Active in the 1940s and 1950s golden age of comic books, he is the first known african american artist to find success in the comic book industry. These gods amongst geeks range from british trailblazer dave gibbons to american legend jack kirby. A hardcover collection of art and essays showcasing the best african american artists in todays vibrant comic book culture. Here are the top ten artists that you voted as your favorites of alltime. If youre looking for more, check out black comics month and the blerdgurl, two curators of black comics content across the web. Originally from the detroit area, pollard is best known for his simultaneous work on the marvel comics titles fantastic four, the mighty thor, and the. See more ideas about black comics, comic book characters, fantasy sword. Clarence matthew baker december 10, 1921 august 11, 1959 was an american comic book artist and illustrator, best known for drawing early comics heroines such as the costumed crimefighter phantom lady, and romance comics. Jan 4, 2020 research about artists book created by african american artists. I was puzzled as to how a comic book company could sustain itself on free content. As noted in his entry in the top writers countdown, george herriman produced krazy kat for three decades, one of the most acclaimed comic strips in the history of the medium. The 25 greatest comic book artists from the last 25 years syfy.
Yet, few of todays comic book fans know of the artist or his work, because he died in 1959 at. Africanamerican artists are hot right now, with more and more of them exhibiting in big chelsea galleries, as well as in major museums like moma, the whitney and the met. Here, writers threw all of it out the window and showed us that a comic book. I found this book to be interesting, fun, and welldone.
Aug 10, 2016 for my first post around the black comic creators you should know theme, i focused exclusively on artists. Destiny ajaye is one of the best new black characters introduced in the past decade. Ormes comic strips were syndicated in black newspapers in the 1930s and 40s, making her the only nationally syndicated black woman cartoonist until the 1990s. Comic republic avonnome, aje, gurdian prime, ireti and more when i first heard about comic republic i was surprised to find out that they were offering free downloads of all of their titles.
Moondogs is gone, but both challengers and chicago comics remain nationally famous and. But according to sheyahshe, indigenous comic book consumers are starting to demand better representations of the world around them, and a growing number of native artists are providing them. Blerdcon is a threeday comic book, cosplay, anime and popculture convention like no other. How black comics creators are changing the game mtv.
Black comic book artists gather in philadelphia for ecbacc 2009. About the author latest posts ronniquecurriejoin us for a night of stand up blerd comedy. African american comic book history detectives pbs. Mar 11, 2014 designing these characters, the worlds they protect and how they can live in synergy with words on a page is an art in itself and comic book artists have a huge and worldwide following. Celebrating the contributions of african american comic book. The amazing stylistic history of comic books 99designs. African american culture is american culture the storied panel has become an institution of established mentors. A cartoonist also comic strip creator, comic book artist, graphic novel artist, or comic book illustrator is a visual artist who specializes in drawing cartoons individual images or comics sequential images.
Its events include panels, workshops, gaming tournaments, cosplay contests, anime screenings and more. Robert washington iii was the cocreator of static and cowrote the initial arc with dwayne mcduffie before writing the book by himself for the next fifteen issues or so. The comic is made by a collaboration of writers and artists, including franquin, fournier, cauvin and jije. The east coast black age of comics convention gathers african american comic book artists every year to share their work and techniques and the latest in the genre. The people on this list must have worked primarily in american comics. Work on these three major comic book heroes makes him one of the greatest comic book artists of all time. Then this is your home, we have been waiting for you.
But as i matured as a reader, i began to appreciate the effort it takes to successfully write an engaging comic book. Mickalene thomas, portrait of mnonja, 2010, rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel on wood panel, smithsonian american art museum saam is home to one of the most significant collections of african american art in the world, boasting more than two thousand works by more than two hundred african american artists. The author uses a great deal of jackies artwork throughout the book. The son of an enslaved black woman and a white man, johnson was born into slavery around 1763. Jackie ormes 19111986, first africanamerican female.
As box office figures can attest, comic books are big business, with successful cinematic adaptations proving that superheroes have made the leap from pop cultural niche to mainstream entertainment. Whether youre a comic artist or a painter you still experience similar situations like lack of inspiration or constantly being asked will you draw me. With the popularity of manga overtaking american comics amongst. Its almost as phenomenal as having a black man on the moon. Lack of black representation in the comic book world is what writer devyn. African superheroes are emerging, as comic book creators from the continent seek to change the meaning of diversity, bringing relatable characters. For us as black kids or women of color, or people of a color period. But as i matured as a reader, i began to appreciate the effort it takes to. Perhaps his best moment in the series is the infamous monkeyfcking flashback issue. May 16, 2016 african superheroes are emerging, as comic book creators from the continent seek to change the meaning of diversity, bringing relatable characters and rich storytelling traditions to the.
Feb 17, 2016 now, of course, this isnt every black comic book artist worth mentioningnot even close. Comic stripbook creators of africanamerican heritage. In the past year, weve seen a slew of articles about the rise of african superheroes and african comics on sites like forbes, yahoo news, cnn, mashable, the guardian, buzz feed and many more. Associated press article on african american comic book artists donald mcquay pictured and turtel onli. The immense popularity of comics and graphic novels cannot be ignored. To celebrate all the artists out there, bored panda has put together a list of hilarious comics that only artists will understand.
Feb 04, 2014 urbanmediatoday this black history month, the city of pittsburgh is celebrating the rich tradition of african american comic book artist from the pittsburgh area. I was thrilled when i heard that he had a comic out and it was the first id ever heard coming out of south africa. Although comics have different formats, this list covers creators of comic books, graphic novels and comic strips, along with early innovators. Comic strip book creators of african american heritage. Readers also get a very detailed biography about the woman who is known as the first african american woman cartoonist. Black comic book artists gather in philadelphia for ecbacc. For my first post around the black comic creators you should know theme, i focused exclusively on artists.
The list presents authors with the united states as their country of origin, although they may have published or now be resident in other countries. After graduating from ridge technical high school in cambridge, massachusetts, he studied for a year in boston at the vesper george school of art and then joined the army in 1958 at the age of 23. The black beetle, the black coat detective comics, zorro. Her characters were fashionable and intelligent, setting a new precedent for black depictions of that day 193756. Matt baker was a prolific africanamerican comic book artist from the. Hes worked on batman, batgirl, robin and currently on all allnew ghost. Cartoonists may work in many formats, such as booklets, comic. Black artists like jeanmichel basquiat, augusta savage, kara walker, jacob lawrence and gordon parks show the african american perspective to the world. Second, the comic book industry is our pool, so even though many excellent strip artists began or worked a portion of their career in the comic book.
The weather witch my favorite comic book character of all time storm. Designing these characters, the worlds they protect and how they can live in synergy with words on a page is an art in itself and comic book artists have a huge and worldwide following. Erika alexander, is an actress and writer famous for roles such as pam tucker from. The classic belgian comic books you need to read culture trip. Black comic book superheroes allison keyes traces the history and the lasting appeal of africanamerican comic book characters. However, black writers like christopher priest and wayne mcduffie. It includes comics creators that can also be found in the parent category, or in diffusing subcategories of the parent. Before anyone cries outrage at why george perez and walt simonson are not on this list, despite continuing to produce amazing work, please remember that were just talking about seminal works from the last 25 years.
Black comix brings together an unprecedented collection of largely unheard but in light of the comics boom that has taken place over the past 10 years, the artists, writers and publishers that make up the vibrant african american independent comics community have remained relatively unknown until now. When i created my mamas boyz comics, i had only seen a few comic strips that had africanamerican characters in starring roles. Art by african americans smithsonian american art museum. The following 83 pages are in this category, out of.
Despite their wide appeal, however, comic books, at least the established titles that usually become big screens franchises, are still predominantly filled with white, male characters, especially. Black writer promotes diversity in the comic book industry the. The influence of horror can be seen in venom, with his unhinging jaw of razor teeth and body of black goo. After collaborating on a variety comicsrelated projects over the last 5 years, john jennings and damian duffy have put together an anthology, black comix. Native american superheroes storm comic books al jazeera. There has been a lowlevel explosion of native comic books since about 2010, he said. This is because my first real connection to comics was with the art.
Jackie ormes 19111986, first africanamerican female cartoonist. As far back as 2006, a new york times article headline read african comics is now far beyond the funny pages. The east coast black age of comics convention gathers africanamerican comic book artists every year to share their work and techniques and the latest in the genre. But in light of the comics boom that has taken place over the past 10 years, the artists, writers and publishers that make up the vibrant african american independent comics community have remained relatively unknown until now. Check out the africanamerican artists to watch right now. Weary of worlds where black superheroes are an afterthought. Like so many american art forms that have grown and spread throughout the global audiences, comic books have been one of the most successful ones to become popularized in the nation that has brought us a variety of influences. Our contributor found an unusual 1950s comic book at an auction, titled negro romance this was the golden age of comic books, when americans voraciously consumed stories about. Urbanmediatoday this black history month, the city of pittsburgh is celebrating the rich tradition of african american comic book artist from the pittsburgh area. Like arvell jones, who showed up earlier in the countdown, keith pollard was one of a group of notable comic book artists who came out of the. Comic book styles have evolved to match the stories of the heroes. These latino comic book artists create their own superheroes.
A lot of the time there would be one incidental character. I ve actually been a huge fan of kwesi designer, artist and creator loyiso mkizes artwork for quite some time. Now, here is a list of five african comic artists you should know about right away. Black comix is a series of art books curated by damian duffy and john jennings, brought to you. Oct 11, 20 it reminded me of my early experiments with drawing color comics in grammar schoolin 1968 i was discharged from the united states army in japan and began studies in japanese history and culture at sophia university in tokyoin 1972, while still in school, i saw and read my first issue of an underground comic book, the fabulous furry freak. To celebrate the last 25 years in comics, were looking back at the greatest comic book artists from the last quarter century. The biggest comic book names since 1992, all combined in one place. Black panther, luke cage and the first black artist to draw both. One, in acknowledgment of the more famous billy graham was by all.
Cartoonists include the artists who handle all aspects of the work and those who contribute only part of the production. In describing lead feature ace harlem, time magazine wrote, the villains were a couple of zootsuited, jivetalking negro muggers, whose presence in anyone elses comics might have brought up complaints of racial distortion. African american graphic artists from around the country are meeting in philadelphia this weekend for an annual convention. Probably most famous for his phantom lady comics, baker had a very. Jacob lawrence was an american painter, and the most widely acclaimed african american artist of the 20th century. Africanamerican graphic artists from around the country are meeting in philadelphia this weekend for an annual convention. The 10 greatest comic book artists of all time creative bloq. A jamaican born comic book artist who has worked with both dc and marvel. See more ideas about african american artist, american artists, artist books.
Join us in representing all colors of the diaspora and culture at the black joy parade, february 24th. Chicago is also home to plenty of female comic books artists and writers. Grant, known for his digestsized comic book series, the love rangers, was born february 14, 1935. Matt baker is often considered the first known successful african american artist in the comic book industry clarence matthew baker was born on december 10, 1921 in forsyth county, north carolina. African comic book artists bring new superheroes to life. The emergence of african comic characters, superheroes not just marvels black panther and supervillains courtesy of comic artists who are african isnt something one glosses over. There are comics programs at the american academy of art. The 25 greatest comic book artists from the last 25 years. We start off with one of the first artists to have worked in the american comic book industry. Oct 01, 2015 the omnipresent influence of comic books is undeniable, and here we take a look at the famous artists from the medium who have shaped the surface of popular culture. Its been amazing the attention mainstream media has been giving to africans who are making a difference in the comic book space. Dec 16, 2016 african american artists are hot right now, with more and more of them exhibiting in big chelsea galleries, as well as in major museums like moma, the whitney and the met.