I liked the art and subject matter. My main complaint about Nelson Mandela: the Authorized Comic Book is that it provides about as much information as a timeline of events. The book provides little in the way of historical context, and little in the way of characterization, even of Nelson Mandela himself. the book shows us his childhood and adolescence, but the book gives few clues of where his drive and dedication to the the struggle for freedom came from. For example, the part of the book with Mandela's involvement in a student boycott at his school doesn't say what the boycott was about, or why Mandela participated in it; it just tells us that he participated, and felt strongly about it. Similarly, we are told about his conflicts between the needs of his family and the needs of the Movement, but are not really shown them (which is strange for a graphic novel).
I realize that if Nelson Mandela: the Authorized Comic Book was to delve deeper into the historical moment and into the character of Mandela, and the characters of those around him, it would be a much much longer book, but doesn't the life of such a great man deserve as much?