‘Encyclopedia of Black Comics’ guides readers through heroic worlds of recent film, TV media
Marvel Entertainment’s ultrasuccessful release of “Black Panther” and the CW’s recent launch of “Black Lightning” have put a spotlight on black superheroes, and their success illustrates how popular they are and that audiences outside of the African-American community celebrate them.
This newfound interest in these characters may spur some to look into black comics and black creators; luckily, the “Encyclopedia of Black Comics” came out just last year. Edited by Sheena Howard, who has a doctorate in rhetorical and intercultural communication from Howard University, the book is a collection of essays written about influential black writers, illustrators, inkers and creators of black comic books and comic strips.
“I think that’s a really important distinction because a lot of fans today are into the superheroes and the comic book superheroes in the movies, but my interest is in the history of comics,” says Howard.
There are numerous entries about the comic-book creators who helped shape the Black Panther, including Reginald Hudlin and Christopher Priest. Howard, an associate professor of communications at Rider University, became the first black woman to win an Eisner Award, the equivalent of an Oscar or Pulitzer in the comicbook world, with her book “Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation.”
Like any encyclopedia, though, one of the first things people tend to do is point out what’s not in the compilation. Dwayne McDuffie, probably the most influential African- American figure in comics and cartoons over the past few decades, was not included in the book. He died in 2011, but it’s a notable omission, and there are a few others: William Wilson, the first black independent publisher to list digital comics on iTunes, Percy Carey, the rapper MF Grimm, who was the first black Eisner nominee, and Michael Davis — who could claim a place in the book.
Deadlines and oversights from volume 1 mean Howard has begun taking names for a second volume. As “Black Panther” mania continues, a more comprehensive look at black comics and comic- strip creators is warranted, and this encyclopedia is a start.
It was a huge undertaking that resulted in over 100 entries. Howard answered some questions about the genesis of the book and what she learned in creating it.
Q: How did this all start?
A: So I really liked “The Boondocks” [comic strip] and I started reading it in 2007, when I was at Howard University. I was 23 when I started my Ph.D and I finished at 26, so I was still young and didn’t have a goal in terms of what I wanted to study at Howard. I thought about “The Boondocks” as something I could write about and something I enjoyed. I really thought that it was a cultural icon for some of the things that it had accomplished. This is the comic strip, not the television show.
Q: You didn’t particularly care for the television show?
A: No, I didn’t. I thought it played too much on ‘isms’ and phobias, and it wasn’t as clever or as politically savvy as the comic strips. It makes sense because Aaron McGruder had total control over the comic strips as opposed to the television show, where it was a whole production team who had their hands in that. I thought it was pretty sexist and obnoxious some of the time.
Q: So that Ph.D research led to the idea to look into comic books in general?
A: Exactly. I really thought that I was just going to be able to go to the library and find a book about the history of black people in comics. I’m looking for months for this book. I found books like “The American History of Comics,” but they very rarely mention black people in the industry in any real way.
Q: Describe what you were trying to do with the “Encyclopedia of Black Comics.”
A: The encyclopedia is over a hundred entries about black people of African descent who have published significant works in the United States. It’s about the movers and shakers in the industry, both old and young, dead or alive. Almost half the book is black women — most of whom have never worked for a major publishing company and are actually self-published. That was really important to women the me Q: A: in into new comics? Who Brumsic too still the contemporaries because industry. are haven’t Brandon some black broken of was conversation. and really he’s passed important He’s away, older in but the his daughter has Barbara broken Brandon-Croft into the comic strip industry. The only father-daughter duo in the industry. Contemporary — I really like a comic called (H)alfrocentric by Juliana “Jewels” Smith. I think she’s on the West Coast. It’s a feminist version of “The Boondocks.” It’s not published by a major media company, but she’s doing her thing.
Q: Now you’re writing your own comic book for Lion Forge Comics. Was it all of this research that made you want to do that?
A: I have been trying to transition into creative writing for a while. I’m a professor, so I write from an academic perspective. But in 2016, I did produce and direct a documentary called “Remixing Colorblind.” That really was a primer for me — a nice segue for writing comic books. Lion Forge approached me because they were familiar with me from winning the Eisner Award and being on the convention circuit. They asked me if I’d be interested in co-writing a new comic book that they had inside of a new universe they were creating called Catalyst Prime. I immediately said yes. But honestly, I didn’t realize that when you’re writing a comic book, you have to give directions to the artist. You have to tell them sideview, rearview, aerial shot — you have to tell them. The same thing you have to do when you’re [making a] documentary, you have to do when writing a comic, with camera angles and things like that. The universe came together to prepare me.