Review: BLACK #6

BLACK No. 6
BLACKMASK STUDIO

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Kwanza Osajyefo
DESIGNER: Tim Smith 3
ART: Jamal Igle
INKS: Robin Riggs
TONES: Derwin Roberson
LETTERS: Dave Sharpe
COVER: Khary Randolph
44pp, B&W and some Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2017)

“Chapter Six”

Black was a comic book miniseries created by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3.  This comic book was first introduced to the public as a Kickstarter project seeking to earn $29,999, but ultimately earned almost $100,000.  Black is set in a world where only Black people have super-powers.

Black was written by Osajyefo; drawn by Jamal Igle (pencils) and Robin Riggs (inks); toned by Derwin Roberson and Sarah Stern; and lettered by Dave Sharpe.  Khary Randolph was the series cover artist.

Black opened with Officer Ellen Waters of the New York Police Department (NYPD) recounting a shocking incident.  She witnessed three young Black teenagers mistakenly identified as three perpetrators of an armed robbery.  All three were subsequently shot to death in a hail of bullets fired by White police officers.  Officer Waters also witnessed one of the three teens, Kareem Jenkins, get up from his injuries as if he were never harmed.  What Waters did not realize was that the truth behind Jenkins miraculous survival was even more mind-blowing.  He had super-powers – called Quarks.

Black #6 opens at “Negromuerte,” the research facility that is also a prison.  Here, Black people with super-powers are imprisoned so that they can be the subjects of experimentation designed to replicate their powers.  Recently imprisoned there, Kareem has discovered that his cellmate is the Black super-powered terrorist, “O,” who is determined to kill Negromeurte's director and lead scientist, Theodore Mann.  Now, it is Mann vs. “O,” with Kareem caught in the middle.

As I wrote in my review of Black #1, I remember the Kickstarter campaign for Black, and I was impressed by what the team behind it presented to the public.  I stated that I was shocked by how successful the campaign was, as it reached its campaign goal in a short time before going on to raise about three times that goal.

That Kickstarter campaign assured the Black would indeed become a full-fledged comic book project.  Since Black #6 was published last year, the series has been optioned for film and a sequel miniseries and an original graphic novel set in that world were announced (with the graphic novel recently being published and reportedly being sold out).

Black #1 was awkward and a bit ungainly, but it was hard to deny the boldness and audacity of its concept.  Black #6 is, of course, more polished.  Jamal Igle's compositions are solid and his graphic storytelling pops off the page.  Robin Riggs' inks on Igle pencil's give the art a solidity and firmness the art seemed to lack in that first issue.  The tones (basically coloring for black and white illustrations) by Derwin Roberson are superb and bring beauty and strength to Igle and Riggs illustrations.  Yes, Dave Sharpe's lettering is... sharp and conveys power to the story.

I think that the thing I most enjoy about Kwanza Osajyefo's storytelling is simply that it exists.  It takes backbone and balls of steel to both create a comic book that says only black people have super-powers, and then to release it to a market that serves an aging white male fan-base.  And this is a base that often bristles when presented with black comic book characters that do not “know their place” in fictional comic book worlds like the Marvel and DC Comics universes.

I like that Osajyefo brings diversity and variety to the way his characters speak.  I like that Osajyefo ultimately lets Kareem Jenkins be a really free black man.  I like that there will be more from the world of Black.  It is too Black and too proud to be a one-time thing.

9 out of 10

[This comic book includes a preview of the comic book, Calexit, from Black Mask Studio.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: BLACK #1

BLACK No. 1
BLACKMASK STUDIO

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Kwanza Osajyefo
DESIGNER: Tim Smith 3
ART: Jamal Igle with Steven Walker
INKS: Jamal Igle; Robin Riggs
TONES: Sarah Stern
LETTERS: Dave Sharpe
COVER: Khary Randolph
VARIANT COVER: Ashley A. Woods
2-Color, $3.99 U.S.

“Chapter One”

Black is a new comic book miniseries created by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3.  This comic book was introduced to the public as a Kickstarter project seeking to earn $29,999, but ultimately earned almost $100,000.  Black is set in a world where only Black people have super-powers.

Black is written by Osajyefo and is drawn by Jamal Igle (pencils) and Robin Riggs (inks); toned by Sarah Stern; and lettered by Dave Sharpe.  Khary Randolph is the cover artist, and Steve Walker assists Igle on the interior art.

Black #1 opens with Officer Ellen Waters of the New York Police Department (NYPD) recounting a shocking incident.  She witnessed three young Black teenagers mistakenly misidentified as three perpetrators of an armed robbery.  They are subsequently shot down in a hail of bullets by White police officers.  Officer Waters witnesses one of the three, Kareem Jenkins, get up from his injuries as if he were never harmed.  What Waters does not realize is that the truth behind Jenkins miraculous survival is even more mind-blowing.

I remember the Kickstarter campaign for Black, and I was impressed by what the team behind it presented to the public.  I was shocked by how successful it was, as it reached its campaign goal in a short time before going on to raise about three times that goal.  Although I was impressed, I forgot about the campaign.  I only remembered after seeing a listing for Black #1 as a new release on the website for comic book distributor, Diamond Distributors.  I was fortunate enough to receive a PDF copy of Black #1 for review.

I have often thought about what it would be like to create a comic book set in a world in which only Black people had super-powers.  I am glad that Kwanza Osajyefo (the former editor of DC Comics' “webcomics” imprint, ZUDA) and Tim Smith 3 (who has worked for Marvel, DC Comics, and Archie Comics, among others) had the gall or the balls to create just such a comic book.

For some readers, the idea of a world in which only Black people have super-powers may be controversial or perhaps, a bridge-too-far, but for nearly three decades, the fictional worlds of American superhero comic books only imagined White men and a few White women with super-powers.  There were even pets and inanimate objects with super-powers before comic book characters of color gained powers.  Black's central conceit alone makes Black #1 a riveting, gripping read.

The other thing that makes this first issue so thrilling, without spoiling it, is that the focus is on the hunt for Kareem Jenkins.  Osajyefo pounds out a script that drags the readers along and makes them think that they are also imperiled.  Jamal Igle's quicksilver compositions visualize the story in lurid detail, especially in the sequence that goes from the explosive hail of bullets to the heart-stopping resurrection-like rise of Kareem.

Black, of course, is timely.  That is both fortunate and unfortunate.  The last decade in the United States has been troubling.  It began with the persecution and prosecution of the Black male teenagers known as the “Jena 6” and continues with the latest killings of unarmed Black males or shootings of Black males in general by law enforcement officials and armed White vigilantes.  Activism concerning justice and equality for African-Americans has exploded, with people of all skin colors and ethnicities joining the activism and protests.  That is fortunate.  It is unfortunate that young Black teenagers have had to die to force a movement that should have not slumbered to awaken again.

Still, out of these dark times, we may have, in Black, one of the few American comic books in a long time that means something important beyond the market and the medium.  Black #1 is not perfect, as some of it (so far) relies on a few tired tropes of superhero and science fiction storytelling.  Still, the first issue of Black is a great start.

A-
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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2014 Glyph Award Nominees - Complete List

The Glyph Awards recognize “the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year.”  The nominees for the 2014 Glyph Awards (for comics released in 2013) were announced in early April.  The winners will be announced Friday, May 16, 2014 at the 13th annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia.

The 2014 Glyph Comics Award nominees (for the year 2013):

Story of the Year
• March: Book One, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell
• Watson and Holmes #6, by Brandon Easton and N. Steven Harris
• Watson and Holmes: A Study in Black, by Karl Bollers, Rick Leonardi and Larry Stroman

Best Cover
• Hass #1, by B. Alex Thompson
• Indigo, by Richard Tyler
• Life and Death in Paradise, by Nigel Lynch
• Nowhere Man, by Jerome Walford
• The Olympians, by Paulo Barrios and Luis Guerrero
• Route 3, by Robert Jeffrey

Best Writer
• Brandon Easton, Watson and Holmes #6
• Jamal Igle, Molly Danger
• Anthony Montgomery and Brandon Easton, Miles Away
• Whit Taylor, Boxes
• B. Alex Thompson, Hass #1

Best Artist
• B. Robert Bell, Radio Free Amerika
• Abel Garcia, P.B. Soldier
• N. Steven Harris, Watson and Holmes #6
• Jamal Igle, Molly Danger
• Mshindo Kuumba, Anikulapo
• Mase, Urban Shogun #3: Things Fall Apart
• Jerome Walford, Nowhere Man

Best Male Character
• Anikulapo, “He Who Has Death in His Pouch,” Anikulapo; Mshindo Kuumba
• Deakon Taylor, One Nation; Jason Reeves
• Dustan Knight/Stactic Shagz, Spirit Bear; Tristan Roach
• Force, Force; Yancey A. Reed
• Jack Maguire, Nowhere Man; Jerome Walford
• Maxwell Miles, Maxwell Miles; Brandon Easton
• Moses B. Verelea, Radio Free Amerika; Robert Jeffery

Best Female Character
• Ajala, Ajala: A Series of Adventures; N. Steven Harris and Robert Garrett
• Mary Freemen, Urban Shogun; James Mason
• Indigo, Indigo: Hit List 3.0; Richard Tyler

Rising Star Award
• Raymond Ayala, Urban Myth (New Olympians)
• Naseed Gifted, P.B. Soldier
• Turner Lange, The Adventures of Wally Fresh
• Chris Miller, Chronicles of Piye
• Jason Reeves, One Nation
• Tristian Roach, Spirit Bear
• Tony Robinson, The Descendent

Best Comic Strip or Webcomic
• The Adigun Ogunsanwo, by Charles C.J. Juzang
• Blackwax Boulevard, by Dmitri Jackson
• Love and Capes: What to Expect, by Thom Zahler
• Yes You Can, by Ian Herring and Dallas Penn

Best Reprint Publication
• Early Days, by Mshindo Kuumba
• Love and Capes: What to Expect, by Thomas Zahler
• Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, by the Fellowship of Reconciliation

Fan Award for Best Work
• Boxes, by Whit Taylor
• Molly Danger, by Jamal Igle
• Urban Shogun, by James Mason
• Watson and Holmes #6, by Brandon Easton and N. Steven Harris

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Jamal Igle to Launch Kickstarter Project

Since learning of its existence when comics creator Kody Chamberlain used it, I've been a fan of Kickstarter, the crowd sourcing website.  I try to post news about new Kickstarter initiatives from comics creators when I can.  Here is one from DC Comics' artist, Jamal Igle, that apparently begins August 1, 2012:

JAMAL IGLE KICKSTARTS CREATOR OWNED SERIES MOLLY DANGER

Former Supergirl artist launches his brand new creator-owned superhero series on Kickstarter.com

When Jamal Igle announced the end of his D.C. Comics contract in January of 2012, the number one question fans asked was "What's next?" Igle, who spent the better part of the decade as one D.C. Comics artistic mainstays on titles like Supergirl, Superman and Firestorm the Nuclear Man, was coy. Other than the recently released KISS comic book series from IDW, Igle had been unusually quiet about his plans until recently.

Now, the Inkpot award winning creator launches his Kickstarter campaign for "Molly Danger", A four book, hardcover, graphic album all ages action adventure series. Igle describes Molly Danger as "Astroboy meets the Powerpuff girls".

Written and drawn by Igle, Molly Danger is the story of the world's most powerful 10-year-old girl. A seemingly immortal, super strong hero, Molly has protected the city of Coopersville for the last 20 years.

Kept in constant isolation and watched closely by D.A.R.T. (The Danger Action Response Team) an organization created to assist in her heroic deeds and monitor her movements, Molly battles the Supermechs; A team of cybernetically enhanced beings with unusual powers. Molly longs for a real life, with a real family, something she's been told she can never have. Her life changes when D.A.R.T. recruits a new pilot, Austin Briggs. Briggs has his own motivations for joining the team, newly remarried; Austin is having trouble forming a relationship with his new stepson, Brian. Austin wants to use his connections to impress Brian, an avid Molly Danger fan. However things get turned on its ear when Molly and Brian form a friendship of their own.

"As the father of a young girl, I've found myself disheartened that there isn't a female superhero character for my daughter to read that hasn't been turned into a killer, or overtly sexualized. A character that isn't joined at the hip to a male hero or subservient to one." Igle said. Igle will write and pencil the series with inker Juan Castro (G.I.Joe: Snake Eyes for IDW, Incorruptible for Boom Studios, Elders of the Rune Stone) and Colorist Michael Watkins (Sonic the Hedgehog, Transformers).

Igle has also teamed up with Action Lab Entertainment, publishers of the Eisner award nominated series, Princeless, to handle the publishing and distribution of the series.

THE 30 DAY CAMPAIGN BEGINS ON AUGUST 1ST, 2012, All the funds raised will go to production and printing of a limited edition version of the first book, with an original cover, for Kickstarter contributors planned incentives include a limited edition membership card, posters, prints, a behind the scenes sketchbook and original artwork form the finished book.

"I believe in Molly, so much so that I'm putting my money where my mouth is. " said Igle. However, the project will not be funded at all if at least $45,000 is not pledged by Friday, August 31st.

"This is a project I've been wanting to do for over 10 years and I look forward to the opportunity to share Molly with the world." said Igle.

Join the Kickstarter campaign at http://www.kickstarter.com/ projects/mollydanger

ABOUT JAMAL IGLE
One of the most popular and prolific pencillers in the comic book industry, Jamal igle is an award winning artist and writer. Best known for his two year run as artist on the DC Comics series Supergirl with writer Sterling Gates, Jamal has been a professional jack of all trades for nearly 20 years drawing every title from Action Comics to Zatanna.