1964 – My Entertainment Source Wall
In the beginning, there was all whiteness. When I began reading comic books in 1964, I had zero Black superheroes in comics, television, and movies. I had never watched a Black person on the action screen do anything that could be considered even remotely heroic. I was seven. In 1964 I had real-life heroes – NFL players like Jim Brown and Lenny Moore, Bob Hayes was the fastest man in the world, Joe Frazier was an Olympic gold medalist, Rill Russell, Wilt Chamberlin, Oscar Robertson dominated the NBA, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Curt Flood were playing professional baseball but not one in comics. When I was younger, I was an active reader. Everything I read from fairy tales and fables to mysteries, textbooks, and comics did not have any heroic characters that looked like me. In my comic book superhero experience, it was the worst of times.
I like to think that T’challa is rocking his RED 23 headphones listening to Drake’s song “Started from the Bottom”. As the Black Panther’s heads rocks to the hook “ – We started from the bottom now we are here – Started from the bottom now my whole team here” he would be looking over a new world where his billion-dollar movie has led to a new crop of Black superheroes to the screen. In the MCU – Falcon is getting a show, a new Blade movie, Storm is coming, Miles Morales dropping on the PS5 platform, Disney Plus is getting Monica Rambeau in Wandavision, Ironheart and potentially Blue Marvel. In the DC Black Lighting has a CW show, Cyborg is in Teen Titans Go, HBO max’s Doom Patrol and the movie Justice League, Luke Fox, and Beth Chapel are on CW and Static Shock is getting his movie. Not to mention making villains like Erik Killmonger and Black Manta impact players as well as movies like Raising Dion that were based on a comic book character.
The wonderful world of comic books takes a weekly toll on my pockets. I am happy to pay! I like to read events so I am reading Empyre, Dark Nights Death Metal, Joker War and Three Jokers. But, like the Pit Bull and Stephen Marley song title states “I Got Options”.
· Marvel has solo titles with Black Panther and Mile Morales. They had a nice comic book called “Marvel Voices”. The comic book features stories written by different authors including collaborations with Charlemagne The God and Method Man.
· DC comics has one solo title called Far Sector, John Ridley’s “The Other History of the DC Universe” mini-series is coming out, Milestone Comics is beginning digitally relaunched and Sandman Universe with comic book like House of Whispers
The independents (I am finding new titles all the time)
· Image Comics – Spawn, Bitter Roots, On the Stump, Killadephia, Tarturus
· Boom comics – Seven Secrets
· Aftershock comics – Man who F’#%ed up Time
· Dynamite – Scared Six
Current Comic Book Source Wall
So in a weird way I am happy but not satisfied. I am happy that I have gone from having zero choices to having a variety of choice. I am happy to see all the new opportunities that are on the horizon after a billion-dollar movie about a Black guy from Africa. While I am excited by the new opportunities that have been coming to Black comic book characters, I am in no way satisfied. In my research for my website I have found over 350 Black characters that have been introduced since 1960 in a sea of over 10,000 characters that have been character over the years. I want more.
As I watch my grandchildren struggle with choosing between the multitude of entertainment options they have I realized that for me growing up reading comics was not the “nerdy” thing to do it was the only thing to do.
That is all I have to say about that. Period
