Review: BLACK: Widows and Orphans #1

BLACK: WIDOWS & ORPHANS No. 1
BLACKMASK STUDIO – @blackmaskstudio @BLACKsuprppowrs

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY/PLOT: Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3 – @kwanzer
SCRIPT/DIALOGUE:  Kwanza Osajyefo
PENCILS/INKS: Tim Smith 3 – @TS3
COLORS/SHADES: Derwin Roberson
LETTERS/SFX: Dave Sharpe
EDITOR: Sarah Litt
COVER: Tim Smith 3
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (Diamond-FEB181179 – April 25, 2018)

Rated M/Mature

Black [AF] created by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3

Black – also known as Black [AF] – is a six-issue comic book miniseries created by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3.  It was first introduced to the public as a Kickstarter crowdfunding project seeking to raise $29,999, but ultimately raised almost $100,000.  Black is set in a world where only Black people have super-powers (called “Quarks”), and this world is suddenly and shockingly forced on Kareem Jenkins, who discovers that he is “empowered.”

Now, a second miniseries recently arrived and is entitled Black: Widows and Orphans.  It written by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3; drawn by Smith 3; colored by Derwin Roberson; and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

Black: Widows and Orphans #1 opens as the first empowered U.S. senator is nearly assassinated by a ninja!  However, the empowered of the “Project” are there to stop it, but a revelation of what the assassin is delivers a shocker.  He is connected to the past of one of the Project's empowered, Anansi, who, as a child, was trained as a Ninja.

Anansi is on a mission to return to her former clan, “the Amime” and to learn what has become of what was once her family.  However, the Project's leader, Juncture, insists that Anansi take with her someone who can watch her back.  Now, Hoodrat finds herself following her mentor, Anansi, into the world of the ninja.

The original Black miniseries was published in black and white with toning, but Black: Widows and Orphans is in glorious full-color. Colorist Derwin Roberson delivers such vivid hues that I thought I was having a trippy experience while reading this first issue.  Roberson's color art here really goes a long way in not only making this miniseries distinct form the original, but also in selling the setting of this series as a world beyond the normal – beyond even the world of the Quarks and empowered.

I was so used to the original miniseries' artist, Jamal Igle, that I was initially somewhat put off by Tim Smith 3's quirky, anime-style art.  It was not long before I was seriously loving Smith's compositions and the kinetic feel of his graphical storytelling.  I also like that Smith 3 makes Black: Widows and Orphans distinct from the first series as a graphics package.

As usual, I enjoy the scriptwriting of Kwanza Osajyefo, who always makes his work something different from standard superhero comic book fare.  It is as if he is stubbornly eccentric and offbeat, but that is why I think that will help Black [AF] survive as a strong, superhero comic book of color.  Kwanza's words will make this story the kind of Black sci-fi that can weather the slings and arrows of outrageous comic book shop owners who don't want “blacks, homos, and freaking females” on the pecker-wood of their KKK store shelves.  And Dave Sharpe's sharp lettering assures that we can read every chocolate thunder word.

9 out of 10

[This comic book includes a preview of the comic book, The Wilds, by Vita Ayala and Emily Pearson 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 [AF]: America's Sweetheart

BLACK [AF]: AMERICA'S SWEETHEART
BLACKMASK STUDIO – @blackmaskstudio @BLACKsuprppowrs

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Kwanza Osajyefo – @kwanzer
DESIGNER: Tim Smith 3
ART: Jennifer Johnson
LETTERS: Dave Sharpe
COVER: Sho Murase
ISBN: 978-1-62875-191-8; paperback (Tuesday, February 13, 2018)
Diamond Distributors code: SEP171271 (in comic book shops Wednesday, January 31, 2018)
80pp, Color, $9.99 U.S.

T/Teen

Black [AF]: America's Sweetheart is a 2018, full-color, original graphic novel.  It is set in the world of Black (now known as Black [AF]), the 2016-2017 six-issue miniseries created by writer Kwanza Osajyefo and artist-designer Tim Smith 3.  In the world of Black, only Black people have super-powers.  Black [AF]: America's Sweetheart is written by Osajyefo; drawn and colored by Jennifer Johnson; and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

Black [AF]: America's Sweetheart introduces Eli Franklin, a 15-year-old African-American girl adopted into a white family that lives on a ranch in Helena, Montana.  When she is a small child, Eli discovers that she has abilities that other people, including other children, do not have.  After he discovers Eli's powers, her father, a high-ranking government and White House official, tries to keep Eli's power secret.

However, once Eli becomes a public figure, her father manages Eli as a superhero, named “Good Girl,” who does good things to help people.  Good Girl is effectively a public relations stunt to tamper the fear of white people.  White people are angry because only black people have super-powers, and, in their fear, believe that all black people have or will have powers.  Eli is happy to do her part to make people less fearful, but someone with a connection to Eli's mysterious past is determined to put an end to Eli's mission.  The story also features a guest appearance by “X” of the original Black miniseries.

In a world that fears and hates them, what if only black people had super-powers?  That is a bold and crazy premise; that is a bold and crazy and ballsy premise from a group of African-America comic book creators, especially when one considers that much of the American comic book marketplace caters to older white males.  The six-issue Black miniseries was refreshingly confrontational, and it was unapologetic in its political and social themes and commentary that came from an African-America and Black American perspective.

Black [AF]: America's Sweetheart is less confrontational, but absolutely does not shy away from the original comic's politics.  It is just a bit clever about the way those politics are presented.  It is beautifully drawn and colored in a clean style that is similar to the graphics used in kids' graphic novels.  However, the fear-of-a-black-planet theme resonates throughout this original graphic novel (OGN).  White people in America are still afraid of super-powered black people, but the focus of Black [AF]: America's Sweetheart is Eli Franklin's quest to find her place in a society that fears her.  The story is not as much about a search for identity, which is what her adversary wants – to make Eli understand who and what she really is or who and what she was meant to be.

Eli's quest is played out in a massive, battle of super-powers that takes up about half this OGN's story, but that battle allows Osajyefo space to play out messages and themes involving the oppression of African-Americans and Black people, in general, by a society that wants to simultaneously enslave them and to exploit their powers and abilities.  What he means is white people making black people chattel slaves again – using black slave labor for the white oppressor's gain.

So, on the surface, Black [AF]: America's Sweetheart is about a teenage Black superhero, the first black person to put on a costume and use her powers as if she were a comic book superhero.  It is a superhero graphic novel for teenagers.  Just beneath the surface, however, Black [AF]: America's Sweetheart returns to the themes and motifs of the Black miniseries.  It is like hiding medicine inside candy in order the trick the kid into taking the medicine he or she needs.  Bravo, Mr. Osajyefo and Ms. Johnson.  We are ready for a second spoonful of medicine.

9 out of 10

blacksuperpowers.com

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 #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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I Reads You Juniors October 2017 - Update #59

Support Leroy on Patreon.

From BleedingCool:  Tim Sale, known for his Batman work, especially "Batman: The Long Halloween," is talking about returning to Batman and is eyeing two projects.

From BleedingCool:  Liam Sharp is drawing an ongoing Batman/Wonder Woman comic book.

From DailyJSTOR:  An article about Ezra Jack Keats, the man whose "Snowy Day" book helped diversify children's books.

From BleedingCool:  Bryan Talbot's new graphic novel, "Grandville: Force Majeure," uses anti-spoiler technology.

From PREVIEWSWorld:  Grant Morrison talks about his BOOM! Studios comic book, Klaus and The Cris in Xmasville #1.

From Crunchyroll:  Shinobu Ohtaka's manga, "Magi," is nearing its end.

From TheNational:  Japan's manga sector gets a tech makeover.

From CBR:  Writer Matthew Rosenberg talks about why "The Punisher" is moving into the "Marvel Legacy" era as "War Machine."

From BleedingCool:  Rick Remender really wants you to read his comic book, "Black Science" (Image Comics).

From MangaTokyo:  "Fullmetal Alchemist" creator finally made her first TV appearance.

From ComicBook:  The surprising comic book origins of "Playboy."

From NewPressNow:  A local poet laureate produces a graphic novel.

From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #140 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #140 in French.

From BleedingCool:  Liam Sharp has a new comic book coming out in February 2018.  It's a mystery.

From IndianapolisRecorder:  Tyeesha Bradley is creating comics. [Beautiful art. - Leroy]

From BleedingCool:  Rob Liefeld vs. Diamond Comic Distributors.

From CBR:  Was "The Walking Dead" comic book going to feature aliens?

From FocusTaiwan:  The government of Taiwan plans on spending the equivalent of $33 million US over the next four years to develop its manga sector.

From TheHypedGeek:  "Saint Seiya: Next Dimension" returns next spring.

From BleedingCool:  Avatar Press announces January 2018 solicitations.

From Crunchyroll:  The "One Piece" manga has sold 430 million copies worldwide.

From BedfordandBowery:  "The Unquotable Trump" puts President Trump's words in the mouth of actual comic book villains.

From Mainichi:  The "Lost Manga" of Edo period artist Katsushika Hokusai is published.

From BleedingCool:  Lion Forge Comics announces its January 2018 comic book solicitations.

From BleedingCool:  Raina Telgemeirer's new graphic novel, "Drama," has been banned by an entire educational district in Texas.

From ComicBookBin:  Johnny Bullet episode #139 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  Johnny Bullet episode #139 in French.

From CBR:  Three characters from the hit "Wonder Woman" film join the Wonder Woman comic book.

From BleedingCool:  Warp Graphics of Richard and Wendy Pini and "Elfquest" fame has applied for a trademark for the name, "Futurequest," similar to DC Comics' "Future Quest."

From GizmodoUK:  The horror manga of Junji Ito will become an anime anthology called, "Collection."

From BleedingCool:  [One of my favorite writers - Leroy] Jim Zub answers a loaded questions about how he broke into Marvel Comics as a writer with class and perfection.

From TheVillageVoice:  The 41 freakiest cosplayers of New York Comic Con 2017 - according to the Voice.

From Philly.com:  Ta-Nehisi Coates ("Black Panther") is joining artist Jen Bartel to produce a new comic book starring the X-Men's "Storm."

From BlackEnterprise:  The business of Black comic books, comics produced by creators of color.

From ABC2News:  From Annapolis, Maryland, a profile of local boy Rodney Barnes who is writing Marvel Comics' "Falcon."

From PawhuskaJournal:  Nonprofit promotes literacy through comic books.

From CBRBlog:  The death of one character in "The Walking Dead" comic book will be used for another character on the "The Walking Dead" TV series.

From KARE11:  Students use comic books to teach cyber bulling awareness.

From WordBallon:  The blog features a podcast interview in which NBA legend and Hall of Fame basketball player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, talks about being a lifelong comic book fan.

From BleedingCool:  So Spider-Man was Jack Kirby's idea, so says Mark Evanier.

From Previews:  Dynamite Entertainment has gained a license to produced comic books based on the 1988 horror film, "Pumpkinhead."

From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #138 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #138 in French.

From BleedingCool:  There has been a fire at the Charles Schulz Museum.

From FlickeringMyth:  Titan Comics will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the classic British TV series, "The Prisoner," with a new comic book.

From ComicBook:  VIZ Media announces two new Pokemon manga.

From BleedingCool:  TOKYOPOP announces that it will produce original comics based on Walt Disney properties and will release English editions of Japanese manga based on Disney properties.

From RollingStone:  Square Enix turning manga in VR comics.

From BleedingCool:  Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici announce a new comic book from Image Comics, "Oblivion Song."

From WeGotThisCovered:  Marvel Comics announces "Old Man Hawkeye."

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics will feature to longtime writer/editor Len Wein in the comic books on sale today, Wed. Oct. 4th.

From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #137 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #137 in French.

From BleedingCool:  Nnedi Okorafor and Andre Lima Araujo will launch a Black Panther digital comic book, "Black Panther: Long Live the King."  It will be available on comiXology and Kindle beginning December 13th.

From ComicBook:  The live-action play based on the manga, "Blue Exorcist" releases its first visual.

From JakartaPost:  Hiro Mashima looks back on his recently ended epic fantasy manga, "Fairy Tail."

From MangaTokyo:  A Tokyo airbnb features a house with 2500 volumes of manga.

From BleedingCool:  At the upcoming 2017 New York Comic Con, you can have lunch with comic book artist J. Scott Campbell for the price of $455 or $1495.

From ComicsBeat:  Kwanza Osayjefo, the co-creator of the comic book series, "Black," talks about that comic book and its past, present, and future.

From SyFyWire:  A thief was arrested trying to sell vintage copies of Amazing Spider-Man #1 and X-Men #1 that he stole.

From DiversionsoftheGroovyKind:  An essay about Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson's Batgirl and Robin splash pages from the late 1960s.

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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