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Ciponte’s graphics – beautifully shadowed and shaded frames of a meticulously studied era – recreate the heroes, the villains, and those trying to get by, and the somber world they inhabit. The pacing and swift changes of scene propel the reader along like a well-paced suspense film... Freiheit! is a high-quality effort to call a current generation of young Christians to resist, peacefully but eloquently, imaginatively, and resolutely, the regnant evils of their own time.
Ellen Wilson Fielding, senior editor, Family Life Review
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This poignant story has been told before in film, theater, and opera. But it feels especially timely in this 112-page graphic novel….The story of the White Rose thrives in this form. A graphic novel is urgent. It combines the visual drama of film with narrative dimensions that film does not possess. Ciponte, a professor of film, shows himself a master of visual storytelling.
Christian Century
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An inherently absorbing, thoughtful and thought-provoking read from cover to cover, ,em>Freiheit! is an appropriate and unreservedly recommended addition to middle school, high school, and community library graphic novel collections for young readers ages 11-18.
Midwest Book Review
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Put this into the hands of those who want to change the world. It will inspire but it will also spell out that the road to freedom is long and hard – and that many don’t make it to the end.
Inspire Magazine
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Freiheit!, which means freedom, showcases, in beautiful grey toned and colored watercolor art, the tale of this small group that was asking their fellow Germans to passively resist the Nazi’s and remember their honor and pride.
DC Comics
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The story telling is very effective in it’s depiction of daily life for the students of the White Rose, their sense of justice mixed with their heady youthfulness... the last few pages hit you right in the heart if not your very soul!
Impulse Gamer
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Stories like this give new generations of activists heroes to emulate, and gives readers a window into the past for them to learn from. Let this book... embolden and empower all who want to make a difference in the world for future generations.
Pop Cult HQ
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I’m blown away by the artwork because the presentation is like watching a piece of old cinema. It truly puts readers into this old world: the problems these kids faced (it was black and white), and the terror, which wasn’t of their design!
Otaku no Culture
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Engaging… Ciponte’s humanizing depiction of the White Rose group... may be particularly inspiring to young people… The graphic novel instills an enduring point: with enough willpower, every single individual can be an agent of change.
Jewish Long Beach Chronicle
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Writer and artist Andrea Grosso Ciponte captures the hope and horror of resistance in hopeless, horrible times; a topic entirely too relevant to the present day. FREIHEIT! manages to be both intimate and epic... The result feels like a stream-of-consciousness straight from the tortured German soul, suffering and straining under Hitler’s heel.
David Avallone, The Secret Diary of Bettie Page
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Very engaging… gorgeously illustrated… That emotional pull is something that Freiheit! does incredibly effectively.
Snap Book Reviews
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Brilliantly timely... I was engrossed until I finished the book in one sitting. It’s a magnificently illustrated and taut thrilling retelling of the incredible daring of these students who gave full measure to end the evil in their midst.
Good Men Project
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Appropriately moody and beautifully composed.
Comics Beat
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The true story of a group of anti-fascist student propagandists.... Although the White Rose lost its leaders, the spirit of the group continues to inspire young activists to this day, a fact that Ciponte’s graphic novel underscores, placing events into a larger historical context via additional quotes and commentary from German writers and historians.
The Hollywood Reporter
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Ciponte...adopts a cinematic pace for the story, allowing it to unspool through the ordinary moments in the lives of the five protagonists. In doing so, he gives the characters depth and dimension beyond their historical role as resistance martyrs. FREIHEIT! is an important reminder that the darkest times can’t extinguish the spark of human conscience, and that history remembers those who take risks – and even pay the ultimate cost – to resist oppression.
Forbes
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The true story of a group of anti-fascist student propagandists.... Although the White Rose lost its leaders, the spirit of the group continues to inspire young activists to this day, a fact that Ciponte’s graphic novel underscores, placing events into a larger historical context via additional quotes and commentary from German writers and historians.
The Hollywood Reporter
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Striking and atmospheric… The tight focus on language and its power to change minds – both the writings in the leaflets and the anti-Semitic and fascist rhetoric of the Nazi party – offers a valuable angle.
Booklist
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A graphic account of the lives and tragic ends of the young anti-Nazi White Rose martyrs.... Readers will come away appreciating the courage it took for these young collegians to stand up as they did.... a heartfelt, well-deserved tribute.
Kirkus Review
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Renegade should be commended for not shying away from the most disturbing parts of Luther’s career and for portraying his complexity…. This is an educational graphic novel, not a dense historical tome, and despite being unpolished, there is nevertheless a charm in such a quirky and unique effort…. Renegade is a read that, much like the man it portrays, is ultimately messy, complicated, and fascinating.
Friends Journal
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Captivating… Dramatic use of light in the renderings, gorgeous color, almost cinematic. Using visual quotes and metaphors drawn from great art, like Hironymous Bosch’s paintings, with their surrealistic imagery of hell, Renegade captures the psychological angst of the story… A great introduction to the man and his thought.
God and Comics Podcast
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It may seem difficult to say anything new about Luther at this point, but this book manages to do it. First, there is the sheer power of the art. Ciponte and Palmerino get the look and feel of the 16th century, and give us dark garrets, sumptuous palaces, and simple taverns. Their sometimes-disturbing images humanize Luther like few other things I have read recently. The text incorporates a lot of 16th-century primary sources by Luther and others. The overall effect is contemplative, not triumphalistic…. In the “if you only read one book about Luther this year” category, this has got to be near the top of the list… you will definitely understand what all the fuss was about.
Jennifer Woodruff Tait, Christian History
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The six-time collaborators return to one of history’s most infamous rebels on the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, telling the story of the man behind the movement that shaped the world and made history. This is a great find for history and religion readers.
Comic Booked
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Palmerino’s text paints a clear chronological picture of how events may have transpired—but the art is what will pull in readers. At times it’s rough and jagged, at others dreamlike with biblical imagery floating around and intertwining with the dark age environment… A great addition to graphic novel collections. Protestantism unfolds with a compelling style that any history lover will enjoy.
School Library Journal
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Impressively informative and unreservedly recommended as an introduction to the life and work of one of the most influential leaders of the early years of the Protestant Movement and the founder of the Lutheran church.
Midwest Book Review
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Longtime Italian collaborators Ciponte and Palmerino present their first work in English with this earnest take on Luther’s life, wonderfully rendered through paintings and collages that dip into the biography at critical moments. YA and adult readers alike will find this work intriguing and informative.”
Library Journal, Starred Review
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Renegade represents a fresh approach to creating interest in the career and contribution of Martin Luther, particularly among young people. Sumptuous art illustrates and punctuates the main matters in his life and career…. The book is generally well balanced and should inspire curiosity to seek further information among its readers, collectors and viewers. In addition, the somewhat edgy presentation will appeal to a demographic not normally reached by Luther studies.
Dr. Timothy Dost, Associate Professor of Historical Theology, Concordia Seminary
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Ciponte’s drawings make real the motto: ‘The book is cinematography.’ The realist imagery is interrupted occasionally by surreal elements that express moods and thoughts in plastic form.
Jens Bayer-Gimm, Neue Westfaelische
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Other Luther biographies need hundreds of pages of explanations. This graphic novel succeeds on the strength of its raw images and forceful dialogue.
Shea Westhoff, Chrismon magazine
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Martin Luther as comic hero? It’s possible, as the Italian duo Andrea Grosso Ciponte and Dacia Palmerino prove… This graphic biography brings us up close to Luther the human being. Just its aesthetic appeal casts a spell on the reader – Ciponte’s pictures are breathtaking… A work of genius.
Andrea Heinze, DLF Public Radio
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This is not the first attempt to portray the life and work of the reformer Martin Luther in the form of a comic. But thanks to its artistic richness and candid storytelling, it is certainly the most successful.
Georg Howahl, WAZ
