Comments on: Recommend Good African-American Comics

By: Prosepunk

Prosepunk — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:11:56 +0000

I always mention Berserk which is a manga whose beginning is also available as a short-lived anime series. Caska is dark though whether she is of African ancestry is still up for debate.

By: Becky

Becky — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:44:12 +0000

yup!

By: Johanna

Johanna — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:32:57 +0000

You mean the one found here?

By: Becky

Becky — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:37:32 +0000

There’s a webcomic that just came out called Animosity Sonata. It’s pretty good and filled with action.

By: ross

ross — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:57:23 +0000

ross campbell here, the Wet Moon guy! thanks for the mention, you guys!

anyway, my Tokyopop zombie book The Abandoned (which came out way back in 2006) features an african-american lead character. ;)

By: Sam Humphries

Sam Humphries — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:43:01 +0000

Stuck Rubber Baby fits the request and is an amazing book by any measure…

By: josh

josh — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:58:59 +0000

the many adventures of miranda mercury, published by ASP.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:14:20 +0000

Oh, yes, Earthlight is a good read and does qualify. (I didn’t think about the OEL titles.)

Ali, thanks for letting us know! Sounds very intriguing.

By: Ali T. Kokmen

Ali T. Kokmen — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:31:51 +0000

“At your blog, you asked about manga — the track record there is pretty bad.”

At the risk of being (rightfully) accused of some shilling, I’m going to have to put in a word for ME & THE DEVIL BLUES by Akira Hiramoto, a new series that Del Rey Manga will publish in August.

It’s a bona fide Japanese manga based on the story of Robert Johnson, the blues magician whose skill with a guitar caused some to think that he had sold his soul to the devil for his talent. ME & THE DEVIL BLUES poses the question: what if that story were true?

I think that ME & THE DEVIL BLUES will challenge what many think of as manga–and what many who think of manga think of the general depiction of African-Americans in manga–so I’m eager to see what folks think about it. Keep an eye out for it, do…

By: Jim Kosmicki

Jim Kosmicki — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:26:24 +0000

Doesn’t Earthlight (right title?), a Tokyopop book written by Stuart Moore, have an African-American main character? I purchased the first two volumes from the recent Tokyopop clearance sale but haven’t had time to read them yet.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:31:26 +0000

The only Milestone collections I know of were Icon, Static, and then the later Static Shock miniseries. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were all out of print at this point.

At your blog, you asked about manga — the track record there is pretty bad. The only character I can think of is in Alice 19th, where a US postal worker is introduced late in the story as part of a group of worldwide helpers.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:09:43 +0000

If African-American superheroes are of any interest, maybe finding back issues of the 90s Milestone Comics line might be worthwhile? (Don’t recall if or how many of these were put into trade paperback collections…)

For comic strips, I enjoyed MacGruder’s “Boondocks” (available in various compilations). African-Americans also play roles as suporting characters in various other comic strips (including Alison Bechdel’s “Dykes to Watch Out For”).

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:32:01 +0000

I am also intrigued by Wet Moon, although I can't explain it either.

By: Jim Kosmicki

Jim Kosmicki — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:19:27 +0000

Bluesman, soon to be collected into one volume by NBM, although the depiction of African-American itinerant musicians could possibly be seen as stereotypical by some.

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:52:01 +0000

Wet Moon is a graphic novel series that has two really interesting african-american characters, Audrey and Mara. (Mara is one of my favorites in the
whole series.)
I don’t know how you would describe the books, as sort of a goth girl surreal soap opera? The art is beautiful, the only thing is Mara and Audrey’s story arcs don’t really heat up any until volume 3.

By: Tara Tallan

Tara Tallan — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:30:24 +0000

I know webcomics aren’t your thing, Johanna, but Traci Spencer’s Compass over at GirlAMatic features one of the coolest black women I’ve read in a while. Not African-American, precisely, since she’s British, but I think it still qualifies. And with any luck– and lots of reader support– hopefully she’ll publish it soon!

By: Johanna

Johanna — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:46:38 +0000

You’ll have a hard time convincing me she beats Amanda (of and Gunn by Jimmie Robinson).

Birth of a Nation disappointed me. I found it disjointed and not very effective as a comic – it was clearly a set of storyboards (as it was originally intended to be a film). Some neat concepts, though.

By: Jason Michelitch

Jason Michelitch — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:30:11 +0000

Percy Carey (MF Grimm)’s autobio comic (art by Roland Wimberly) SENTENCES was pretty good.

I haven’t actually read it yet, but out of faith in both creators, Kyle Baker and Aaron MacGruder’s BIRTH OF A NATION may be worth a look.

Straying a bit from the desired genre, I always thought Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons’ GIVE ME LIBERTY was terrific, and features possibly the best African-American Woman Adventure Hero of any medium.

By: John

John — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:12:13 +0000

I really loved Incognegro – I second that recommendation highly.