBS Studios, Warner Bros., Cartoon Network, Hasbro, and AMC. He is the creator of the Warning series and has written two critically acclaimed graphic novels, Almighty and Waveform.