Portrayal of black people in comic books
Encyclopedia
Black people have been portrayed in comic books since the medium
's beginning, with their portrayals often the subject of controversy. The integration of black characters in mainstream and superhero comics has endured various obstacles and challenges. Many critics have outlined the role of black men and women as victims of jungle or ghetto stereotyping. Another aspect in the role of black people in comics, is in its portrayal as sidekicks.
Lee Falk
's adventure comic strip Mandrake the Magician
featured the African supporting character Lothar from its 1934 debut. He was a former "Prince of the Seven Nations", a federation of jungle tribes, but passed on the chance to become king and instead followed Mandrake on his world travels, fighting crime. Initially an illiterate exotic garbed in animal skins, provided the muscle to compliment Mandrake's brain on their adventures. Lothar was modernized in 1965 to dress in suits and speak standard English.
The publisher All-Negro Comics, Inc. published a single issue of All-Negro Comics
(June 1947), a 15-cent omnibus, at a time when comics generally cost ten cents. The feature starred characters that included the Lion Man. He was a young African scientist sent by the United Nations
to oversee a massive uranium
deposit at the African Gold Coast
whose main enemy was Doctor Blut Sangro.
The series Powerman, designed as an educational tool, was published in 1975 by Pikin Press of Nigeria, for distriibution in Nigeria
and other parts of Africa. The series, starring Powerman, was written by Don Avenall (aka Donne Avenell) and Norman Worker, and illustrated by British artists Dave Gibbons
and Brian Bolland
. Powerman, who was superstrong and could fly, appeared in stories rendered in a simple style. His only apparent weakness was to snakebites.
Lobo was a fictional
Western
comic book
hero who was the medium
's first African-American character to headline his own series. He starred in Dell Comics
' little-known two-issue series Lobo (Dec. 1965 & Sept. 1966), was co-created by writer D. J. Arneson and artist Tony Tallarico
.
's sidekick Bucky Barnes and the Jim Hammond}Human Torch's sidekick Toro
, battle the Nazi menace.
While Marvel Comics
' 1950s predecessor Atlas Comics
had published the African tribal-chief feature "Waku, Prince of the Bantu" — the first known mainstream comic-book feature with a Black
star, albeit not African-American. Waku was one of four regular features in each issue of the omnibus title, Jungle Tales (Sept. 1954 - Sept. 1955).
Two early Westernized, non-stereotyped African-American supporting characters in comic books are World War II
soldier Jackie Johnson, who integrated the squad Easy Company when introduced as the title character of the story "Eyes for a Blind Gunner" in DC Comics
' Our Army at War
#113 (Dec. 1961) by writer Bob Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert
; Marvel Comics
' first African-American supporting character, World War II soldier Gabe Jones, of an integrated squad in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
#1 (May 1963). The Amazing Spider-Man
introduced the African-American supporting characters Joe Robertson, editor of a major newspaper, in 1967; his son Randy
in 1968, and Hobie Brown
.
The first Black superhero
in mainstream American comic books is Marvel's the Black Panther
, an African who first appeared in Fantastic Four
#52 (July 1966). He was originally conceived by Jack Kirby as a character named "Coal Tiger". This was followed by the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics, the Falcon
, introduced in Captain America
#117 (Sept. 1969). DC's first African-American superhero was Sgt. Willie Walker, a.k.a. Black Racer of the New Gods
, introduced in writer-artist Jack Kirby
's New Gods #3 (July 1971).
There would be no black hero starring in his or her own comic title until 1972, with Marvel's Luke Cage
, Hero for Hire, followed in 1973 by Marvel's Black Panther
title in Jungle Action
. Marvel's Black Goliath
was also introduced in the 1970s, as was Marvel's first major African female character, the superhero Storm of the X-Men
.
Following Black Racer, DC in Green Lantern
#87 (Jan. 1972) introduced John Stewart
, an architect who becomes an emergency replacement for the Hal Jordan. By resisting a suggestion to name the character Isaiah Washington (a stereotypical slave name), artist Neal Adams struck a blow for diversity at DC.
DC Comics' first black superhero to star in his own series was Black Lightning. He debuted in his self-titled series in April 1977. He was Jefferson Pierce, an Olympic
athlete turned inner-city school teacher. He toted a voltage-generating belt and a white mask. Three years later, DC would introduce Victor Stone, the superhero Cyborg, best known as a member of the Teen Titans. Created by writer Marv Wolfman
and artist George Pérez
, he first appeared in DC Comics Presents #26 (Oct. 1980).
Following Luke Cage, a second black Marvel character headlined his own series: the Black Panther
in Jungle Action
. This feature began with in issue #5 with a reprint of the Panther-centric story in The Avengers
#62 (March 1969). A new, critically acclaimed series followed, written by Don McGregor
with art by pencilers Rich Buckler
, Gil Kane
, and Billy Graham
, in #6-24 (Sept. 1973 - Nov. 1976).
in the 1930s. He was Mandrake's sidekick: the circus strongman, who wore a Tarzan
-style costume, was drawn in the Sambo
-style of the time (see below) and was poor, and uneducated. Since the introduction of Lothar, Black characters have a received a variety of treatments in comics, not all of them positive. William H. Foster III, associate professor of English at Naugatuck Valley Community College said, "they were comic foils, ignorant natives or brutal savages or cannibals".
Writer
-artist
Will Eisner
was sometimes criticized for his depiction of Ebony White
, the young African American
sidekick
of Eisner's 1940s and 1950s character The Spirit
. Eisner later admitted to consciously stereotyping the character, but said he tried to do so with "responsibility", and argued that "at the time humor consisted in our society of bad English and physical difference in identity". The character developed beyond the stereotype as the series progressed, and Eisner also introduced black characters (such as the plain-speaking Detective Grey) who defied popular stereotypes.
In a 1966 New York Herald Tribune
feature by his former office manager-turned-journalist, Marilyn Mercer wrote, "Ebony never drew criticism from Negro groups (in fact, Eisner was commended by some for using him), perhaps because, although his speech pattern was early Minstrel Show
, he himself derived from another literary tradition: he was a combination of Tom Sawyer
and Penrod
, with a touch of Horatio Alger hero, and color didn't really come into it".
. These characters were also depicted as speaking accented English. In the early 20th century United States
, these kinds of representations were seen frequently in newspaper comic strips and political cartoons, as well as in later comic magazines, and were also present in early cartoons by Disney and Looney Tunes
. In comics, nameless Black bystanders (see right) and even some notable heroes and villains were developed in this style, including Ebony White
(see above), and Steamboat, valet of Billy Batson.
-era movie protagonists, and seemed to be a direct response to the notable Black Nationalist movement. These predominantly male heroes were often martial artists, came from the ghetto
, and were politically motivated. Examples of such Blaxploitation characters include Luke Cage
, Bronze Tiger
, Black Lightning
, and the female detective Misty Knight
. The Falcon stars in one infamous story arc in the Captain America series, in which he is portrayed as a street hustler before being "rescued" by Captain America.
, when several notable Black female characters began to appear. One of the most notable Black female character in comics appeared in the Bronze Age of Comic Books
. Storm (Ororo Munroe) of the X-Men
is an African princess and mutant
who possesses the power to control the weather. Storm would eventually succeed Cyclops as the Team Leader of the X-Men
. In the 1980s, the new Captain Marvel, aka Monica Rambeau
, had the power to become any form of energy on the electromagnetic scale. This Captain Marvel would join the Avengers in their battle against the Masters of Evil. There are those who have criticized black superheroines for being one-dimensional and perpetuating several stereotypes, including that of the mythical superwoman and the hyper-emotional, overly aggressive Black woman.
, conceived by writer Chris Claremont in July 2001, Storm was written as the leader of this new group of X-Men. Other members would include Gambit
, former Brotherhood
member Rogue
, Sage
, and the time travelling black anti-hero Bishop
, to name a few. This new team in contrast to its related titles, Uncanny X-Men and New X-Men. In the period until its end in issue #46 (June 2004), Claremont continued to write Storm as the central character. During this time, Storm enjoys a brief flirtation with younger fellow X-Man Slipstream
and is kidnapped by the intergalactic warlord Khan
. Khan wants to make her his queen, but Storm defeats him. In the series, she also becomes leader of the fictional X-Treme Sanctions Executive
, a special police task force of mutants policing mutants given worldwide authority.
In the aftermath of the 2005 House of M
storyline of Brian Michael Bendis
, while 98% of the mutants lost their powers
due to the Scarlet Witch
's magicks, Storm is among the 198 mutants who retain their powers. In that same year, the miniseries Ororo: Before the Storm, would be a retelling of her backstory in greater detail, concentrating on her relationship with surrogate father figure Achmed el-Gibar during her childhood.
imprint
Milestone Comics. Founded in 1993 by African-American
artists and writers Dwayne McDuffie
, Denys Cowan
, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle), the company's focus was to make African-American characters the stars of their monthly titles. Christopher Priest
participated in the early planning stages of Milestone Media, and was originally slated to become the editor-in-chief of the new company.
, they did not take place in the DC Universe
. The Milestone characters existed in a separate continuity
that did not fall under DC Comics' direct editorial control (but DC still retained right of refusal to publish). It is worth noting that some DC characters such as Superman took part in the World’s Collide crossover.
In the summer of 1994, DC Comics and Milestone Media published an intercompany crossover
called Worlds Collide (comics)
. It featured a meeting between Metropolis-based superheroes from the DC Universe
and Dakota-based superheroes from the Dakotaverse. Unlike many intercompany crossovers, it was intended to be part of the regular continuity and took place in the monthly issues of the involved series. The situation was somewhat complicated by the fact that in the Dakotaverse, DC superheroes were known as fictional characters from comicbooks.
Fundamental to Milestone’s agreement with DC was they would not relinquish any of the legal or creative rights to their work. Throughout the negotiations, Milestone, and their lawyers, insisted on three basic points: (1) that they would retain total creative control; (2) that they would retain all copyrights for characters under the Milestone banner; and (3) that they would have the final say on all merchandising and licensing deals pertaining to their properties. In essence, DC had in effect licensed the characters, editorial services, and creative content of the Milestone books for an annual fee and a share of the profits.
All Milestone Media titles were set in a continuity dubbed the "Dakotaverse", referring to the fictional midwestern city of Dakota in which most of the early Milestone stories were set. Before any titles were published, an extensive "bible" was created by McDuffie and other early creators, which provided back-story
and information on all of the original Dakotaverse characters, as well as detailed information about the history and geography of Dakota. Cowan produced the original character sketches that served as a guide for the other artists. Milestone tried to add complexity to the one-dimensional stereotypes of black characters that made occasional appearances in the books produced by Marvel and DC.
A significant number of retailers and readers perceived the Milestone books to be "comics for Blacks" and assumed they would not interest non-African-American readers, the books received limited exposure beyond existing comics-shop customers, the coloring process added slightly to the cover price of their books, and overall comics sales had peaked around the time of Milestone's launch and declined dramatically in the years that followed.
#1 (April 1993) and was written by McDuffie with pencils by Cowan and inks by Jimmy Palmiotti. It was the story of a brilliant black scientist named Curtis Metcalf who works for a powerful industrialist but is denied a share of the profits from his inventions. When he discovers that his boss is also a corporate criminal, Metcalf retaliates by creating a series; of innovative devices that turn him into a high-tech super hero called Hardware. McDuffie claimed that the book had little to do with ethnic issues. He stated that the first issue of Hardware was specifically about the Milestone creators leaving Marvel.
Icon
, the third Milestone title, made its debut in May and the story of Icon clearly borrowed heavily from the Superman mythos. Compared to Superman, the alien’s spaceship crashed to Earth, although it was not in Kansas in the 20th century but in the cotton fields of the American South in the 1830s. A slave woman finds the child and the ship alters the aliens appearance to look exactly like the first life form the alien encountered. He receives the name Augustus Freeman but does not use his powers to lead a slave revolt.
Icon was a black super hero and a political conservative who decided to use his superpowers for the very first time when his condominium is broken into by some African American teenagers. Icon must be convinced to use his powers to help others. The agent of change is one of the people who breaks into his condo, a fifteen-year-old girl named Raquel Ervin, who becomes his sidekick, takes the name Rocket and in issue 3 turns out to be pregnant (but not by Icon). Icon has been called the black Superman and McDuffie states it is because, "in the first two pages of the first issue I parodied the Superman origin. Past that there isn't much to it, because Icon isn't really about Icon. It's about the girl, Rocket". After Freeman returns to his home planet, Icon is replaced by Buck Wild. A throwback to the early days of Luke Cage, Buck Wild possessed "belief defyin' strength" and "tungsten
hard skin." He once used an experimental growth serum which turned him into the gigantic "Buck Goliath." After some time, Buck wore a replica of Icon's costume in order to take Icon's place when Icon returned to his home planet.
Other titles launched that year included Blood Syndicate
, and Static. A year later, Milestone Media published its first company-wide crossover, Shadow War, which spawned two more titles: Shadow Cabinet
and Xombi
. Another ongoing series, Kobalt
, was introduced later.
Milestone provided the opportunity for many emerging talents who had been passed over by larger established companies, beginning the careers of many comic industry professionals. Among them are John Paul Leon
, Christopher Sotomayor, Christopher Williams (aka ChrisCross)
, Shawn Martinborough, Tommy Lee Edwards, Jason Scott Jones (aka J.Scott.J), Prentis Rollins, J.H. Williams III, Humberto Ramos
, John Rozum
, Eric Battle, Joseph Illidge, Madeleine Blaustein, Jamal Igle
, Chris Batista
and Harvey Richards.
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
's beginning, with their portrayals often the subject of controversy. The integration of black characters in mainstream and superhero comics has endured various obstacles and challenges. Many critics have outlined the role of black men and women as victims of jungle or ghetto stereotyping. Another aspect in the role of black people in comics, is in its portrayal as sidekicks.
African characters
CartoonistCartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Lee Falk
Lee Falk
Lee Falk, born Leon Harrison Gross , was an American writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the popular comic strip superheroes The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, who at the height of their popularity attracted over a hundred million readers every day...
's adventure comic strip Mandrake the Magician
Mandrake the Magician
Mandrake the Magician is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk , which began June 11, 1934. Phil Davis soon took over as the strip's illustrator, while Falk continued to script. The strip was distributed by King Features Syndicate.Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964,...
featured the African supporting character Lothar from its 1934 debut. He was a former "Prince of the Seven Nations", a federation of jungle tribes, but passed on the chance to become king and instead followed Mandrake on his world travels, fighting crime. Initially an illiterate exotic garbed in animal skins, provided the muscle to compliment Mandrake's brain on their adventures. Lothar was modernized in 1965 to dress in suits and speak standard English.
The publisher All-Negro Comics, Inc. published a single issue of All-Negro Comics
All-Negro Comics
All-Negro Comics was a single-issue, small-press American comic book that represents the first known comics magazine written and drawn solely by African-American writers and artists.-Publication history:...
(June 1947), a 15-cent omnibus, at a time when comics generally cost ten cents. The feature starred characters that included the Lion Man. He was a young African scientist sent by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to oversee a massive uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
deposit at the African Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
whose main enemy was Doctor Blut Sangro.
The series Powerman, designed as an educational tool, was published in 1975 by Pikin Press of Nigeria, for distriibution in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and other parts of Africa. The series, starring Powerman, was written by Don Avenall (aka Donne Avenell) and Norman Worker, and illustrated by British artists Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons is an English comic book artist, writer and sometime letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything"...
and Brian Bolland
Brian Bolland
Brian Bolland is a British comics artist, known for his meticulous, detailed linework and eye-catching compositions. Best known in the UK as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology 2000 AD, he spearheaded the 'British Invasion' of the American comics industry, and in...
. Powerman, who was superstrong and could fly, appeared in stories rendered in a simple style. His only apparent weakness was to snakebites.
First African-American solo series
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
Western
Western fiction
Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 1900s and Louis L'Amour from the mid 20th century...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
hero who was the medium
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
's first African-American character to headline his own series. He starred in Dell Comics
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
' little-known two-issue series Lobo (Dec. 1965 & Sept. 1966), was co-created by writer D. J. Arneson and artist Tony Tallarico
Tony Tallarico
Tony Tallarico is an American comic book artist, and children's book illustrator and author. Often paired in a team with his generally uncredited penciler, Bill Fraccio, Tallarico drew primarily for Charlton Comics and Dell Comics — including for the comic book Lobo, the first to star an...
.
Marvel and DC Comics' black starring characters
In the 1940s, the only black character to appear in Timely Comics (predecessor to Marvel) was literally named "White-Wash" and looked like a young white boy in black face rather than an actual African American character. The character starred in Timely's Young Allies, a book about a "kid gang" who, led by Captain AmericaCaptain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
's sidekick Bucky Barnes and the Jim Hammond}Human Torch's sidekick Toro
Toro (comics)
Toro is the name of two characters from Marvel Comics. The first Toro was originally featured in Timely Comics and later as a Marvel Comics superhero who appeared as the partner of the original Human Torch.-Publication history:...
, battle the Nazi menace.
While Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' 1950s predecessor Atlas Comics
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
had published the African tribal-chief feature "Waku, Prince of the Bantu" — the first known mainstream comic-book feature with a Black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
star, albeit not African-American. Waku was one of four regular features in each issue of the omnibus title, Jungle Tales (Sept. 1954 - Sept. 1955).
Two early Westernized, non-stereotyped African-American supporting characters in comic books are World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
soldier Jackie Johnson, who integrated the squad Easy Company when introduced as the title character of the story "Eyes for a Blind Gunner" in DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Our Army at War
Our Army at War
Our Army at War was the title for a comic book published by DC Comics that featured war themed stories and was the first appearance for popular heroes such like Sgt. Rock and Enemy Ace. The series started in August 1952 and ended in February 1977....
#113 (Dec. 1961) by writer Bob Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...
; Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' first African-American supporting character, World War II soldier Gabe Jones, of an integrated squad in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos are a fictional World War II unit in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 . The main character, Sgt...
#1 (May 1963). The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
introduced the African-American supporting characters Joe Robertson, editor of a major newspaper, in 1967; his son Randy
Randy Robertson
Randy Robertson is a supporting character in Marvel Comics's Spider-Man series. Created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #67 .-History:...
in 1968, and Hobie Brown
Prowler (comics)
The Prowler is the name of three fictional characters owned by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The original Prowler character was a criminal-turned-superhero named Hobie Brown. He debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #78...
.
The first Black superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
in mainstream American comic books is Marvel's the Black Panther
Black Panther (comics)
The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
, an African who first appeared in Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
#52 (July 1966). He was originally conceived by Jack Kirby as a character named "Coal Tiger". This was followed by the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics, the Falcon
Falcon (comics)
The Falcon is a fictional comic book superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics.Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan, and introduced in Captain America #117 , the character is mainstream comics' first African-American superhero...
, introduced in Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
#117 (Sept. 1969). DC's first African-American superhero was Sgt. Willie Walker, a.k.a. Black Racer of the New Gods
New Gods
The New Gods are a fictional race appearing in publications by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comic books about those characters. They first appeared in New Gods #1 , and were created and designed by Jack Kirby....
, introduced in writer-artist Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
's New Gods #3 (July 1971).
There would be no black hero starring in his or her own comic title until 1972, with Marvel's Luke Cage
Luke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
, Hero for Hire, followed in 1973 by Marvel's Black Panther
Black Panther (comics)
The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
title in Jungle Action
Jungle Action
Jungle Action is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. The latter-day version is the first series starring the Black Panther, the first Black superhero in mainstream comics, created by the writer/artist team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in...
. Marvel's Black Goliath
Bill Foster (comics)
Dr. Bill Foster, also known as Black Goliath, the second Giant-Man, and the fourth Goliath, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:...
was also introduced in the 1970s, as was Marvel's first major African female character, the superhero Storm of the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
.
Following Black Racer, DC in Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
#87 (Jan. 1972) introduced John Stewart
John Stewart (comics)
John Stewart is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 2, #87 , and was created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams.-Publication history:...
, an architect who becomes an emergency replacement for the Hal Jordan. By resisting a suggestion to name the character Isaiah Washington (a stereotypical slave name), artist Neal Adams struck a blow for diversity at DC.
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
athlete turned inner-city school teacher. He toted a voltage-generating belt and a white mask. Three years later, DC would introduce Victor Stone, the superhero Cyborg, best known as a member of the Teen Titans. Created by writer Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
and artist George Pérez
George Pérez
George Pérez is a Puerto Rican-American writer and illustrator of comic books, known for his work on various titles, including Avengers, Teen Titans and Wonder Woman.-Biography:...
, he first appeared in DC Comics Presents #26 (Oct. 1980).
Jungle Action
Following Luke Cage, a second black Marvel character headlined his own series: the Black Panther
Black Panther (comics)
The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
in Jungle Action
Jungle Action
Jungle Action is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. The latter-day version is the first series starring the Black Panther, the first Black superhero in mainstream comics, created by the writer/artist team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in...
. This feature began with in issue #5 with a reprint of the Panther-centric story in The Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
#62 (March 1969). A new, critically acclaimed series followed, written by Don McGregor
Don McGregor
Donald Francis McGregor is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics, and the author of one of the first graphic novels.-Early life and career:...
with art by pencilers Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four in the mid-1970s and, with writer Doug Moench, co-creating the character Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25...
, Gil Kane
Gil Kane
Eli Katz who worked under the name Gil Kane and in one instance Scott Edward, was a comic book artist whose career spanned the 1940s to 1990s and every major comics company and character.Kane co-created the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern and the Atom for DC Comics, and...
, and Billy Graham
Billy Graham (comics)
Billy Graham was an African-American comic-book artist best known for his work on the Marvel Comics series Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, and Jungle Action feature, "Black Panther", considered the first modern black superhero....
, in #6-24 (Sept. 1973 - Nov. 1976).
Ethnic stereotypes
The first Black character to be incorporated into a syndicated comic strip was Lothar who appeared in Mandrake the MagicianMandrake the Magician
Mandrake the Magician is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk , which began June 11, 1934. Phil Davis soon took over as the strip's illustrator, while Falk continued to script. The strip was distributed by King Features Syndicate.Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964,...
in the 1930s. He was Mandrake's sidekick: the circus strongman, who wore a Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
-style costume, was drawn in the Sambo
Little Black Sambo
The Story of Little Black Sambo is a children's book written and illustrated by Helen Bannerman, and first published by Grant Richards in October 1899 as one in a series of small-format books called The Dumpy Books for Children....
-style of the time (see below) and was poor, and uneducated. Since the introduction of Lothar, Black characters have a received a variety of treatments in comics, not all of them positive. William H. Foster III, associate professor of English at Naugatuck Valley Community College said, "they were comic foils, ignorant natives or brutal savages or cannibals".
Writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
-artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
was sometimes criticized for his depiction of Ebony White
Ebony White
Ebony White is a fictional character from the 1940 comics series The Spirit, created by Will Eisner. He first appeared in the The Spirit comic strip of June 2, 1940. He is a black sidekick to Denny Colt, the title character. His age is ambiguous: sometimes he appears to be a young boy, at other...
, the young African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
of Eisner's 1940s and 1950s character The Spirit
The Spirit
The Spirit is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940 in "The Spirit Section", the colloquial name given to a 16-page Sunday supplement, distributed to 20 newspapers by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and reaching five million...
. Eisner later admitted to consciously stereotyping the character, but said he tried to do so with "responsibility", and argued that "at the time humor consisted in our society of bad English and physical difference in identity". The character developed beyond the stereotype as the series progressed, and Eisner also introduced black characters (such as the plain-speaking Detective Grey) who defied popular stereotypes.
In a 1966 New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
feature by his former office manager-turned-journalist, Marilyn Mercer wrote, "Ebony never drew criticism from Negro groups (in fact, Eisner was commended by some for using him), perhaps because, although his speech pattern was early Minstrel Show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
, he himself derived from another literary tradition: he was a combination of Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer
Thomas "Tom" Sawyer is the title character of the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . He appears in three other novels by Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Tom Sawyer Abroad , and Tom Sawyer, Detective .Sawyer also appears in at least three unfinished Twain works, Huck and Tom...
and Penrod
Penrod
Penrod is a collection of comic sketches by Booth Tarkington that was first published in 1914. The book follows the misadventures of Penrod Schofield, an eleven-year-old boy growing up in the pre-World War I Midwestern United States, in a similar vein to Tom Sawyer...
, with a touch of Horatio Alger hero, and color didn't really come into it".
Physical caricatures
Early graphic art of various kinds often depicted Black characters in a stylized fashion, emphasizing certain physical features to form a recognizable racial caricature of Black faces. These features often included long unkempt hair, broad noses, enormous, red-tinted lips, dark skin and ragged clothing reminiscent of those worn by Black slavesSlavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. These characters were also depicted as speaking accented English. In the early 20th century United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, these kinds of representations were seen frequently in newspaper comic strips and political cartoons, as well as in later comic magazines, and were also present in early cartoons by Disney and Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
. In comics, nameless Black bystanders (see right) and even some notable heroes and villains were developed in this style, including Ebony White
Ebony White
Ebony White is a fictional character from the 1940 comics series The Spirit, created by Will Eisner. He first appeared in the The Spirit comic strip of June 2, 1940. He is a black sidekick to Denny Colt, the title character. His age is ambiguous: sometimes he appears to be a young boy, at other...
(see above), and Steamboat, valet of Billy Batson.
Blaxploitation era
In the late-1960s and throughout the 1970s, several African-American heroes were created in the vein of BlaxploitationBlaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
-era movie protagonists, and seemed to be a direct response to the notable Black Nationalist movement. These predominantly male heroes were often martial artists, came from the ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
, and were politically motivated. Examples of such Blaxploitation characters include Luke Cage
Luke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
, Bronze Tiger
Bronze Tiger
Bronze Tiger is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Universe. He is a martial artist who first appeared in Dragon's Fists, a novel by Dennis O'Neil and Jim Berry, starring Richard Dragon. His first DC Comics appearance was in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter.-Early years:Ben Turner comes...
, Black Lightning
Black Lightning
Black Lightning was one of the first major African American superheroes to appear in DC Comics. He debuted in Black Lightning #1 , and was created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden.- Publication history :...
, and the female detective Misty Knight
Misty Knight
Misty Knight is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' Marvel Universe. She was first mentioned in Marvel Premiere #20 and appeared in the next issue. She normally appears with Colleen Wing.-Publication history:...
. The Falcon stars in one infamous story arc in the Captain America series, in which he is portrayed as a street hustler before being "rescued" by Captain America.
Women
Very few Black female characters were present in superhero comics until after the African-American Civil Rights MovementAfrican-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...
, when several notable Black female characters began to appear. One of the most notable Black female character in comics appeared in the Bronze Age of Comic Books
Bronze Age of Comic Books
The Bronze Age of Comic Books is an informal name for a period in the history of mainstream American comic books usually said to run from 1970 to 1985. It follows the Silver Age of Comic Books....
. Storm (Ororo Munroe) of the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
is an African princess and mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
who possesses the power to control the weather. Storm would eventually succeed Cyclops as the Team Leader of the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
. In the 1980s, the new Captain Marvel, aka Monica Rambeau
Monica Rambeau
Monica Rambeau is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. Initially known as Captain Marvel, the character became a leader of the Avengers...
, had the power to become any form of energy on the electromagnetic scale. This Captain Marvel would join the Avengers in their battle against the Masters of Evil. There are those who have criticized black superheroines for being one-dimensional and perpetuating several stereotypes, including that of the mythical superwoman and the hyper-emotional, overly aggressive Black woman.
Storm
In X-Treme X-MenX-Treme X-Men
X-Treme X-Men was a comic book published by Marvel Comics from 2001 through 2004. All 46 issues of the series were written by Chris Claremont. The first 24 issues were drawn by Salvador Larroca, and the final 22 issues were drawn by Igor Kordey....
, conceived by writer Chris Claremont in July 2001, Storm was written as the leader of this new group of X-Men. Other members would include Gambit
Gambit (comics)
Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...
, former Brotherhood
Brotherhood of Mutants
The Brotherhood of Mutants, originally known as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, is a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain team devoted to mutant superiority over normal humans. They are among the chief adversaries of the X-Men...
member Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...
, Sage
Sage (comics)
Sage, also known as Tessa, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She has most often been associated with the X-Men and the Hellfire Club, whom she spied upon for Professor Charles Xavier....
, and the time travelling black anti-hero Bishop
Bishop (comics)
Bishop is a fictional comic book superhero, appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books...
, to name a few. This new team in contrast to its related titles, Uncanny X-Men and New X-Men. In the period until its end in issue #46 (June 2004), Claremont continued to write Storm as the central character. During this time, Storm enjoys a brief flirtation with younger fellow X-Man Slipstream
Slipstream (comics)
Slipstream is a fictional character in Marvel Comics universe. He is a superhero associated with the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Salvador Larroca, he first appeared in X-Treme X-Men #6 ....
and is kidnapped by the intergalactic warlord Khan
Khan (comics)
Khan is a fictional villain associated with the X-Men. He first appeared in X-Treme X-Men #10 , and was created by Chris Claremont and Salvador Larroca.-Fictional character biography:...
. Khan wants to make her his queen, but Storm defeats him. In the series, she also becomes leader of the fictional X-Treme Sanctions Executive
X-Treme Sanctions Executive
The X-Treme Sanctions Executive is a fictional paramilitary police force charged with keeping the peace between mutants and humans. The team was first mentioned in X-Treme X-Men #40, when Storm presented her team with an offer to join a new, government-backed squad.-Creation:During the final issues...
, a special police task force of mutants policing mutants given worldwide authority.
In the aftermath of the 2005 House of M
House of M
House of M is an eight-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics in 2005. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel, its first issue debuted in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled...
storyline of Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim for his self-published, Image Comics and Marvel Comics work, and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics, with his books selling consistently highly for over a...
, while 98% of the mutants lost their powers
Decimation (comics)
Decimation is the late 2005 Marvel Comics storyline spinning off from the House of M limited series. It focuses on the ramifications of the Scarlet Witch stripping nearly all of the mutant population of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds.This event, which...
due to the Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch is a fictional comic book character that appears in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
's magicks, Storm is among the 198 mutants who retain their powers. In that same year, the miniseries Ororo: Before the Storm, would be a retelling of her backstory in greater detail, concentrating on her relationship with surrogate father figure Achmed el-Gibar during her childhood.
Milestone media
Milestone Media was a company best known for creating the DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
Milestone Comics. Founded in 1993 by African-American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
artists and writers Dwayne McDuffie
Dwayne McDuffie
Dwayne Glenn McDuffie was an American writer of comic books and television, known for creating the animated television series Static Shock, writing and producing the animated series Justice League Unlimited, and co-founding the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic-book company Milestone...
, Denys Cowan
Denys Cowan
Denys B. Cowan is an American comic book artist and television producer. He gained prominence as the primary artist on The Question, an acclaimed comic book series published by DC Comics for 36 issues from 1987 on, written by Dennis O'Neil.-Career:Denys Cowan is a 1979 graduate of the High School...
, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle), the company's focus was to make African-American characters the stars of their monthly titles. Christopher Priest
Christopher Priest (comic book writer)
Christopher James Priest is a writer of comic books who is at times credited simply as Priest. He changed his name legally circa 1993.-Biography:...
participated in the early planning stages of Milestone Media, and was originally slated to become the editor-in-chief of the new company.
History
Although Milestone comics were published through DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, they did not take place in the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. The Milestone characters existed in a separate continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
that did not fall under DC Comics' direct editorial control (but DC still retained right of refusal to publish). It is worth noting that some DC characters such as Superman took part in the World’s Collide crossover.
In the summer of 1994, DC Comics and Milestone Media published an intercompany crossover
Intercompany crossover
In comic books, an intercompany crossover is a comic or series of comics where characters published by one company meet those published by another...
called Worlds Collide (comics)
Worlds Collide (comics)
"Worlds Collide" is an intercompany crossover event presented in July 1994 in the Milestone Comics titles and the Superman-related titles published by DC Comics. A one-shot comic title of the same name was written by Dwayne McDuffie, Ivan Velez Jr...
. It featured a meeting between Metropolis-based superheroes from the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
and Dakota-based superheroes from the Dakotaverse. Unlike many intercompany crossovers, it was intended to be part of the regular continuity and took place in the monthly issues of the involved series. The situation was somewhat complicated by the fact that in the Dakotaverse, DC superheroes were known as fictional characters from comicbooks.
Fundamental to Milestone’s agreement with DC was they would not relinquish any of the legal or creative rights to their work. Throughout the negotiations, Milestone, and their lawyers, insisted on three basic points: (1) that they would retain total creative control; (2) that they would retain all copyrights for characters under the Milestone banner; and (3) that they would have the final say on all merchandising and licensing deals pertaining to their properties. In essence, DC had in effect licensed the characters, editorial services, and creative content of the Milestone books for an annual fee and a share of the profits.
All Milestone Media titles were set in a continuity dubbed the "Dakotaverse", referring to the fictional midwestern city of Dakota in which most of the early Milestone stories were set. Before any titles were published, an extensive "bible" was created by McDuffie and other early creators, which provided back-story
Back-story
A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...
and information on all of the original Dakotaverse characters, as well as detailed information about the history and geography of Dakota. Cowan produced the original character sketches that served as a guide for the other artists. Milestone tried to add complexity to the one-dimensional stereotypes of black characters that made occasional appearances in the books produced by Marvel and DC.
A significant number of retailers and readers perceived the Milestone books to be "comics for Blacks" and assumed they would not interest non-African-American readers, the books received limited exposure beyond existing comics-shop customers, the coloring process added slightly to the cover price of their books, and overall comics sales had peaked around the time of Milestone's launch and declined dramatically in the years that followed.
Debut
Milestone's first comic book was HardwareHardware (comics)
Hardware is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. An original character from DC's Milestone Comics imprint, he first appeared in Hardware #1 , and was created by Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan...
#1 (April 1993) and was written by McDuffie with pencils by Cowan and inks by Jimmy Palmiotti. It was the story of a brilliant black scientist named Curtis Metcalf who works for a powerful industrialist but is denied a share of the profits from his inventions. When he discovers that his boss is also a corporate criminal, Metcalf retaliates by creating a series; of innovative devices that turn him into a high-tech super hero called Hardware. McDuffie claimed that the book had little to do with ethnic issues. He stated that the first issue of Hardware was specifically about the Milestone creators leaving Marvel.
Icon
Icon (comics)
Icon is a fictional superhero, a comic book character published by DC Comics. An original character from DC's Milestone Comics imprint, he first appeared in Icon #1 , and was created by Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan...
, the third Milestone title, made its debut in May and the story of Icon clearly borrowed heavily from the Superman mythos. Compared to Superman, the alien’s spaceship crashed to Earth, although it was not in Kansas in the 20th century but in the cotton fields of the American South in the 1830s. A slave woman finds the child and the ship alters the aliens appearance to look exactly like the first life form the alien encountered. He receives the name Augustus Freeman but does not use his powers to lead a slave revolt.
Icon was a black super hero and a political conservative who decided to use his superpowers for the very first time when his condominium is broken into by some African American teenagers. Icon must be convinced to use his powers to help others. The agent of change is one of the people who breaks into his condo, a fifteen-year-old girl named Raquel Ervin, who becomes his sidekick, takes the name Rocket and in issue 3 turns out to be pregnant (but not by Icon). Icon has been called the black Superman and McDuffie states it is because, "in the first two pages of the first issue I parodied the Superman origin. Past that there isn't much to it, because Icon isn't really about Icon. It's about the girl, Rocket". After Freeman returns to his home planet, Icon is replaced by Buck Wild. A throwback to the early days of Luke Cage, Buck Wild possessed "belief defyin' strength" and "tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
hard skin." He once used an experimental growth serum which turned him into the gigantic "Buck Goliath." After some time, Buck wore a replica of Icon's costume in order to take Icon's place when Icon returned to his home planet.
Other titles launched that year included Blood Syndicate
Blood Syndicate
The Blood Syndicate is a fictional multicultural gang of superhumans created by Milestone Comics and published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in Blood Syndicate #1 , and was created by Dwayne McDuffie, Ivan Velez Jr...
, and Static. A year later, Milestone Media published its first company-wide crossover, Shadow War, which spawned two more titles: Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet (comics)
The Shadow Cabinet is a team of fictional superheroes created by Milestone Comics and published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Shadow Cabinet #0 , and were created by Dwayne McDuffie, Robert L. Washington III and John Paul Leon...
and Xombi
Xombi
Xombi is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Xombi #0, , and was created by John Rozum and Denys Cowan.-Fictional character biography:...
. Another ongoing series, Kobalt
Kobalt
Kobalt is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He first appears in Kobalt #1 , and was created by John Rozum and Arvell Jones.-Publication history:...
, was introduced later.
Legacy
Milestone had several advantages in its publishing efforts: they received press coverage from non-comics related magazines and television, their books were distributed and marketed by DC Comics, the comics industry had experienced remarkable increases in sales in preceding years, and they featured the work of several well-known and critically acclaimed creators, and they had the potential to appeal to an audience that was not being targeted by other publishers.Milestone provided the opportunity for many emerging talents who had been passed over by larger established companies, beginning the careers of many comic industry professionals. Among them are John Paul Leon
John Paul Leon
John Paul Leon is an American comic book artist, known for his work on the Milestone Comics series Static, and the Marvel Comics limited series Earth X.-Career:...
, Christopher Sotomayor, Christopher Williams (aka ChrisCross)
ChrisCross
ChrisCross is a comic book illustrator, known mostly for his stints pencilling Milestone Comics' Blood Syndicate and Heroes, Marvel Comics' Captain Marvel and Slingers, and DC Comics' Firestorm....
, Shawn Martinborough, Tommy Lee Edwards, Jason Scott Jones (aka J.Scott.J), Prentis Rollins, J.H. Williams III, Humberto Ramos
Humberto Ramos
Humberto Ramos is a Mexican comic book penciller, best known for his work on American comic books such as Impulse, The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man and his creator-owned series Crimson.-Career:...
, John Rozum
John Rozum
John Rozum is an American writer of comic books who is best known for his work for Milestone Comics, where he wrote Xombi and Kobalt. He has also worked for Topps Comics and Marvel Comics...
, Eric Battle, Joseph Illidge, Madeleine Blaustein, Jamal Igle
Jamal Igle
Jamal Yaseem Igle is an American comic book artist, editor, art director and animation storyboard artist.-Career:...
, Chris Batista
Chris Batista
Chris Batista is an American comic book artist, known for his work on a number of titles for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, including Steel, Spaceknights and Thunderbolts.-Career:...
and Harvey Richards.
21st century
- In 2000, Christopher Priest wrote a new Black Panther series. One of the highlights of Priest's run was his storyline "Enemy of the State". The Panther becomes a symbol of a larger African American community dealing with white supremacist violence. Priest even spoofs the old comics convention of bringing in black characters as an exotic supporting cast for the white superheroes with the Avengers appearing in the title. The gist of the most recent Black Panther series is that focuses on the African nation that T'Challa leads.
- In 2006, Ororo married fellow African superhero the Black PantherBlack Panther (comics)The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
. Collaborating writer Eric Jerome DickeyEric Jerome DickeyEric Jerome Dickey is a New York Times best-selling American author best known for his novels about contemporary African-American life...
explained that it was a move to explicitly target the female and African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
audience. Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe QuesadaJoe QuesadaJoseph "Joe" Quesada is an American comic book editor, writer and artist. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom...
was highly supportive of this marriage, stating it was the Marvel Comics equivalent of the marriage of "Lady DianaDiana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
and Prince CharlesCharles, Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
," and he expected both characters to emerge strengthened.
- Kansas cartoonist Alonzo Washington is the creator of Omega Man, a self-published title about a socially conscious African-American comic book superhero who concentrates on positive, ethical values. Part of the focus includes addressing school shootings and youth violence that is affecting America. The focus was executed as a free web comic published on the official Omega Man website. As a public service, Washington's comics came with trading cards each with an image of a missing child. Washington would see stories of missing black children in the local press but didn't see them nationally. "Instead of just complain about it, I wanted to do something to change that and also raise the issue." said Washington.
- Axel AlonsoAxel AlonsoAxel Alonso is American comic book creator, known primarily as an editor at DC Comics from 1994–2000, and at Marvel Comics from 2000 to the present. At DC, he edited a number of books published under their Vertigo line, such as Doom Patrol, Animal Man, Hellblazer, Preacher and 100 Bullets...
has championed controversial projects involving minorities. A 2003 miniseries that re-imagined the 1950s western hero Rawhide KidRawhide KidThe Rawhide Kid is a fictional Old West cowboy in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted as an outlaw, he is one of Marvel's most prolific Western characters...
as a leather-clad gay cowboy. The 2004 series, Truth: Red, White and Black recounted the untold story of the second Captain AmericaCaptain AmericaCaptain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, an African American who endured brutal tests that echoed the real-life Tuskegee syphilis experiments that were conducted starting in the 1930s on a group of American men who were black and poor.
- In November 2005, Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
announced that the comic book A Son of the Eastern Cape would provide an illustrated history of Mandela's formative years, starting with his birth. The opening panels show Mandela as a swaddled baby in his parents' arms in their mud hut in the village of Mwezo, near QunuQunuQunu is a small rural village in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, south-west of Mthatha on the road between Butterworth and Mthatha.Mvezo on Mbashe River is near where Nelson Mandela was born, and Qunu is where he grew up and later retired after leaving office as South Africa's President in...
in the Eastern Cape. The book is scheduled to consist of 26 volumes, written and illustrated by Nic Buchanan, and to be translated into South Africa's 10 other official languages. A teacher's guide was also to be created.
- In 2005, Marvel Comics mounted a high-profile relaunch of a title starring their marquee black hero, the Black Panther. The series debuted in February – Black History MonthBlack History MonthBlack History Month is an observance of the history of the African diaspora in a number of countries outside of Africa. Since 1976, it is observed annually in the United States and Canada in February, while in the United Kingdom it is observed in October...
– and landed at No. 27 spot on the monthly bestselling comics list. Two years afterward, sales have dropped 50 per cent and writer Reginald HudlinReginald HudlinReginald Alan Hudlin is an American writer and film director.-Biography:Hudlin is the son of Helen , a teacher, and Warrington W. Hudlin, Sr., an insurance executive and teacher...
has been the brunt of criticism. One early scene that depicted Black Panther beating Captain America in a fight provoked online critics to accuse him of "shameless race-card playing" and "promoting an exaggerated super Negro."
- In 2006, DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
unveiled a new generation of heroes that were minorities. As part of a larger shake-up of the DC Universe, tying into stories such as 52, One Year LaterOne Year Later"One Year Later" was a 2006 storyline event running through the DC Universe. As the title suggests, it involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Comics Universe following the events of the Infinite Crisis event, to explore major changes within the continuities of the many...
and Countdown, DC introduced an African American version of Firestorm, along with a Hispanic version of Blue BeetleBlue BeetleBlue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
, and a new Batwoman, resurrected as a gay socialite.
See also
- African characters in comicsAfrican characters in comicsCharacters native to the African continent have been depicted in comics since the beginnings of the modern comic strip. Initially, such early 20th-century newspaper comics as Winsor McCay's Little Nemo depicted the racist stereotype of a spear-carrying cannibal, a comedic convention of the time...
- List of black superheroes
- Milestone MediaMilestone MediaMilestone Media is a company best known for creating Milestone Comics and securing an unheard of publishing and distribution deal with DC Comics and the Static Shock cartoon series. It was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers Milestone Media is a company best known...
- List of black animated characters
- List of African-American firsts
External links
- Daathrekh.com
- The Milestone Rave - lists details of 264 Milestone comics issues
- The Official website of Dwayne McDuffie, co-owner of Milestone Media.
- Milestone: Finally, I was there - an article detailing Christopher Priest's role in the creation of Dakotaverse and his involvement with Milestone in general.
- Milestone retrospective at Museum of Black Superheroes
- Milestone Character profiles at Museum of Black Superheroes
- Omega Man comic on Anti-Gang Violence
- Africomics, the Black Science Fiction Portal