Black History Month: Characters We Should See More Of – Part III
Nightwing17 concludes his Black History Month superhero coverage. You can find the rest of it on either his blog or mine. Go check it out.
It’s Black History Month here in the United States and with that in mind, I thought I’d do something to celebrate black characters in comics.
There are probably lots of best black superhero lists out there, but I don’t know that it’s terribly useful for one fallible comic reader to try to rank the diverse and varied black characters of comics (and I admit that the white part of me is not entirely sure that numbering African-Americans is the best way to celebrate the month). Instead I thought I would write up a list of black characters who aren’t being utilized as well as I think they deserve. Whether they’re minor characters who could be more or veritable icons who have lost their spark; whether they’re struggling to find their voice or simply not getting the screen-time they deserve, here’s my list of black comic characters who we should be…
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The Lion Sleeps Tonight
THE DEFENDANT: Pride of Baghdad, Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon, Vertigo
THE VERDICT: According to the American Library Association, the Huffington Post, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Pride of Baghdad is one of the most frequently challenged graphic novels. Considering the long history of censorship, moral panic, and mistrust/misconception surrounding the medium, that’s quite a feat.
Saga: A New Hope for Comics?
In case my review wasn’t enough to convince you how awesome Saga is, yesterday io9 too sang its praises. Without further ado here’s 10 Reasons You Should Be Reading Brian K. Vaughan’s Saga:
http://io9.com/10-reasons-you-should-be-reading-brian-k-vaughan-s-sag-756300575
I mean really, it has sex, spaceships, and anthropomorphic seals. What more do you need?
The Continuing Saga of Censorship in Comics
The dude slathered in blood killing someone right on the cover, meanwhile, is just wholesome fun.
Hey, folks! Today’s review is of Saga, Vol. 2. As Saga is a comic for mature readers, some of the images discussed and contained within this review are graphic in nature. So, maybe don’t read this while at work or having tea at your grandmother’s house. Unless of course your grandmother has a sock drawer full of smutty genre fiction she wrote back in the 70s and is grooming you to take over the family business, in which case be my guest. And no, you’re not hallucinating, I reviewed Saga, Vol. 1 back in March. If you’re interested, said review can be found here. It seems Saga just can’t stop courting controversy. Let’s discuss what got people hot and bothered this time, shall we?
THE DEFENDANT: Saga, Vol. 2, Brian K. Vaughan, artwork by Fiona Staples, Image Comics
The Library We Need
Barbara Gordon laughs at your challenges to library materials.
Stumbled upon this article from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund today. It discusses the growing presence of (and demand for) comic books in libraries; how the medium is beginning to be taken more seriously; and why some libraries (especially school libraries) are hesitant, either out of a dismissal of the genre as vapid and pulpy or out of fear of frequent challenges to comic books and graphic novels.
http://cbldf.org/2013/05/how-comics-conquered-libraries/ Read More…
The Saga Begins
Offended yet?
THE DEFENDANT: Saga, Vol. 1, Brian K. Vaughan, artwork by Fiona Staples, Image Comics
THE VERDICT: This comic stirred up some controversy when illustrator Dave Dorman took the blogosphere and Twitter to share his outrage at Saga‘s cover, which features an interspecies humanoid couple, one of which is breastfeeding their baby. This strong reaction got Saga tangled up in the greater melee of controversy surrounding breastfeeding and caught artist Fiona Staples completely off guard. A friend of mine thought he had heard of some comic book stores not carrying the title due to the controversial cover, but I have not been able to verify this.
Bound and Gagged 