reviewed by Cord
Scott, UMGC
Okinawa
Chris
Robinson, editor. All-Negro Comics
(the 75th Anniversary Edition). ANC75.com/Wizrob.com, 2023. $33.95 (hardcover). ISBN 979-8-218-13590-4. <
https://www.crob.info/all-negro-comics
>
For
many comic books of the Golden Era of the 1940s, the stories and artwork have a
certain lack of quality to modern readers.
The stories seem formulaic at times, the artwork adequate but limited in
originality or detail, and stereotypes are often utilized to simplify the
stories for the readers or just because they are part of the common visual
vernacular. It is not surprising that All-Negro
Comics at first glance might seem of little overall impact. In terms of business success, it was true.
But historically, this could not be further from the truth. This comic, originally produced in 1947,
might not have had a lasting impact for the average (white) comic book reader,
but when analyzed against the history of the era as well as that of the comic
book industry, this Anniversary Edition allows a much fuller picture of
its long-term impact. The purpose of the comic was, as journalist and the original
editor Orrin Evans wrote, to “tell, teach and tribute” a mission this reprint
edition continues. The reprint project, funded on Kickstarter < https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1084996367/all-negro-comics-75th-anniversary-edition>
raised over $35,000 from 656 people to bring the comic back into print, with
copies given to several school and public libraries.
The
book is structured in three sections.
The first 50 pages are the original All-Negro Comics number
one. The stories as they appeared in the
comic included “Ace Harlem,” a detective (written by Orrin Evans and inked by
John Terrell); “Dew Dillies” written by Cooper about how semi-mythical entities
act and interact; “Ezekiel's Story,” a two-page essay; “Lion Man” by George
Evans where a scientist/hero strives to keep uranium safe for the UN from
unscrupulous villains, “Hep Chicks on Parade”; “Lil Eggie”; and “Sugarfoot and
Snakeoil” by Cravat, in which two travelling men look to gain a meal and a
place to rest.
The
second part of the book consists of brief essays on the impact of the comic on
the African-American community in more recent years. In the first essay, Qiana Whitted noted the
significance of a comic book written, illustrated and meant for an African-American
audience in an era where legal segregation was still the norm. Many of the artists came from the
Philadelphia School of Art and had had interactions with Evans previously. Whitted also noted the history of African
American centered comic strips from “Sonny Boy San” in the Pittsburgh
Courier, and “Bungleton Green” from the Chicago Defender. While newspapers may not have the same significance
in the era of the internet, in the 1940s they were fundamental in providing news
and entertainment centered towards an underserved segregated community across
the country. Unfortunately, Evans’ bold
idea never made it past the first issue.
David Brothers stated in his essay “Hip Hop and Comic books was my
Genesis” that the idea of African-American characters, especially those not
merely as sidekicks or stereotypes, was fundamental in his own creative
path. Shawn Pryor’s essay “Finding My
Path” states that racism still exists in the comic book industry despite the
progress made, albeit now in the form of monetary compensation, and unstated continuing
policy from an earlier era of editors which rarely hired black creators.
The
third section of the book starts on page 66, and features new storylines
created from the original characters.
Ace Harlem now struggles to deal with the issue of “white benefactors”
who see themselves as betters for helping those less fortunate, while attempting
to camouflage their own racism. The new
Lion Man story features issues of stereotypes and propaganda that dominated so
many of the early comics and twists it to work for the character. His faithful sidekick/ward Bubba still remains,
but is not so much a hinderance but a imp working for Lion Man’s
interests. The essay in this later section
is “Nana’s memory quilt” by Samantha Guzman.
The story discusses both the inevitability of death, but also how items
such as quilts can help to preserve not only memories but also family history. This later aspect is one that has traditionally
been overlooked when dealing with cultures with written, as opposed to oral or
pictorial histories. Finally, the last
significant story featuring the Dew Dillies centers on “Platypus and the
Swan.” The moral of the story is that
both animals swim and have significance in the world despite their perceived aesthetic
qualities.
As
with any review of Golden age comics, there are aspects that still stand out
for their inappropriateness. While
Whitted noted that Evans was trying to balance stereotypes with strong
characters who were equals in the comic book world, there was still a
considerable amount of sexism, be it from calling a female character “sugar” or
“honey” to the original Sugarfoot’s object of desire, Ample Mae, and her well-proportioned
and commented-upon figure. The concept
of taking the original comic and creating new stories was interesting. It showed the impact of the original as a
springboard to the present. One of the
areas that could have been expanded would be the history of the creators, and
their backgrounds and other works.
In
all, the book is a starting point for a research area that is significant, but
not well-developed. One could then also at the impact of newspaper artists and
their contributions to beyond comics.
Did any of the artists have connection to Army newspapers such as the Blue
Helmet or the Buffalo, both of which catered to (segregated) Army
units during World War II? Or the black
superhero artists of the 1970s-1980s? This book, as with so many others, offers
a good reference point, but is not the whole story.
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