The blacker the ink : constructions of black identity in comics and sequential art

The blacker the ink Constructions of black identity in comics and sequential art

Book - 2015

The Blacker the Ink is the first book to explore not only the diverse range of black characters in comics, but also the multitude of ways that black artists, writers, and publishers have made a mark on the industry. Organized thematically into “panels” in tribute to sequential art published in the funny pages of newspapers, the fifteen original essays take us on a journey that reaches from the African American newspaper comics of the 1930s to the Francophone graphic novels of the 2000s. Even as it demonstrates the wide spectrum of images of African Americans in comics and sequential art, the collection also identifies common character types and themes running through everything from the strip The Boondocks to the graphic novel Nat Turne...r.

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Subjects
Comic books, strips, etc. > Social aspects.
African Americans in literature.
African American cartoonists.
African Americans in art.
Comic books, strips, etc. > History and criticism.
Superheroes in literature.
Race in literature.
Published
New Brunswick, New Jersey : Rutgers University Press [2015]
Language
English
Physical Description
ix, 343 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780813572345
9780813572338
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: The Sweeter the Christmas
  • Panel I. Black Is a Dangerous Color
  • 1. "No Sweat!:" EC Comics, Cold War Censorship, and the Troublesome Colors of "Judgment Day!"
  • 2. Sex in Yop City: Ivorian Femininity and Masculinity in Abouet and Oubrerie's Aya
  • 3. A Postcolony in Pieces: Black Faces, White Masks and Queer Potentials in Unknown Soldier
  • Panel II. Black in Black and White and Color
  • 4. Fashion in the Funny Papers: Cartoonist Jackie Ormes's American Look
  • 5. Graphic Remix: The Lateral Appropriation of Black Nationalism in Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks
  • Panel III. Black Tights
  • 6. American Truths: Blackness and the American Superhero
  • 7. Drawn into Dialogue: Comic Book Culture and the Scene of Controversy in Milestone Media's Icon
  • 8. Critical Afrofuturism: A Case Study in Visual Rhetoric, Sequential Art, and Post-Apocalyptic Black Identity
  • 9. Bare Chests, Silver Tiaras and Removable Afros: The Visual Design of Black Comic Book Superheroes
  • Panel IV. Graphic Blackness
  • 10. Daddy Cool: Donald Goines's "Visual Novel"
  • 11. The Blues Tragicomic: Constructing the Black Folk Subject in Stagger Lee
  • 12. Provocation Through Polyphony: Kyle Baker's Nat Turner
  • 13. Performance Geography: Making Space in Jeremy Love's Bayou, Volume 1
  • 14. A Secret History of Miscegenation: Jimmy Corrigan and the Columbian Exposition of 1893
  • 15. It's a Hero?: Black Comics and Satirizing Subjection
  • Notes on Contributors
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

Responding to the recent interest in black identity in American comics, this volume provides what has been lacking in some previous work--variety of content, precision of approach and execution, and depth of analyses. The 15 essays Gateward (California State Univ., Northridge) and Jennings (SUNY, Buffalo) bring together treat a wide range of topics, including the formal aspects of, audience for, production of, and content of comics. Organized thematically, the essays offer enlightening discussion of black comics both familiar (e.g., The Boondocks, Nat Turner, Jackie Ormes's strips, Luke Cage, Hero for Hire) and less known (e.g., Daddy Cool, Stagger Lee). Essays examine, among other things, Ivorian femininity and masculinity in Aya, Cold War censorship, fashion and comics, black nationalism, "Afrofuturism," superheroes, blues comics, performance geography, and miscegenation in Jimmy Corrigan. The theory is adequate but not overbearing, and the contributors provide information about the creators and plot synopses to help readers understand textual interpretations. Though the publisher slacked on editing (e.g., boxer "Joe Lewis," "Ronald Regan") and image quality, The Blacker the Ink advances the study of black comics significantly by offering new insights and a wealth of information free of gobbledygook. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --John A. Lent, independent scholar

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Gateward (California State Univ., Northridge) and Jennings (Univ. at Buffalo, SUNY) collect 15 essays about African American-themed sequential art: history, characters, gender roles and identity, national issues, visual design, and cultural impacts. This collection won an Eisner Award and touches on superheroes, fantasy, realistic fiction, satire, newspaper strips, and historical comics published from the 1930s on. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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