Black History Month 2019

With black history month almost over (I had originally intended this to be up at the BEGINNING of the month), I thought I'd take some time to talk about what I am seeing in the comic book landscape. Over the years, this industry has done it's best to become more diverse. Both in it's creators as well as the characters themselves. As with any fandom as passionate as comic books, there have been the harsh backlash to some of this added diversity. Even criticism from the very same people that work for these companies have made ridiculous claims.

I will admit that I was initially skeptical of earlier attempts at diversity. That was because it did not feel authentic. It was as if the companies were clicking a box. However, over the past few years younger, more diverse talent has appeared.

Now the market is truly becoming more diverse. There is a little something for everyone. I am happy that kids today get to see this.

This post is about the books with black characters or creators that I am reading. This is by no means a complete list of what is out there. I can't buy everything, even though I may try. Anyway, let's empty my thoughts here.

	Title: Naomi Publisher: DC Summary: Young girl investigates mystery in the DCU Stats: Black Co-Writer (David Walker), Black Character (Naomi), Black Artist (Jamal Campbell) Only one issue in, but it seems promising. Bendis has been one of the biggest advocates for diversity in comics over the last few years. He created Miles Morales, spearheaded the Luke Cage resurgence that lead to him being a more prominent character and many others that escape me right now. Now that he his moved to DC, he's continued that tradition with this book. The difference being he is working with a co-writer who is black. David Walker appeared on my radar with his Power Man and Iron Fist series two years ago. He is also currently writing Bitter Root, which is later on down in this list. I intend to stick with this book. The art is also amazing. I am definitely going to follow Jamal Campbell in whatever he decides to do next.
	Title:Skyward Publisher:Image Summary:A mysterious accident caused the loss of gravity in the world. We are now dealing with the after effects of that Stats:Black Character (Willa) This series has been simply fantastic. It has been imaginative and it's high end concept has made it a lot of fun. In keeping with the theme, the main character Willa, is of mixed race. She is a mostly carefree young woman that has grown up in a world devoid of gravity. What has really made this series great is the writing and the art. One of the things you'll see me harp on is she is not written like a stereotypical black person. That is why this book is on the list. Again, the world building here is really good and it is consistently near the top of my personal stack when it comes out.
	Title:Shuri Publisher: Marvel Summary:Black Panther's sister takes center stage Stats:Black Writer (Nnedi Okorafor), Black Character (Shuri) It would be naive not to think that this book happened due to her breakout role in the Black Panther movie. To their credit, she has been a regular in the comic for a number of years, just never as prominent as now. With that being said, this has been a very entertaining book so far. However, Okorafor falls into the trap that many first time comic book writers fall into. Her scripts are way too wordy. You're not writing a prose novel here. I do like her voice for Shuri, but again, the book is chock full of dialogue. Once she finders her footing, it will be less talking and more action. Other than that, this book has been pretty good.
	Title:Ironheart Publisher: Marvel Summary:Riri Williams takes on the mantle of Ironheart to fight crime Stats:Black Writer, (Eve Ewing) Black Character (Riri Williams/Ironheart) Over a year ago, I only picked up an Iron Man comic because I heard about Riri Williams. I am glad that she has her own title. Again, this is another Brian Michael Bendis creation. Guess I should have mentioned that earlier! Riri is another good character that has a distinct personality. What I like about her is that she is so intelligent that she is completely socially awkward. They play with that and it's that awkwardness that has her inadvertently alienating people. That is not something you just get over, so I want to continue seeing that play out as she continues to grow. Unfortunately, she doesn't really have a rogue's gallery yet and a hero is only as good as their villain. I like the slice of life aspect of the story and the fact that it is revealing more about her past. I think Eve Ewing has been the perfect voice for this book and her enthusiasm shows. I will definitely be sticking with this.
	Title:Miles Morales: Spider-Man Publisher: Marvel Summary:Miles Morales gets a new solo series, to try and keep him as a distinct Spider-Man. Stats:Black Character (Miles Morales) This book will hopefully get a boost thanks to the success of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse movie that came out a few months ago. Miles has always been a great character and now we get new adventures under a new writer, Saladin Ahmed. I'm two issues in, but this book has been a faithful representation of Miles and where he is at in the Marvel Universe. With a younger writer, the dialogue will feel more authentic, no offense to Bends, who previously wrote the character.
	Title: American Carnage Publisher: DC Vertigo Summary:Multi-racial man who is a former FBI agent (Black/White) goes under cover in a white supremacy group to bring them down. Stats:Black Writer (Bryan Hill), Black Character (Richard King) After hearing about this on one of my favorite comic book podcasts and hearing an interview with him on that same podcast, I am now starting to follow Bryan Hill. I unknowingly have read some of his other work, but this book I'm especially interested in. It's only three issues in, but it is really good. I don't care for the artist on this book. For those that read Scalped a few years ago, this feels like that and that is nothing but a good thing. This one has zero monsters. Well, only humanity, but not something with visible horns or teeth.
	Title:Outer Darkness Publisher: Image Summary:Sci Fi book about a crew of humans and aliens that are traveling in space and have a demon that powers their ship. Stats:Black Artist (unconfirmed. I don't want to make assumptions), Black Character (Riggs) Now this has been a unique science fiction book from the same writer that brought us Chew, John Layman. He was one of the main reasons I picked up this book. There is a wild mix of sci fi and magic in this book that surprisingly works together. There is also the dark humor I've gotten accustomed to with Layman. I really like the cartoony style of Afu Chan. This book has been intriguing, but is still building towards something. We just don't know what it is yet. Given the aforementioned Chew, I trust Layman and I will ride with this book.
	Title:Bitter Root Publisher: Image Summary:A family of monster hunters track down...well, monsters in 1920's Harlem. Stats:Black Writer (David Walker/Chuck Brown), Black Artist (Sanford Greene), Black Character (the cast) I had been eagerly anticipating this book for months. This is due to the team of Sanford Greene (artist) and David Walker (writer). They wrote the previous iteration of Power Man and Iron Fist two years ago. I have some of Greene's art in my house and met him at the Heroes Con convention in Charlotte. All that being said, there is a lot of great world building here. Although I don't like the series as much as I thought I would, the package is pretty great. In addition to the story, there is always some back matter with essays from Black writers touching on the magic/voodoo element of this book. This project feels like passion project from these two, so I will definitely stick around.
	Title:Farmhand Publisher: Image Summary:Estranged Father and Son reunite over a farm that grows human organs. Stats:Black Writer (Rob Guillory), Black Artist (Rob Guillory), Black Character (Ezekiel) Just from the summary, this may sound like a really weird book. It is, but at the center of it is a story about a family trying to reconcile after years apart. This is Rob Guillory's first book on his own that he writes and draws. His trademark humor is still found in the background of some of the panels. It was his work on Chew that gave me faith to follow this book. Despite the weird premise, it has been very good. This is one of those creator owned projects where you can feel the excitement that the creator has. This book does not try to portray black characters with all the trappings. You could swap the colors of the characters and it would still be the same. That it is written that way is the reason I enjoy it.
	Title:Killmonger Publisher:Marvel Summary:Black Panther's arch nemesis gets his own mini series. Stats:Black Writer (Bryan Hill), Black Character (Killmonger) Like Shuri, let's not pretend this book would exist if it was not for the success of the Black Panther movie. This Killmonger is not the same one we had in the comics pre-Black Panther movie. I think that it is a good thing, but clearly that movie has influenced this book. The term colonizer is even thrown around for good measure. Since I am starting to get into Bryan Hill's writing, this book has been surprisingly good too. Normally I wouldn't care about Killmonger in the comics, but the art has been good and the writing is solid. I can easily stick around for this.
	Title:Abbott Publisher:Boom! Studios Summary:A black female journalist encounters monsters in 1970's Detroit. Stats:Black Character (Abott) This was my first exposure to Saladin Ahmed and we are about to see a lot more from him. What drew me to this book was when I saw an ad for it in the Ninja Turtles book I'm reading. All I had to see was 1970's Detroit with a black female protagonist. That alone would be a good enough concept for me. One of the aspects that made it worthwhile is that it didn't use the ham fisted dialogue you tend to see in period pieces like this. If I had one complain about this book, it's that it has used a common trope that I am seeing more and more of comics. A slice of life story mixed with monsters. Or demons. Or ghosts. Or all of the above. With that being said, I thought it was a well written mini-series. I would love to see more.
	Title: Black Panther Publisher: Marvel Summary:Black Panther is in the far reaches of the galaxy where Wakanda has built an intergalactic empire. Stats:Black Writer (Ta-Nehisi Coates), Black Character (Black Panther) When Ta-Nehisi Coates first started writing the character a few years ago, it was obvious he was getting used to the medium. He had a lot of exposition and that was way above the norm. As time has gone on, he has gotten more comfortable and it has shown in his writing. Using his views on politics, the initial arcs worked to transition Wakanda from a monarchy to a democracy. It was presented in a way that makes it relatable today. After that, this book took a hard right turn and just took the Black Panther into outer space. I love the courage it took to move this character so far away from everything, especially after a big blockbuster movie. This has let Coates write his story without having to deal with anything that is going on in the current continuity. This has given him the freedom to tell his tale. This has been all good so far.