Black People and Comic Books

I have been a fan of science fiction for about as long as I had tastes and could choose to like this and dislike that. Fans and creators of science fiction in general comic books and animation in particular are assumed to white, male, and geeky. Being a black man I don't fully fit that description (okay I'll cop to the last two). The perception that comic book fans are by definition "white and nerdy" is changing. Nowadays you can be any race or nationality or male or female and be a comic book/science fiction fan. Okay so we are still trying to live down the "geeky" label (or embrace it in some cases). As I have grown older I have met many more and more diverse people crossing color and gender lines at conventions, stores, and theaters. Part of the problem why I think that superheroes in particular have not been hugely popular among black people is because of the lack of serious black characters and black creators. While the main publishing housing for comic books have always had black characters since the 1970's, it is only now that some of these characters are becoming mainstream, especially among folks who know nothing about comic books. As of now everyone knows about Storm and Blade from marvel (they've been in movies) and people know that there is a black Green Lantern because of the Justice League television series.

I want to do a series of blog articles spotlighting various comic book creators and comic book characters that happen to be black. I intend to talk about how their work has impacted me and the characters. And combine my interest in the Mugen fighting games because many characters are available to play in mugen. Please see my articles on mugen for more information. I have also come across a great index of black fictional characters covering all of my favorite mediums. The site can be found here at the Museum of Black Superheroes.

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