Nelson Mandela - Campfire Graphic Novels Author:Lewis Helfand In 1948, justice and equality were outlawed in the country of South Africa. The people needed one voice to speak up when the world fell silent. They needed one leader to stand up when the world looked away. One man answered that call; one man that sacrificed his own future for the future of his people and transformed a nation. Since this is a bi... more »ography, the story of Nelson Mandela follows the factual details of his life. The story opens in a prison cell in South Africa in 1985. Nelson Mandela has spent more than twenty years in prison. He is approached with an offer from South African President, P.W. Botha. Mandela will be released and be given his freedom if he denounces some of the tactics being used by those still fighting for equality in the racially segregated nation. Mandela refuses. The story cuts back to Mandela's childhood where we see him going through school and then university and finally, to when he gets his first job as an articled clerk. The story focuses on the fact that Mandela could not turn a blind eye to the injustices that he saw. He gave up what could have been a more comfortable personal life to put himself at the forefront of the anti-apartheid movement. He refused to compromise his beliefs, choosing to remain in prison multiple times. And he never let his desire for equality be corrupted by hatred, constantly stressing that their goals were not revenge against their oppressors. Mandela still tried to avoid any deaths even when his organization took on more violent and aggressive measures to fight for freedom. The narrative focuses on him being a positive leader and face of change in South Africa--omitting later criticisms, like his lack of action in trying to stop the sweep of AIDS in South Africa when he was President.« less