Black Comix and the Lost Leon Comic Strips

Adri Cowan of Mark Batty Publisher, I sincerely apologize. It has taken me entirely TOO long to write about the awesome books that you sent me! To everyone else out there wondering why someone as awesome as me would ever feel compelled to make such a public spectacle of myself with an apology for not giving someone free press, here’s the reason: The good folks at Mark Batty Publishing asked me if I was interested in reviewing a book about independent black comic book artists. As an independent black humor writer who used to aspire to be a comic book artist, I accepted the offer, and asked them for a review copy. Not only did the company send me Black Comix by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, they also sent two other art books, Name Tagging by Martha Cooper and Poster Boy: The War of Art.

All three books are awesome, so I don’t mind writing about them. However, for the sake of brevity(and since this is a comedy blog), I am going to focus on Black Comix. Especially since I have a couple of half-assed comic strips of my own for you readers to make fun of later in the entry. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…   

If you love art, especially comic book art, then Black Comix is the book for you. It’s 177 pages of beautiful illustrations and interviews with some of the best artists flying below the radar of the mainstream. It’s particularly enlightening to see such diversity. A few incredible female artists are highlighted as well, which is great considering my perception that the comic book world is a mostly male-driven one.  The image I chose for to place at the top of this entry is from Brotherman, which was a black comic book that I actually read back when I was little. Those are the bad guys in that photo…but it doesn’t really matter, since I’m paying homage!

Now, it time to unleash two of my crappy comic strips on the world. Don’t judge the artwork too harshly, because I sketched them in a hurry during a meeting a couple of weeks ago.  The first is Don’t Call Me Tittyhead, which came about from my days working at BET.com. There was a correspondent for the site that one of my co-workers nicknamed “Tittyhead Jenkins.” I always thought to myself  “I wonder what life is like for that guy, having a round-ass head that kind of looks like a titty? It’s probably horrible and hilarious, all at the same time!” Thus, I wrote a few story lines. The quick and sloppy sketch below is of Tittyhead and his brother, Ernest.

I came up with this next idea from news headlines and my desire for a pet dog. Terrorist Terrier is about a pooch who wants to see the downfall of humanity as canines rise to power and rule the Earth. His outrageous plans for global domination are constantly thwarted by the fact that he’s just a little punk-assed terrier, fueling his frustration and leading him to create more schemes!

I’m actually collaborating on a less silly comic strip project right now, and I’m searching for artists. If interested, shoot me an email and I’ll let you know the details. Once again, thanks to the good folks at Mark Batty Publisher for such awesome books.

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