Fist Stick Knife Gun A Personal History of Violence

In Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence, Beacon Press adapts Geoffrey Canada’s memoir into a single, unflinching 2010 graphic novel. Illustrated by Jamar Nicholas, this standalone work distills Canada’s firsthand account of growing up in the South Bronx, where street codes of survival and systemic inequity shaped a life later dedicated to breaking cycles of violence. It’s a stark, educational entry in the canon of autobiographical comics, grounding a personal story in the larger social forces that define urban America.