(kyle baker

Me? I’m going to chill out and catch up on my reading. Might even have a good post for you later on!

I think I mentioned this way back around NY Comic-con time, but here’s Read a Book, part of BET’s new slate of animation. I was there when they showed this and you can kinda hear the reception to it on the video: busted guts and hurt sides.

It’s just as funny the second time around. Thank heaven for YouTube, huh?

I promise, I’ll quit this linkblogging stuff soon!

Digital Femme Online

While white, Asian, Latina and biracial female characters are forced to fulfill duties as the resident eye candy, black female characters are usually quietly solving problems and taking charge in the background or behind the scenes. When no one sees you as a sex object, you actually get to be a real person. A capable person. That’s the good news.

The bad news? When you aren’t considered to be a sex object, the men that are hired to draw the characters that share your features generally do not care whether those features are rendered correctly. After all, those features don’t appeal to a majority of readers. Why waste time? And the men that are hired to write about characters that share your features will pay minimal attention to the romantic entanglements and familial ties of those characters and will instead focus on fleshing out the characters they find alluring.

But like I said, I’m kind of wary to shine a spotlight on the phenomenon, because when you do demand equal billing and attention or you do finally reach a widespread audience? The whitewashing begins. And you go from this to this.

Particularly interesting Frank Miller’s Sin City pages in there, too.

No disrespect, but you a psycho, honey
Got that S.S.I. money and you start actin’ funny
Shrimps every night, ordering steaks
Them jumbo joints, them shits cost a buck fifty for eight
And when you told me your Merlot, need more grapes
I said “Honey, you never had wine before!”
And if you did, that’s not how you act at all
And no… that’s not how we rock in Theodore

–Ghostface Killah, “Tooken Back”

Sana Takeda (1, 2)’s cover to Heroes for Hire 13:

Jock (1, 2)’s cover to Green Arrow Year One:

Khari Evans (1, 2)’s cover to Shanna #1:

Last time it was Alex Ross’s boring Steel-on-a-black-background cover. This time it’s Sana Takeda’s ugly and creepy Heroes for Hire cover.

In exchange, I give you Jock and Khari Evans.

How do you go from a Michael Golden cover to something ugly and tentacle-rapey (also Misty is apparently not black) in a matter of months? Look at this:

I like cheescake comics. Bomb Queen, Cavewoman, those are funny books. But, Marvel, seriously– cheesecake is supposed to be attractive. Mewling little animu girls chained up around some slimy tentacles isn’t it. You’ve got the best artists in the biz and this is the best you come with?

Put Khari Evans on Heroes for Hire so that it will have good art again, please. I am for real here, I kind of like Shanna the She-Devil or whoever, but Khari is made for an ongoing book. He’s got a great style. Make him a Young Gun or whatever, push him hard.

About that Takeda cover… Marvel, that’s not how we rock in Theodore.

Get it together.

And you see, I don’t want to make the fucking comics. Making the fucking comics is hard fucking work. [snip]

But the fucking comics need to be made.

—Cheryl Lynn, Digital Femme, 1998

I said “Yeah, Flipmode, Flipmode is the greatest”
Knowing as a shorty, I was always told
That if I ain’t gon’ be part of the greatest
I gotta be the greatest myself

–Busta Rhymes, Extinction Level Event, 1998

Bear with me, as I have things what need saying. This will relate directly to comics and the blogosphere a little further down.

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As you may have noticed, David “hermanos” Brothers is off finding a place to live in San Francisco. As I type this, I wonder if I should go for the more classic Northstar reference or just keep it current with something about Wiccan and Hulkling. It’s too late now.

With hermanos gone and Wanderer on a never-ending quest to find a soundtrack that perfectly syncs up with the movie the Stupids, that leaves me in charge. Sure, I could post a series of crappy Photoshops or talk about some comics you don’t care about, but it isn’t that simple. With hermanos’ absence, I have to fill in the void. It’s like the latest She-Hulk arc, “Planet without a Hulk”, only I wouldn’t deny sleeping with the Juggernaut. Think of all the media appearances you can make with that on your record.

Now, then. Here are some posts I figure hermanos would make if he was here:

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Yours truly is in San Francisco at the moment, hunting for apartments. (I did mention I was planning on moving out here, right?) I’m out here until Wednesday, and hopefully I can find a cool affordable place by then.

Anyway, here’s a short 4l is. Black Panther, Dwayne McDuffie, and McDuffie on Fantastic Four are all three cooler than cool.

Light posting from me, probably. Let’s see what Gavok has to say!

SUPERGIRL #11
Written by New York Times Best-selling Author Vladimir Nabokov, with art by Joe Benitez, and cover by Ian Churchill, SUPERGIRL is being ushered into a new age! Written by the man who is skilled at both writing and writing about teenage girls, SUPERGIRL is going to hit the DCU in a big way! She’ll be a major player after Nabokov is done, and this leads directly into the slam-bang megaseries COUNTDOWN!
On sale October 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Kara, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Ka-ra Zor-El: the tip of the tongue taking a trip down the palate to tap on the teeth. Su. Per. Girl.

Sorry, if I didn’t do this, no matter how unfunny, I never would’ve been able to get it out of my head. I just bought the Annotated Lolita and I’m about to start reading it so it’s on my mind.

Anyway, there was an article in the Toronto Star about superheroes in decline and the dearth of black heroes. It’s a sentiment that I could’ve gotten behind if the article wasn’t a little… iffy.

Here’s some news! The author thought the same thing.

A feature story I wrote about the comic industry’s troubles with black superheroes appeared in The Toronto Star today, complete with some swell art and a clever illo (http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/193167.) I’m always happy to write about comics in a mainstream publication – it keeps my mind limber, and hopefully forces a wider audience to take the medium a bit more seriously. That said, sometimes things happen with big publications that bug me a bit.

First, they billed me as a “visual-arts” writer – not a biggie I suppose. But they also tweaked my lead and cut about 400 words of what i thought was very good exposition.

The sum effect was, i feel, that my story lost a bit of the personality and humour that I pride myself in.

Anyways, I’m going to post the original version of the piece below and any interested readers can decide for themselves which one they prefer….. maybe I’m just being a sensitive writer (poor baby!) So far, the feedback has been positive, including reaction from Reginald Hudlin, and several black cartoonists.

It does, in fact, read much better this way. It’s an interesting read, if a bit old hat at times, but worth reading to see if it shakes any new thoughts out of you.

One thing I came up with was that, in terms of pop culture, you’ll often see blacks at the forefront. Part of being other-ized is that the children of those who other-ed you (if I may mangle the English language a bit) tend to rebel in your direction. Rap was originally music created by and for poor black and latin kids. Nowadays, scads of white kids are down with Tupac and one of the best-selling rappers ever is white. Look at Richard Pryor for comedy, or The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince, Martin, and Family Matters for sitcoms. Trailblazing.

But, not in comics. Black characters tend to be relegated to the ghetto of “protest characters.” From the article:

The problem is black characters always have to be protest characters…They’re always arguing about something or they’re always angry, and it always has to do with race. So they’re fixed within one specific subject.

They’re already others, and this serves to other-ize them further. Black characters deal with Issues, usually Race-Related, fairly often. They’re mouthpieces, spokescharacters.

We’ve heard this song before, I do believe.

Food for thought!

Myth Conceptions – Black History of Comics

Pretty good group interview with Kevin Grevioux of Underworld and New Warriors fame, Mike Sales of Type Illy Press (a company I’ve been meaning to check out for a fair few months now), Andrew West, and Adrian Wilkins. It’s must reading, as all of these fellows make good points. Here’s a bit I particularly enjoyed:

“Of course there can be a separation when it comes to Black characters,” explains Grevioux. “Being black does not encompass all of who I am. It’s a large part of me, but by no means all. It’s the same thing with fictional characters as well. At least it should be.”

“That said, I definitely have a strong sense of responsibility and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Grevioux continues. “Look at how poorly Jews were treated in the early days of America , yet two talented Jewish kids recreated the story of Moses and created one of the biggest cultural icons in the history of the world in Superman. Two Jewish kids possibly recreating the concept of the Judges in the Old Testament, who fought those who committed evil against the nation of Israel , created another cultural icon in Captain America who fought Nazi’s. That’s great stuff, and it goes to show that you can use your culture, whatever it is, and tell great stories. So once again, race is nothing that people should be afraid of.”

“But I think people have to understand to that we as blacks, can oft times bear the burden of responsibility just by virtue of our skin color, adds Grevioux. “No matter how you slice it, we are born political. There are racial assumptions, both good and bad, that people automatically think. And when it comes to industry and commerce, it can mean either suicide or salvation in terms of sales. And in comics, just a black man on the cover of a book can evoke a political response before the pages are even opened. We need to work to change that.”

It puts me in mind of Priest’s The Crew being decried as another ghetto book, unworthy of sale, acclaim, or even attention. This is all despite the fact that The Crew was really a very good book and both Priest and Joe Bennett brought their A-game to it. Even the covers were brilliant.

A book about a black character is inherently political and an “issue” book. It almost always comes up in titles starring black characters. Monica Rambeau had her “No More Hate” issue back in the day, Black Panther spent some time fighting the Klan in the late ’70s (early ’80s?), Luke Cage is really kind of obvious, and so on. Storm and Bishop managed to avoid it, to my knowledge at least. But, it often comes up and we get A Very Special Issue Of Blossom or whatever out of it. If it doesn’t come up in the title itself, it’ll come up in fan reaction to that title. Sometimes, it’ll come up both ways.

It’s kind of like this. “Black” books tend to attract a different level of critique, or maybe a different form, than other books do. I’ve seen people complain that Black Panther, Luke Cage, Blade, Brother Voodoo, and Monica Rambeau (what the crap is her code name now?) have nothing whatsoever in common besides being black, and all black people don’t know each other, so what are they doing teaming up in post-Katrina New Orleans?

In other words, “What are all these black people doing hanging around each other?”

Flip the question. What did Hank Pym, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and the Wasp have in common, pre-Avengers? Think on that for a minute.

A man in that link up above makes a good point, which is that if you want to fix something, fix it yourself. Write the comics. You must be the change you wish to see in the world, so do like Cheryl Lynn says and make the comics. I plan to, eventually, but I’m not quite at that skill level I want to be just yet. Eventually, though, I will. I’ve got a voice. I’ve got a point of view. You can make a realistic comic featuring blacks without being preachy. Milestone did it. No reason why no one else can’t, right?

It’s a tale as old as time. (Pardon the slight Beauty & The Beast reference.)

There is a child, sometimes a boy, sometimes a girl, with a hidden talent and a good heart. They may not recognize this talent at the beginning of the story, but others see this potential in them and attempt to nuture it. Outside forces discover this talent and attempt to either take it away or control it. Eventually, the child realizes his or her worth and takes control of that power.

There are a lot of reasons why this story is so old. It speaks to the idea that we’re all special, and if only we can find that special thing inside of us, we’ll be happy forever. It’s a cautionary tale from parents to children, warning them to stay on the straight and narrow. It’s a fun adventure romp about a relatable person doing great things. It’s a morality play, will you or won’t you abuse that power? There are dozens of interpretations.

This is a classic story. It’s straight out of Campbell. It’s Spider-Man, Superman, Star Wars, Snow White, and a thousand other stories. It’s a story we all know and can appreciate, and a story we’ll likely be telling for hundreds of years to come.

This is also the story of Blokhedz.

First, some info and errata. (I’m trying out these new Amazon links and info formatting. Good idea, bad idea? They seem a little large, which could make formatting a pain.)

Title: Blokhedz #1: Genesis
Creators: Brandon Schultz and Mike and Mark Davis
Homepage: Blokhedz.tv
Publisher: Street Legends Ink/Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books
ISBN: 1416540733
Book Info: Blokhedz #1: Genesis collects Blokhedz #1-4, originally published in 2004 by Street Legends Ink. It is going to be released on March 20, 2007, and will be followed up by a straight to graphic novel volume 2 in Fall 2007.
Misc. Info: Interview with Format Magazine. Publishers Weekly article on the move to Pocket Books.

Extra special thanks to Ed Schlesinger at Pocket Books for getting me one of the last comp copies at New York Comic-con last weekend!

Blokhedz is the first offering from Pocket Books’s graphic novel line to my knowledge, and it’s a good start.

The hero of the book is Blak, a young black kid in Empire City. He’s extraordinarily skilled at rapping, both from written rhymes and freestyling. The book opens on him telling the story of a tragic shootout. From the first scene onward, it’s clear that he’s torn between two things. Is he going to be a smart rapper and speak the truth, or is he going to play dumb and rap about things he was never involved in? Is he going to be true to himself or is he going to “keep it real?”

The person he was rapping about is his older brother Konzaquence, who cautions him to stay true. He doesn’t want to see his little brother fall down the same path he did and gives him his lion medallion as a kind of contract between the two of them.

The hook in the book is that the words in rhymes can alter reality. It’s a little bit Dr. Strange, a little bit Biblical, and, to me at least, a little bit Invisibles. The first time this power is shown is when Vulture, a rival rapper and gangster, has his crew attack Blak. This causes Blak to lose his medallion and pride, but gain new abilities. His words become reality.

Blokhedz #1: Genesis is an engaging read. The story is familiar, but tilted to a new angle. Blak has to dodge the allure of gangs, thug rap, and life in the city in order to survive. His older brother has been there, done that, and did the time for the crime, literally. One of his brother’s old running buddies has gone from drug-dealing to running a rap label, bringing to mind Prince Paul’s A Prince Among Thieves, wherein Mr. Large, the guy who runs all the crime in the city, also dabbles in rap management. He courts Blak and, unbeknownst to him, uses his rhymes to create Crypt, a drug that hits the streets hard.

It’s about choices. Blak is torn between good or evil, God or the Devil, and vengeance or justice, but he must choose one side or the other. Both sides are tempting, but Blokhedz presents one side as being right. Good and evil are clearly delineated in the book, even down to the bad guys looking sinister. Vulture, for example, looks more than a little like his namesake and behaves worse than that. It’s simplistic, but it works. It’s also kind of refreshing in today’s comics landscape to see this kind of black-and-white viewpoint, particularly when pulled off without being either preachy or overly adult.

This is a good read, and a pretty good book for kids, despite a little bit of salty, but censored, language. There are a few gaffes, such as a handful of main characters appearing on-screen and having speaking roles without actually being introduced. I didn’t know the name of Essence, the spoken word poet and inner city crusader, until a chapter and three scenes after she was introduced, if memory serves. The focus of the book is on Blak, of course, but it would be nice if his supporting cast didn’t feel quite so not-there. A brief introductory bit of dialogue, or even a caption presented with the same flair and style found in the rest of the book would be great and enhance the read. We get that Blak has friends, but they’re a group of friends, rather being distinct individuals.

Still, this is a great start. It’s easy to read and the art is quite attractive. It’s a blend of American and anime-inspired art and it works really well. The characters can convey emotion easily. The book looks a lot like a cartoon, but in a good way. I’ve got to give them props for the backgrounds, too. Even in Marvel or DC produced comics, the “Big Two,” the backgrounds tend to be pretty bland, nondescript, and sometimes even nonexistent. These backgrounds are busy. They’re cluttered. They’re almost completely covered in tags. They have character. You really get the feeling that Empire City is a genuine city thanks to this attention to detail.

Blokhedz #1 is a good showing, and it’s cheap, too. It’s well worth a read.