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BREAKFAST & COMIC BOOKS |
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Growler
on Superhero Comic Books >
INDEX
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My take on Marvel Comics Animated
Series...|The
Hunt for a British Stan Lee...
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What’s
the breakfast bit about?
Well,
it’s supposed to be the most important meal of the day and I’m
aiming for this to be the equivalent in comic book comment.
So
come and get your all day breakfast.
And
comic books!
Ok.
You’ve
probably gathered that I have a thing for the comic book medium.
And
I keep on about superhero comic book iconic characters.
What
I want to talk about now are black comic book iconic characters
in the mainstream titles.
Or
the lack of.
By
this I mean characters with their own titles, ongoing or mini-series.
As
a keen comic book collector and industry watcher I feel that there
is a lack of visibility of these characters and this needs to be
addressed as there are some great stories waiting to be told.
At
the time of writing (2004) Marvel Comics have Black Panther, Storm,
Luke Cage, the Falcon, Photon and Blade as their flagship black
superheroes.
DC
Comics have recently added Firestorm joining Steel, Mr Terrific
and Black Lighting and Green Lantern John Stewart.
Click
here to check out X-Men: Worlds Apart TPB (Featuring Storm) (Marvel
Comics) by Christopher Yost
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All
the above mentioned characters have had long spells of non-use and currently,
again at the time of writing in 2004, only Firestorm and Black Panther
hold their own series.
DC
also produced the short lived Milestone Imprint in the 90's
to profile new diverse characters.
One
of the pioneers of Milestone Comics was Dwayne McDuffie.
He
created the superhero Static Shock and he's now a producer on the Justice
League Unlimited animated series.
The
Milestone line had some great stories among it's many titles and
I feel it's high time that the entire back catalogue was collected
into trades for reader consumption.
Only
Firestorm and Black Panther have their own series at present.
Photon (Monica Rambeau) will be leading Warren Ellis's Nextwave
team drawn by Stuart Immonen.
Both
Photon and Storm could easily hold a series of mini-series as each
character has a wealth of history.
Writer
Roger Stern and John Romita Jr created Photon (previously known
as Captain Marvel) while Storm was created by Len Wein and Dave
Cockrum but her character was fleshed out by Chris Claremont.
The
market has changed immensely from it's humble beginnings in the
1930's where the target audience was teenaged males.
Comic
book readership cuts across all cultural and racial lines and have
mass appeal as, generally, they deliver excellent, well-written
stories which everybody appreciates.
Click
here to check out Firestorm the Nuclear Man: Reborn TPB by Stuart
Moore and Jamal Igle (DC Comics)
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The
assumption that comic books featuring a black main character are ‘black
books’ that only appeal to and cater for the black community is
one that needs to be dispelled.
As
I’ve said, comic books appeal to all. All races, all cultures.
Comic
books are about great stories and great art and as long as these two essentials
are in place you’ll be entertained regardless.
Also,
the assumption that comic books based on a black protagonist will
automatically not sell is also fundamentally wrong.
Spawn
was a top ten seller for years and is still going strong. It's creators
who sell books.
If
Alan Moore wrote Black Panther, it would be a top 10 hit.
More
accurate market research is needed to produce relevant, engaging
characters and stories.
After
all, the market, or the fans who buy the comic books are the industry.
The
audience is changing all the time, it's not static.
What
was needed ten years ago is different to what's needed now.
We
need to know exactly who the market is and work from there.
Remember
what everyone wants? Great stories and great artwork?
Click
here to check out Black Superheroes, Milestone Comics, and Their
Fans (Studies in Popular Culture) by Jeffrey Brown |
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As
they say in the financial industry, past performance is no indicator of
future events.
It’s
all about the people, the creators.
Right
now, Priest (formerly known as Christopher Priest) is the highest profile
black writer in the mainstream superhero comics industry.
Penning
some great, powerful, stories he has his voice and others are needed.
Most
recently he penned 'Captain America and the Falcon'.
Also
Reginald Hudlin, director of the films House Party and Boomerang,
is writing for Marvel Comics penning Black Panther and Spider-Man.
Writer/artist
Kyle Baker recently had a great run on DC Comics' Plastic man. All
these authors works are available in trade paperback format.
Conversely,
there are many black artists (compared to writers) working in the
mainstream industry.
Including
Clayton Henry, Doug Braithwaite and Brian Stelfreeze.
Superhero
comic books are inherently supernatural science fiction and fantasy.
Click
here to check out Black Panther: Civil War TPB by Reginald Hudlin
(Marvel Comics)
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Anything
can happen.
So
this entire scope should be utilised in addition to the urban landscape
where many black superheroes seem to be relegated.
Personally,
I'd love to see a Lord of the Rings type fantasy epic with black characters.
Why not? It
would make a great comic book.
The
Matrix Trilogy really broke the mould in this respect and showed
what could be achieved with a fantastic story.
There
should be a healthy balance to the majority, urban-only based stories
and the only limit is the imagination.
With
more and more independent publishers and studios setting up, the
playing field levelling out faster than you can say ‘T’Challa’
(the secret identity of Marvel's Black Panther character).
Creators
are no longer reliant to get their first break from the big two
(Marvel and DC) and the best way to make a name for yourself is
to ‘go it alone’.
Is
there a relationship between the lack of black writers and the lack
of black lead characters in the industry? I really don't know, but
more of both can only be a good thing in my opinion.
Click
here to check out the Essential Luke Cage Power Man: Volume 1 (Marvel
Comics)
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Most
of the big name writers in comic books today started out in smaller independent
publishers or other writing professions.
Once
writers have publicly established themselves with a large fan following,
the big publishers will come knocking at their door.
Of
course there are barriers but positive perseverance, the constant acquisition
of skills, good business/financial management and effective communication
are the keys to success.
And
this success will bring the keys to the stable of diverse characters
in the Marvel and DC Universe or from any other publisher.
Creator
owned characters and comic books however are the pinnacle of achievement
in the industry.
Characters
that will appeal to all. Alternatives to Batman, Superman and Spiderman.
Not
to replace, but to compliment and provide more choice across all
media.
Maybe
it's time for a round table discussion on how to improve this situation
between all the stakeholders involved, the fans, the retailers,
the creators and the publishers.
Things
are changing but a casual look at the monthly Diamond Top 100 shows
there is still some way to go.
The
comic book titles Firestorm and Black Panther holding the fort for
the time being.
Click
here to check out Storm TPB (Marvel Comics) by Eric Jerome Dickey
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For
more on this topic and related, here are a couple of cool links;
Check
out this excellent article on the subject, by Priest.
Click
here to check out Dwayne McDuffie's website!
Check
them out!
Breakfast
is served!
And
now, in 2007... Milestone Returns! Go here!.

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My take on Marvel Comics Animated
Series...|The
Hunt for a British Stan Lee...
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