Black Age of Comics Convention XIV: July 8-10, 2011
Posted on | July 2, 2011 | 1 Comment
Next weekend is Turtel Onli’s Black Age of Comics Convention XIV. I have been invited for a few years, but this is the first time I’ll be able to attend, because I am very important and busy and famous, and you have no doubt gleaned from the tabloid headlines.
“CARTOONIST GUY FALLS ASLEEP ON COUCH AFTER DAY WHERE 2 YEAR OLD LANDED A RECORD 3 TESTICLE PUNCHES!”
Back off, media vultures!
Anyway, lots of Black Age coolness in store for the weekend. Be there or… I dunno… I’ll be sad?
Friday July 8th:
Signings: Graham Crackers Comic Book Super Store at 77 East Madison in Chicago will host Eric Battle illustrator of The Scourge, N. Steven Harris of Vampire Huntress & The Fringe along with Turtel Onli of NOG NU!! at noon until 2pm.
First Aid Comics at 1617 East 55th Street in Hyde Park will host Eric Battle of The Scourge, N. Steven Harris of Vampire Huntress & The Fringe, and Damian Duffy of Black Comix, from 5pm until 7pm.
Black Age Art Stars & Creators Networking Bar set: 7pm to 10pm Falcon Inn in Hyde Park, Chicago, (President Obama’s personal ‘hood) at 1601 East 53rd Street
Sat. & Sun: July 9th & 10th:
Visit our tent during the Annual DuSable Museum’s Arts & Crafts Festival. Free Admission Noon to 8pm.
Meet Eric Battle illustrator of Aspen, Marvel & DC fame, N. Steven Harris, Creator of the “Fringe”, Tim Jackson political cartoonist, Turtel Onli, Creator of NOG, Corey Greene, Digital Colorist, Damian Duffy, author of “Black Comix” & others artists, designers and writers.
In Whitest Day, In Blackest Night: Race and the Green Lantern Movie
Posted on | June 14, 2011 | 14 Comments
Updated 6/15/11 to fix ridiculous typos in last names: Nick Jones, Jr., not Nick Cannon (shudder) has a cameo as John Stewart in the GL film. Hal Jordan, not Prince Valiant artist Hal Foster, is the name of the Green Lantern Ryan Reynolds portrays. Sorry bout that y’all. It was late, and I was tired. Which it will also likely say on my gravestone.
Over on the facebook page, I posted a link to Marc Bernardin’s brief rumination on the whiteness of the Green Lantern chosen as the main character of the upcoming film. Regular readers of the blog will know that TimeWarnerDC’s choice of Hal Foster Jordan over John Stewart is something that I’ve been on about for quite a while now.
Marc Bernardin’s observation is:
…if all you know of GL comes from the “Justice League” cartoons, you might think that Warner Bros. was pulling some kind of bait and switch — replacing a strong black character with a white one simply to appeal to a larger audience. You’d be wrong, but in a way that’s entirely understandable.
I don’t say this to question, in any way, the decision to use the John Stewart Lantern for the cartoon. The late Dwayne McDuffie knew what he was doing, giving black kids a face they could identify with on screen while adding some internal conflict — the lifeblood of drama — to the League’s ranks.
Nor do I think this little cultural hiccup will ultimately affect “Green Lantern’s” box office potential. If you start crunching the numbers, you’ll find that black people make up about 12 percent of America’s 300 million people. And of that 12 percent, how many watched Justice League but didn’t read comics? Not so big an audience that Warner Bros. is leaving a ton of cash on the table. (Though, I’ll bet if Will Smith — the last real movie star — had decided he wanted to play Green Lantern, Warner Bros. would’ve happily kicked Ryan Reynolds to the curb. It is all, at the end of the day, about the green, if you know what I mean.)
I have to disagree with Bernardin’s take on this “little cultural hiccup,” because the hiccup is just a small symptom for a larger gastrointestinal distress in the bowels of American culture. Oh yeah. It’s important you stretch a metaphor to make it limber.
First off, in noting that black people make up 12 percent of the population, Bernardin seems to assert that ONLY BLACK PEOPLE would be bothered by the whiteness of the movie Green Lantern (or, more appropriately, the choice of using Hal Jordan over John Stewart).
Aren’t there any people from other races who saw the animated series that was on for six years, but didn’t read the comics? Almost certainly. TV shows reach more people than comic books; superhero comic books don’t do more than graze young readers, who tend to be more interested in reading manga if they’re reading comics at all. And, he, let’s get crazy, might there even be some WHITE JLU fans whose reaction would also be, “Hey? What the hell? Since when is Green Lantern white?!” I don’t have any charts or graphics on this, but I’d say it’s possible.
What I can tell you with certainty is that, as a white dude who knows both the comics and the cartoons, and studies race in comics and media, I’m annoyed by the whiteness of the movie GL precisely because of Dwayne McDuffie’s achievement in casting John Stewart in the JL and JLU animated series. Here’s an excerpt from the McDuffie tribute article run by CBR back in February (and linked to by Bernardin):
Many also believed the resurgent popularity of Green Lantern and the upcoming live action movie were a direct result of McDuffie’s popularizing Green Lantern John Stewart on “Justice League.”
“I personally think there’s a Green Lantern movie coming out this year because of [‘Justice League’]. It set a template for that character, made that character relevant in a way it never had been, not for me. I think after that, the writing in the comic books got a lot better, and it led to the character being embraced on a big level,” said LaMarr.
When asked what would be McDuffie’s lasting legacy, all agreed that his greatest gift was to the kids who grew up reading Milestone, watching “Static Shock” and “Justice League,” and believing in a world where anyone, black or white, could be a superhero.
“All the young kids who grow up reading his stuff and watching it and are shown through Dwayne’s work the possibilities of their humanity–that’s the legacy,” said Cowan.
Sure, Ryan Reynolds may play a fine, lovably sarcastic Hal Jordan, but in the end, does Ryan Reynolds show you the possibilities of your humanity?
My pecs and I often enjoy shirtlessness.
Sure, he’s ripped, and sure, he looks like Hal Jordan. Really, Reynolds fits Hal like a glowing body suit because both are choices that are safe and, ultimately, kind of fucking boring.
Do me a favor, go look at this page from Diamond Comics Distributors newsletter for educators, Bookshelf, about how to integrate various Green Lantern comics into lesson plans. Now, think about all the merchandising and licensing that goes along with a summer block buster. All the toys, t-shirts, fruit snacks, Lipton teas, beach towels, video games, all that. What if it were a black face behind the green mask in these images of superheroism that get plastered all over everywhere? That the kids can’t help but eat up with a spoon. What would it mean to give kids a black superhero for a summer tentpole? For a massive intellectual property franchise?
I do agree with Bernardin that the primary factor is money, sticking your debit card into the ATM a dying bank gave you and repeating the oath: “Cash Rules Everything Around Me.”
But the point for me is not that Will Smith’s movie stardom (unique among African-American actors) could’ve sold a John Stewart movie. Nor is the point, for me, that the Ryan Reynolds flick will do just fine at the box office. The point, my point, is that somewhere in the process of choosing Hal Foster Jordan over John Stewart is the implicit assumption that a white superhero is more marketable than a black one, even though the black one is the more widely known of the two, particularly among the younger demographics the DCTimeWarnerAOL purveyors of merchandise want to hook. Even though money is the primary motivator at the corporate level, a black superhero is still considered a bad investment by Hollywood.
But, hey, Bernardin’s right, isn’t he? African-Americans make up only 12% of the population. People on our facebook page have been agreeing: Why cater to just that 12%, especially when the white character has broader appeal?
But this 12% argument is undergirded by an implicit logic that maintains an institutionalized white privileged view of “white” as a default for “normal.” Why the hell couldn’t a multiracial audience support a John Stewart Green Lantern movie starring, say, Omar Epps or Chiwetel Ejiofor or, dare I say it, Idris Elba? I mean, if it was a good movie, why not?
Green Lantern: Doing considerable for more than the purple skins.
Many are quick to point out that Nick Cannon Jones, Jr. has a cameo playing John Stewart in the first movie. He’ll probably be there for a sequel, like War Machine in Iron Man 2, but there is a fundamental difference between that and having the first Green Lantern movie feature the African American Green Lantern. Think about how many kids are being introduced to superheroes with the GL movie. What sort of impact does a white or a black GL have on kids’ understanding of the ways people who look like them, and the ways people who look different from them, are portrayed in national and global culture?
Instead, Nick Cannon Jones joins Terrance Howard and Don Cheadle playing second fiddle as the black version of the white hero. The fact is, while they may spruce up the effects and the modernize the outfits, superhero movies by and large continue to reproduce their source materials’ roots in 1950s-60s popular culture industries that relegated people of color to secondary, typecast roles.
The primary reason the Hal Jordan Green Lantern is well known is his collision with real world inequalities in the Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories. Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams used Hal as a straight man through which to address (however bluntly or melodramatically) racism. That was the ground they broke. Dwayne McDuffie made a second-run black comic book superhero into a major animated superhero, and in so doing broke with white supremacist traditions of popular cultural representations of heroism. McDuffie used John Stewart to open up possibilities of socially just representations of multiculturalism in comics. The movie uses Hal Jordan to regress into that old tradition, keeping the black superheroes in the back, waiting on a stray fight scene in the sequel.
Look, it’s not like there’s some quota for black superheroes in mainstream popular culture, or Latin superheroes, or Asian superheroes. But the Green Lantern movie had the potential to continue what McDuffie started, moving a longstanding character of color into the forefront of media representations in a way that no other character really did. A black lead actor in the starring role of a superhero film would have amplified McDuffie’s move of making John Stewart preeminent in the pantheon of superhero mythology. It would have been a sign of social progress in a comic book culture industry that, for all its appeals to the fantastic, still tends towards the predictable, routine, and traditional. I’m sure the Green Lantern film will help pass the time some afternoon, but it could have done something more interesting.
Riddle me this my Hal Jordan upholding geeks: If it's so important that the Green Lantern in the movie be the first Green Lantern from the comics, where's Alan Scott?
Art from the Fam of N. Steven Harris
Posted on | June 10, 2011 | No Comments
Black Comix contributor N. Steven Harris drops word that his daughter Sequoia will be dancing in Brooklyn:
Saturday June 18th
@
Brooklyn College’s Walt Whitman Hall
5:00pm
Tickets can be purchased at
Brooklyn College’s Box Office on the day of the
show.
Even if you're not in Brooklyn, that's still some dope art right there.
Oh, but the talent in the Harris household doesn’t stop there. Sayeth NSH:
LADIES,AND MEN TOO!!!!! IT’S JEWELRY!!! ONE OF A KIND PIECES!!! AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS AND ADD TO YOUR UNIQUENESS!!!!
Checkout my darling and beautiful wife display her wares at the American Crafts Festival this weekend, June 11th and 12th, at Lincoln Center, 64th St. at Columbus Ave.Her booth number is N232-Amajewelry.com
To see some of her work now check out:
www.amajewelry.com
Chicago: Prepare for Da Black Age
Posted on | June 9, 2011 | No Comments
Damian will be there. Will you?
Milestone Comics Didn’t Fail, Comics Failed Milestone
Posted on | June 4, 2011 | 3 Comments
For those of you who were unable to make the Black Comix panel at C2E2 2011 this year (or, if you came in late and were among the crowd of folks standing in the back of the shoeboxish panel room, civilly disobeying the fire code) here’s an edited version of what I had to say during our opening tribute to the late Dwayne McDuffie:
The one time I met Dwayne McDuffie, he told me I was wrong.
Let me explain.
I met Dwayne at the Glyph Comics Awards ceremony, the night before the 2007 East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention. John and I were there because our Katrina story Day 8 had been nominated for a few Glyphs (and then Stagger Lee whupped our asses, as one expects from Stagger Lee
That night in Philadelphia, before the Glyphs ceremony, Dwayne told me what he thought of the catalog. He said he’d liked it, for the most part, but that we’d gotten something wrong. One of the essays in the book, that John wrote and I edited, was about the evolution of the black superhero in mainstream American comics from the 1960s to the present. Naturally, in this essay we mentioned Milestone. And, naturally, that was where Dwayne took issue.
In that essay we made some reference to the Milestone line closing in the 1990s. Dwayne’s point was that Milestone never closed. Milestone Media remained and remains a viable company, licensing its characters to DC Comics for the current Static and Xombi series, the Milestone Forever books before that, and producing the Static Shock animated series before that. Of course, in the essay we only meant that Milestone had ceased publication of its initial line of comics, but, in the grand scheme of things, Dwayne McDuffie was right: We were wrong.
We were wrong in a way I think a lot of people are wrong, when they tell the story of Milestone. When I have occasion to get tangled in the comics-related interwebs, and I come across discussions of Milestone Comics, it tends to be described as a failed experiment. Sure, people recognize the historical significance of the characters in the face of a continual paucity of multiculturalism in the comics “mainstream,” and yes, people acknowledge that some of the characters have lived on in fictions created a decade after they were first introduced, but the overall tone of the Milestone narrative, as told in the comics industry and comics fandom, seems (to me) too much one of endings. Of closings. Of failure.
Anyway, the other thing that tends to come up in conversation about Milestone cite a few causes. Creative tensions. Editorial and managerial issues. The overwhelmingly white male demographic of American comic book readers (i.e. local comic shop patrons), coupled with the persistent and noxious myth that white readers are either unwilling or incapable of identifying with comics characters of color.
And what I’d like to say, what I’d like to suggest, is that Milestone Comics didn’t fail, comics failed Milestone.
Comics failed Milestone in much the same way comics failed female readership. For decades, the myth in the American comics industry was that “girls don’t read comics.” Then manga blew up in the book store market of the early 2000s, especially among teen girl readers, and we saw that myth for what it obviously was. It wasn’t that “girls don’t read comics,” it’s that “girls don’t read YOUR comics.” They don’t read the T&A punchfests that continue to dominate Marvel and DC, that have knelt so long and so persistently on the windpipe of the comic shop market, stunting any real diversity, multiculturalism, and growth in readership and the industry as a whole.
The same holds true for the idea that “Black books don’t sell,” the other ridiculous myth that hangs around the last vestiges of the Direct Comics Market, which has too often had a talent for viewing an addressable issue as an insurmountable natural formation.
Sure, Milestone had creative tensions, editorial and managerial issues, and launched close to the bursting speculator bubble of the mid-to-late 90s, when people who thought they were paying for their retirement with chromium embossed copies of BloodDeathKickFace #0. I’m not saying all that’s not true too.
But, a decade or two down the road, the viability of the Milestone characters, their longevity and their quality seems clear.
Nonetheless, the Green Lantern in the movies is white despite the fact that the majority of GL fans in younger demographics know John Stewart, the African American Green Lantern from the Justice League animated series.
Nonetheless, one of the few African characters in superhero comics is now the American Panther.
A lot of the big name corporate superheroes with any notable melanin content don’t make it out of the Various and Sundry Infinite Crises alive.
Nonetheless, the overall culture of American corporate superhero comics, now being reproduced on screens big and little, silver and HD, remains a culture where diversity is reduced to tokenism, where people of color are sidekicks and extras and temporary fill-ins until the “real” white hero from the 60s is reincarnated.
My point is this: One of Dwayne McDuffie’s legacies is that, if you care about multiculturalism in comics, you should do something about it. If you’re a comics creator, create stories about characters from diverse backgrounds. If you’re a comics fan, stop buying the books from the corporate publishers that have, demonstrably, little to no interest in telling stories about characters with diverse viewpoints. Stop supporting a comics culture that flinches when crazy racists flip out about Idris Elba playing Heimdall in the Thor movie, instead of answering with the only sane response: Idris Elba should have played Thor!
"Now what?"
Support some of the independent artists (such as those we try to feature here at Black Comix) who are pushing the comics medium in new directions. In opening the medium to voices outside of the white male power fantasy.
Dwayne McDuffie didn’t just complain about the monoculture of American comics. He walked the walk. He put out comics with all sorts of different people in them, with all sorts of ideas about what it means to be human. But the American comic book industry didn’t much want to hear it. Still doesn’t.
But now, graphic novels and webcomics and independent publishing all offer alternate outlets for the wonderfully varied culture that has always been there, on the margins of the corporate intellectual property maintenance and licensing most comics press focuses on.
There are other stories to be told, other voices to be heard, that respect things besides drawings of big fists and boobs.
So, if you say you care about this stuff, if you want socially equitable cultural representation, if you’re bothered by the way Disney and Warner Bros. treat your childhood heroes, here’s what you do: Stop dropping money on the latest CrisisWarInvasionCountdownToFearItself tie-in issue, pick your head up, and look around. Put your dollars down on the artists and stories that value diversity.
Look, it's not like they're saying EVERY African wants to be American. Just the king of a hyper-futuristic African nation.
2011 Glyph Comics Awards Winners
Posted on | May 22, 2011 | No Comments
Winners of the 2011 Glyph Comics Awards were announced this past Friday night, opening the festivities of the 10th annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention. Just to go ahead and get the self-serving out of the way: John and I were awarded the newly instituted Chairman’s Award for our art book (for which this here blog was created), JLA: Arsenal: Rise of the Crackhead!!
"My name is Speedy and I kill with Dead Cats!
Or… wait, no. Black Comix: African American Independent Comics Art & Culture. That’s us.
This year's winners listed in bold.
STORY OF THE YEAR
* Afrodisiac; Jim Rugg, co-writer and artist; Brian Maruca, co-writer
* BB Wolf and the 3 LPs; JD Arnold, writer, Richard Koslowski, artist
* Fist Stick Knife Gun; Geoffrey Canada, writer, Jamar Nicholas, artist
* Unknown Soldier: Dry Season; Joshua Dysart, writer, Alberto Ponticello, artist
* Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty; G. Neri, writer, Randy DuBurke, artist
BEST WRITER
* JD Arnold, BB Wolf and the 3 LPs
* Geoffrey Canada, Fist Stick Knife Gun
* Joshua Dysart, Unknown Soldier
* Mat Johnson, Dark Rain
* Jim Rugg & Brian Maruca, Afrodisiac
BEST ARTIST
* Denys Cowan, Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers
* Christian Dibari, Pale Horse
* Simon Gane, Dark Rain
* Richard Koslowski, BB Wolf and the 3 LPs
* Jim Rugg, Afrodisiac
BEST MALE CHARACTER
* Afrodisiac, Afrodisiac; created by Jim Rugg, co-writer and artist, & Brian Maruca, co-writer
* BB Wolf, BB Wolf and the 3 LPs; created by JD Arnold, writer, Richard Koslowski, artist
* Cole, Pale Horse; created by Andrew Cosby & Michael Alan Nelson, writers, Christian Dibari, artist
* Geoff, Fist Stick Knife Gun; Geoffrey Canada, writer, Jamar Nicholas, artist; based on the life of Geoffrey Canada
* Moses Lwanga, Unknown Soldier; Joshua Dysart, writer, Alberto Ponticello, artist; inspired by the character created by Robert Kanigher & Joe Kubert
BEST FEMALE CHARACTER
* Aloya Rose, Unknown Soldier; created by Joshua Dysart, writer, Alberto Ponticello, artist
* Nola Thomas, NOLA; created by Chris Gorak & Pierluigi Cothran, writers; Damian Couceiro, artist
* Sarah, Dark Rain; created by Mat Johnson, writer, Simon Gane, artist
* Scout Montana, Shadoweyes; created by Ross Campbell, writer and artist
* Selena, 28 Days Later; Michael Alan Nelson, writer; Declan Shalvey & Marek Oleksicki, artists; based on the character created by Alex Garland for the motion picture 28 Days Later
RISING STAR AWARD
* Nicholas DaSilva, Dread & Alive
* Carl Herring Jr. & Tod Smith, The Enforcers
* Brandon Howard & Sean Mack; The Revolutionary Times
* Jamar Nicholas, Fist Stick Knife Gun
* Geoffrey Thorne & Todd Harris, Prodigal: Egg of First Light
BEST REPRINT PUBLICATION
* Cold Space TP, BOOM! Studios
* Superman vs. Muhammad Ali Deluxe HC, DC Comics
* Unknown Soldier: Dry Season TP, DC/Vertigo
BEST COVER
* 28 Days Later #6, Tim Bradstreet, illustrator
* Afrodisiac, Jim Rugg, illustrator
* Cold Space #1, Jeffrey Spokes, artist; Juan Maruel Tumburus, colorist
* Unknown Soldier #15, Dave Johnson, illustrator
* Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty; Randy Duburke, illustrator
BEST COMIC STRIP OR WEBCOMIC
* The K Chronicles, Keith Knight, writer and artist
* Marty’s Diner, Dmitri Jackson, writer and artist
* The Revolutionary Times, Brandon Howard, writer, Sean Mack, artist
* Solomon Azua; Jake Ekiss, writer and artist
* World of Hurt, Jay Potts, writer and artist
FAN AWARD FOR BEST COMIC
* Azrael: Angel in the Dark; Fabian Nicieza, writer, Ramon Bachs & John Stanisci, artists
* Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers; Reginald Hudlin, writer, Denys Cowan, artist
* Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural; Rick Remender, writer; Jefte Palo, Gabriel Hardman & Alessandro Vitti, artists
* New Avengers: Heroic Age — Possession; Brian Michael Bendis, writer, Stuart Immonen, Wade von Grawbadger & Art Adams, artists
* New Avengers: Luke Cage — Town Without Pity; John Arcudi, writer; Eric Canete, artist
Jamar Nicholas' adaptation of Geoffrey Canada's autobiography was the big winner of the night.
No dead cats were used as instruments of blunt force trauma during the writing of this post.
2011 Black Comix Panel @ C2E2
Posted on | March 6, 2011 | 1 Comment
Black Comix Panel @ C2E2: Submissions For McDuffie Tribute, Giving Away Comics, Talking About Race
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chicago, IL—March 18, 2011—”Zap! Boom! Pow! Comics aren’t just for white kids anymore!” This is the claim of the action-packed 2011 Black Comix Panel @ C2E2, Friday, March 18, Rm. 473, 3:30-4:30pm.
Join Damian Duffy + John Jennings, authors of the art book Black Comix: African American Independent Comics Art & Culture, for a discussion about race and comics with Stanford Carpenter (Brother Story), Ashley A. Woods (Millennia War), Jiba Anderson (The Horsemen), and Turtel Onli (Malcolm-10, Sustah Girl). Get ready for real talk about comics and diversity, the growing popularity of National Black Comic Book Day, comics in education, how Milestone never failed, and, if you get Damian going, the injustice of sidelining John Stewart for Hal Jordan in the Green Lantern movie.
This panel will, of course, be dedicated to the memory of Dwayne McDuffie.
CALL FOR IMAGES: Dwayne McDuffie Tribute Images
Artists! Have you, or are you planning to, create a tribute image for Dwayne McDuffie? We’d like to show the impact he had on the comics community by projecting a slide show of tribute images during the Black Comix panel at C2E2. If you have created such an image, and would like it included in the slide show, please send a jpeg attached to an e-mail with the subject line: “C2E2 DMcD Tribute” to duff@eyetrauma.net. All images must be received by Wednesday, March 16, 2011 to be included in the slideshow.
RAFFLE: Panel attendees will be given raffle tickets with the chance to win copies of the art book Black Comix: African American Independent Comics Art & Culture (Mark Batty Publisher, 2010), and other surprising prizes from the culture of comics of color!
For information: http://blackcomixbook.com
Contact: duff@eyetrauma.net
Phone: 217-355-8569
# # #
“You cast a long shadow/And that is your testament”
Posted on | February 25, 2011 | 2 Comments
UPDATED Thursday, March 3
Dwayne McDuffie passed away on February 21, 2011, at the age of 49, one day after his birthday and the release of the animated adaption he wrote of All-Star Superman.
In honor of Mr. McDuffie, a number of the contributors to Black Comix have chosen to share with us their stories, memories, and appreciations of the astoundingly prolific writer/editor/producer. Mr. McDuffie’s skill as a storyteller was effortless and inspiring whether the pictures moved in your head or on the screen. His vision and dedication to the cause of a more socially just and multicultural comics industry cannot be overstated. And, as the stories collected below illustrate, he was one of the kindest and most supportive industry professionals you could ever be lucky enough to meet.
Like many of the people below, my experiences with Mr. McDuffie were brief, but awesome. In 2007, John and I curated our first art show, Other Heroes. The catalog, which was being sold for charity, was so ridiculously close to the exhibition, we had to put it together over a weekend. Just a day or two before said insane weekend of editing, writing, and book design, I got an e-mail from Dwayne McDuffie. As they say in the funny pages, holy $#&!
When we began the project, I sent an e-mail to Mr. McDuffie, seeing if he’d have the time and the inclination to hook us up with a forward for the Other Heroes catalog. I didn’t hear back and, awash in the mad tides of planning the show itself, I didn’t follow up. Until a couple days before we needed the catalog done to have some printed for the show. I shot off another e-mail, asking if he might be able to write something in a couple days time. I assumed that, given that it was a last minute request for free writing from the co-founder of Milestone comics from some guy in Illinois no one’d ever heard of, this was sort of a lost cause. But I wrote it anyway, typing out a sheepish tone, trying to find the text to convey that I knew this was a ridiculous imposition but, still, if he didn’t mind…
The reply came quick. The intro for my book was on Dwayne McDuffie’s work calendar. I’d have it the next day. And I did. And it was better than perfect.
I met Mr. McDuffie in person only once, at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention Glyph Awards. He pointed out an error in one of our essays about Milestone. I quickly blamed John, as is my custom in such situations. We talked about Spider-Man 3, which had just come out and disappointed pretty much everyone except me. All of the comics creator folk hung out later that evening, but we split up into the people eating and the people drinking. Dwayne opted for the former, I for the latter, as is my custom in such situations. The next day, at the con, I bought an issue of Superman from him. And that was about it.
Yep, lame story, I know, but it’s the only one I have of Dwayne McDuffie the man. The writer, on the other hand, I have so many of his stories. Milestone comics and I were close companions during my misbegotten comic book nerd youth. They were superhero stories without the bombastic explosions of muscle and vein and anatomical impossibility. They were people with lives full of meaning, and struggle, and human emotion, and the simple beauty of a story well told. And, of course, they were the tales of characters of color which, even in my mindless adolescence, I knew was rare. Important. Although, at the time, I couldn’t have articulated why.
The Milestone books were far from the first works by Mr. McDuffie I owned. I was nine when I caught on to Damage Control, the second series, where Doom Defaults, and I followed his work as often as I could thereafter. Later, the sample scripts he hosted on his website gave me more help as a writer than any How To Write Comics book ever did. Each script was compelling and precise in a way I can only hope to achieve.
I can’t help but feel strange, heartbroken at the loss of a gentleman I barely spoke to. I feel foolish, or selfish, like I’m co-opting the mourning of the people who knew him best. But, although we barely spoke, his work, his accomplishments, his art certainly had a lot to say to me. (After all, it requires very little linework to connect Point A, white kid in the Chicago South Suburbs, snatching up a polybagged Hardware #1 to Point B, Black Comix writer blogger guy.)
I would have liked to know the man better. I would have liked to continue the conversation with the writer longer. My condolences to anyone who had the extreme pleasure of meeting either one.
Damian Duffy
Champaign, IL
2/25/2011
–
Remembering Dwayne McDuffie
The heart is always heavy when you’ve lost a loved one. And Dwayne McDuffie was loved…by many. I began my pursuit of a career in comics shortly after I graduated from art school in the late eighties. A few years later I attended (for the first time in my career) a comic book convention at the Jacob Javits center in New York. Any pro will tell you that the Javits shows of the early nineties were definitely the place to be! This was also the time that Milestone Media made its debut. I loved all of their books and knew in my mind that if I was going to work in this business…it had to be at Milestone. After being completely overwhelmed by all the long portfolio review lines and overall chaotic nature of the convention scene back then, I was ready to go home without a single connection or a job. As I made my way toward the exit I saw Dwayne. He was all by himself with nobody around him, just hanging out. I immediately said to myself…”That’s Dwayne McDuffie! Go introduce yourself and show him your work! This could be your big chance!” So I did. Without a moment’s hesitation he looked through every page of my portfolio. I received some of the best advice and criticism of my career that day. Dwayne was the first professional comic book creator that I met and the most humble. Unfortunately I never got my chance to work for Milestone back then. So when the DC comics editors called and asked if I would be interested in working on the recent Milestone Forever project, I naturally said yes. I was finally able to realize a dream, by being given the opportunity to be recognized in the same light with the original creators from the only company I wanted to work for, at the beginning of my career. A proud moment? Indeed.
I can’t believe you are gone my friend. You had so much more work to do…so many more people to empower and inspire…and probably above all else, so many, many, many more stories to tell. I will miss you dearly.
Rob Stull
2/23/11
–
I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work for McDuffie at Milestone. It was a life changing experience that I couldn’t have gotten had I been able to attend the Kubert school, which I was accepted to. The lack of funds inspired me to pursue the comic industry via Milestone instead of college. It was more than the best decision. Though the internship under McDuffie was at times frustrating since he made the interns wear ties, and I hated getting lost in NY on the trains, missing lunch, and the low intern pay, lol, I embraced a wealth of experience that I later understood to be worth more than the Kubert school could’ve ever given me. McDuffie was and still is a legend and a wonderful individual who I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to encounter. We had in depth conversations that I carry with me till this day and his commentary about the comic industry was revolutionary from the inside out. McDuffie is missed and I wish I had taken the time to maintain a closer relationship instead of relying on the impersonalities of blog following.
Shabach
–
Years ago I had a table at the big Kwanzaa Event at the Javits Center in NYC. I was walking around wearing one of my Mama’s Boyz t-shirts when I was stopped by a rather large, but friendly-looking figure who asked me about my shirt. “I just bought that book at Nkiru Books in Brooklyn. I really liked it.” It was one of the first times that I had ever been stopped like that, so I was feeling pretty good about myself. I introduced myself and he spent the next few minutes complimenting my work. Then I asked him his name. “Dwayne McDuffie,” he answered. “Wait a minute… Dwayne McDuffie, as in Milestone Comics’ Dwayne McDuffie?” I asked, with my eyes opened to Manga-sized proportions.
Then I proceeded to return every accolade that he had just given me. Times ten!
A few months later, I arranged to have lunch with Dwayne and Dawud Anyabwile (Brother Man). I was honored to be considered a peer, even though I was more than happy to just be a fan. These were the two industry guys who I admired the most. And to make it even more special, they were both, as David Walker said in his tribute to Dwayne, “real folks.”
It was always a pleasure to read his stuff. And I took great pride in watching “written by Dwayne McDuffie” roll up at the end of a Justice League cartoon. “Hey, I know that guy!” I’d say. “Yeah, we know, Dad. You tell us every week,” my kids would answer.
Dwayne was, as they say, “A gentleman, and a scholar.” He’ll be missed as an unbelievable talent, and a great person.
Jerry Craft
–
It was truly sad news hearing of the passing of Dwayne McDuffie. I wasn’t privy to knowing a lot about the man but I know the influence his work had on me personally. He did a great deal to put forward the notion that African American superheroes could be marketable and deserved a place right up there with icons like Superman and Spider-Man.
Whenever someone speaks about the history of black superheroes I’m sure you’ll hear Milestone mentioned. In many ways Blacksuperhero.com owes its founding to him and others like him who put Milestone on the map and created characters like Static, Icon and Rocket to name a few of my favorites.
I could spend a lot more words on this but I’ll simply say that he may be gone but his characters will forever live on. Condolences to his family. BSH.com owes you much gratitude. Goodbye Dwayne, we’ll miss you and your awesome stories.
Omar Bilal
Founder, Blacksuperhero.com
–
When I was 16, after I saw the riots after the death of Dr. King, and again after the death of Jimi Hendrix at 18, I made all kinds of promises. The sum of those deaths led me to do what is now known as the Black Age of Comics. Dwayne. As in McDuffie was a participating supporter from the first day we were connected, before there was a Black Age convention or a Milestone Media. He green lighted the Black Age concept while holding the Mighty Milestone Media trump card. He and Milestone gave regular tangible, intellectual support and understanding insight to the very first few conventions we hosted and some. He was pure, innovative, industrious, and a really cool nice brother. He manifested that promise. After I overcame a severe studio fire Dwayne’s support helped me to resurrect the Chicago based Black Age Convention program. His death changes everything in the same way his life changed everything. I wrote to Afua, the angel who first gave me the news, that now we have a voice in Heaven and the Black Age has its first Patron Saint. To his loved ones and family I give prayers and praise. For he is the Man!!!! I am honored to share a very small portion of your immense pain for a greater Man has passed our way.
Turtel Onli
M.A.A.T.
–
I’m still trying to wrap my head around this news. Goes to show how the moments we live are valuable. I last saw him at the San Diego Comicon a few years back, and we had a real positive discussion. I am really sad to hear this news today.
Dawud Anyabwile
Creator, Brotherman
2/22/11
–
Dwayne McDuffie passing comes at great shock. He will be remembered as one of comics’ great pioneers.
Richard Santiago, II
–
As many have stated, Mr. McDuffie was indeed a legend in the business comics and a major influence and contributor to the essence of THE BLACK AGE OF COMICS.
I am honored to have actually met him and spoke with him on two occasions, at the ECBACC and Comic Con in San Diego. In the midst of his transition, the characters and impact of Milestone’s Universe will be as the last great release with its stamp was titled – MILESTONE FOREVER.
R.I.P. Dwayne McDuffie.
Joseph R Wheeler III
Artist/Founder/President
The New Art Order
ONYXCON
–
Dwayne McDuffie was talented, respectful and encouraging of other artists, including myself. He was a true “class act” in the comics industry and will be missed.
Lance Tooks
–
RIP. Tragic. Will not be forgotten.
Shawna Mills
–
Heartache…. he was so young. We lost a great….
Afua Richardson
–
There is now an empty seat at our family table. Brother Dwayne will not be here to commune with us anymore. He was a vibrant member of our family — smart, artistic, funny. We will miss him and never forget him. He was a young king, who blazed a path so other may follow. Ride on, young king.
Prof. William H. Foster III
–
Although I never really met Dwayne, I’m glad I was able to connect with him on some level through his many stories. May he rest in peace.
Shawn Alleyne
–
My heart sank when I heard the news. I remember talking to Dwayne McDuffie back when they had the black comics yahoo group and he was a regular on there. At the time I 23 and I learned who Static Shock was and he liked my art work and promised me a copy of his book cause I had never read it before.
I was so excited and pleased that he liked my work. It was such a pleasure to see him become so sucessful not long after that with his work on Justice League.
He will be dearly missed.
Arie Monroe
–
I had met Dwayne a few times and we shared mutual friends.
I remember sending him some of my early self-published comics for his opinion and feeling great when he said he dug what I was doing, and to keep it up.
I took his advice.
The first and last time I saw him in person was at the GLYPH Awards in Philly a few years back, and I remember the buzz around him – we all knew how important Dwayne was and how we wanted him to feel welcome and appreciated for coming all the way from Los Angeles to be at ECBACC.
I wish I had more interactions with him but that’s selfish. More importantly, he left several doors wide open for people of color to walk through in our industry.
He will be missed, but also remembered and saluted.
To the maestro!
Jamar Nicholas
–
I met Dwayne once, walking the floor of San Diego Comicon. Even though he clearly was on his way somewhere, he stopped to shake my hand and listen to my compliments of Milestone and the (then) new Justice League cartoon he was working on.
I didn’t ‘know’ him in any meaningful way (he did compliment my work once), but his work has certainly meant a lot to me, and as I reflect on it, it gains significance. There are so many people who inspire or entertain us, and most of them leave voluntarily (or are quietly pushed aside), so we never really connect their creative significance to their lives. There are other, ‘sexier’ writers and artists to choose from. Bigger, ‘hotter’ names. People more often on our ‘must buy’ lists.
Sudden unexpected death makes us put a creator’s body of work, their life’s work and mission, into context. Many people who will never know or notice his name have enjoyed his work (especially in animation, where he definitely helped create lots of great stuff for television and direct-to-DVD), and many in comics and animation have benefited from the fruit of his convictions.
When I make my little lists of creators who have influenced me (as we so often do), I usually forget to include him (mostly because he is a writer, not an artist).
I won’t make that mistake again. The man was, and remains a giant. Not a household name, but a giant nonetheless… his catalog of work and accomplishments is staggering.
Samax Amen
–
I may have never had the honor of meeting the man, but the influence he brought to people will forever be remembered. I remember first hearing about Milestone Comics being released and reading Static for the first time. That book brought a feeling that I never would’ve gotten from reading about the trials of Peter Parker or the angst of Bruce Wayne. And that feeling was seeing a young man of color like myself going through the struggles of having great power and responsibility.
Dwayne helped bring that not just the youth, but to comic lovers young and old. He brought thought provoking tales to comics that embraced people of color and that’s a legacy that will forever be cherished. He helped bring it to the forefront and look how it’s formatted the way comics have been looked at today. And for that, I thank him and will forever keep his works near and dear to me.
He will be missed, but never forgotten.
Sean Anthony Mack
–
Join J2D2 @ Star Clipper Comics for art show CMY+K: Black Creators in Comics
Posted on | February 25, 2011 | 1 Comment
Peoples in the St. Louis area, check out the CMY+K: Black Creators in Comics art show, at Star Clipper, opening tomorrow and up until March 26. Along with Sean Frye, Kevin Johnson, Mike Harvey, J.R. Hogan and Bryan Edward Hill, John and I will be there for the opening reception Friday, February 25 at 7 p.m. at Star Clipper. The artists’ work will be on display in the Star Clipper Gallery, and their publications (including our own Black Comix) and other merchandise will be available for sale. Local hip-hop duo Scripts N Screwz will perform live.
Star Clipper is, of course, dedicating the art show to Dwayne McDuffie.
More on Dwayne McDuffie, R.I.P., in the next post.
One of the pieces John and I will have on display. This one's mainly drawn by Damian and mainly colored by John.
REMINDER: Black Comic Book Day NYC Tomorrow, 2/19/11!
Posted on | February 18, 2011 | No Comments
As you may recall, tomorrow, Saturday, February 19 the major NYC Black Comic Book Day event is happening at Hue-Man Bookstore and Cafe.
Syndicated cartoonists Jerry Craft (Mama’s Boyz), Ray Billingsley (Curtis) and comic book creators N Steven Harris (The Fringe and Ajala: A Series of Adventures), Alex Simmons (The Cartoon Life of Chuck Clayton), comics historian Professor Bill Foster, and more as they unveil their Black Comic Book Rack at the Hue-Man Bookstore and Café in Harlem, 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd, between 124th and 125th Streets. The rack will also feature work by Andre Batts, David Walker, Keith Miller; Ray Billingsley, Omar Bilal, Joe Robinson Currie and Glen Brewer. For more info on the NYC event, email jerrycraft@aol.com
View Larger Map
Get a PDF of the flyer here.
CHECK OUT! J2D2
- Little Guardians Guest ComicToday through Saturday check out my five page guest strip for Little Guardians, the kick arse webcomic by my friends (and yours, if you'd just give the chance internet) Ed Cho and Lee Cherolis.Seriously though, if you've never read it, check out the archives. That's some pan seared to perfection well seasoned Good Comics right there. […]Damian Duffy
- HOLE REDUXColoration of THE HOLE inks I posted. […]John Jennings
- NEW WORKSome recent artworks that I done deed. -J. […]John Jennings
CHECK OUT! ARIE MONROE
- Super Girl power girl rogue 11 x 17 printsPart of the reason I rarely do an 11 x 17 piece is cause it takes so long and they use a lot of supplies. this took me like 6 hours. the rogue and storm took 4 and the Harly and batman took like 6hours as well. I […]Draw Like Crazy
- Rogue and Storm 11 x 17 printsRogue and storm at 11 x 17. I haven't worked at this size in a very long time. […]Draw Like Crazy
- Mandy sketch[…]Draw Like Crazy
SUSCRIBE & FOLLOW BLACK COMIX
PRE-SALES: SUPPORT THE BLACK COMIX MOVEMENT!
SUPPORT BLACK COMIX ON FACEBOOK/TWITTER!
MAKE THE BLACK COMIX COVER YOUR FACEBOOK or TWITTER AVATAR
Blogroll
Revolutionary Times
- No. 139 "The Workout Plan"In order to get them ready for the CIA, the gang puts Brandon and Sean through a boot camp that would make P90X look like Fun World. […]
- Twit-volutionary Ideas 005: FinaleHere is the last of our sketch series in celebration of the release of Red Tails. Make sure you go to your local movie theater and show some support for the film! And expect more "Twit-volutionary Ideas" in the future. […]
- Twit-volutionary Ideas 004: Grandma DragDon't forget to go out and support Red Tails on its opening day tomorrow (or if it's showing at midnight where you live, go for it). Show Hollywood that these kinds of movies can be made and can do great at the box office. […]
- 138 "Culo Distractions"As the wise Danny Ocean once said, "You lose focus in this game for one second, and your friend gets stuck watching Nicki Minaj's butt shake for two months." Okay, maybe we're paraphrasing there. […]
- Twit-volutionary Ideas 003: Take ThatThe revolutionaries continue to walk the ghost of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr down the path and plight of the movie Red Tails. […]