The contribution of African Americans to the culture of the United States cannot be overstated. Just about everything I love owes at least something to the creativity and spirit of African American innovators, from the music on my iPod to the great southern cuisine that I grew up on and continue to enjoy today. As a white guy, I’d never be able to understand what the African American community has gone through – and I’d never pretend to do so – but for a people that has suffered so much during their American journey, they’ve been incredibly generous with their gifts.
Sadly, these contributions haven’t always been recognized or even accepted by the cultural mainstream. Historically, African American artists and other creatives have been excluded or marginalized. Sometimes the passage of time sees these sins of omission rectified, but not always. Lots of the time, the artists themselves – with their allies and supporters – have had to create their own cultural institutions to promote their work.
If you were lucky enough to have attended C2E2 this year, then you might have attended a panel titled “Black Comix: African American Independent Comics,” hosted by comics creators, scholars and curators John Jennings and Damian Duffy, and featuring comics scholar Stanford Carpenter and comics creators Ashley A. Woods Jiba Anderson, and Turtel Onli (see video here: part one, part two). The panel focused on bringing awareness of the work of African-Americans in independent and mainstream sequential arts.
However, even if you missed the panel, you still have an excellent opportunity to delve deeply into the world of African American comic books through Jennings and Duffy’s new book “Black Comix: African American Independent Comics, Art and Culture,” to be released in Spring from publisher Mark Batty.
This 176 page hardcover features art from over 50 contributors representing a wide variety of genres – manga, SF, superheroes – and artistic styles. Jennings and Duffy provide historic and cultural context for the art and artists, offering a comprehensive entry point to an entire universe of comic art ready for exploration.
If you’d like to learn more about the book, the authors or the work of African American comic creators, be sure to check out the companion blog at www.blackcomixbook.com.
