In last week’s “Unsung Mother****** Awards!” blog post, I ended with an image of President Barack Obama, and I wanted to make a brief statement regarding the use of President Obama’s image.  Like every African-American…

A page from"The Obama Story: The Boy With The Biggest Dream."

This:

"Army of Darkness?" Didn't Obama beat these guys last November?

And this:

"Barack The Barbarian?" Come on!

And especially this!  Most ESPECIALLY this:

Obama drawn by Rob Liefeld? Aw, HELL No! If you survived comic books in the '90s, you're probably breaking out in hives right now.

…Has GOT to stop!  ENOUGH!

- JEP

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Oh great, now they’re dragging Bo the Dog into this mess.  Leave the dog out of it, man!

Bo, too? At long last, sir, have you no decency?

Frequent commenter and WORLDOFHURTONLINE.COM regular, Ramon, pointed out last week that venerable Hong Kong actor, Shih Kien, died last week at the age of 96.  Kien had a long career in film, but I, and most other film buffs in the Western hemisphere, knew him best as the evil Han from the legendary 1973 Bruce Lee film, Enter The Dragon. 

 Although in a previous post, I stated only a passing familiarity with kung fu movies, Enter The Dragon is the exception.  I know the film quite well, because my older brother Philip,  my cousin Clarence, and I used to make it ritual to watch my uncle’s bootleg, taped-off-HBO-copy of the movie whenever we got together over a holiday break.  Jim Kelly’s comment to Han, once he discovers the evil mastermind’s villainous intentions, “Man, you come straight out of a comic book,” is the inspiration for the name of the ”comic book blog” link tag on this site.

 RIP Shih Kien.

- JEP

Welcome to the latest installment of a recurring feature on WORLDOFHURTONLINE.COM: The Unsung Badmother******* Awards!

The Unsung Badmotherf****** Award recognizes Outstanding Achievements In The Field of Badassery Deserving Wider Recognition.  The Unsung Badmother****** is the guy who made a splash and kicked some ass, but remains largely forgotten by the masses.

The UBMF Award is named after the oft-quoted moment in the “Theme from Shaft” when Isaac Hayes is abruptly interrupted by his backup singers before he can fully extol the badass virtues of his man, Shaft.  If people remember nothing else about the movie “Shaft,” or Blaxploitation in general, they remember that line, and it immortalized Hayes and made John Shaft a cinematic icon.

This month, Brian Cronin of Comic Book Resources.com is running a feature entitled, “Month of Art Stars: Artist’s Choice, ” which celebrates artists who deserve special attention or wider recognition.  The series has a nice hook, wherein instead of offering his own selections, Mr. Cronin has solicited professional comic book artists to choose the artists.

Early entries in the series included lesser-known, but still tremendously gifted artists, but Dave Gibbons, the renowned artist of such works as Watchmen, Give Me Liberty and his own original graphic novel, The Originals, suggested a veteran artist.  The artist in question also happens to be one of my primary artistic inspirations: the one and only Jose Luis Garcia Lopez.    Of course, I felt compelled to weigh in on the comments section-several times-but then I realized, “Hey, I’ve got my own blog, why don’t I link to the article?“  Then I thought, “Hey, why don’t I do my own entry on Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez on said blog?”

But enough of my internal monologues, let’s get down to business!

With a special tip of the hat to Mr. Brian Cronin, WORLDOFHURTONLINE.COM is proud to announce the latest recipient of The Unsung Badmother****** Award…Mr. Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez started his comics career in Argentina, but since his arrival in the United States, nearly all of his professional work has been with DC Comics.  In the early 1980s,  Garcia-Lopez was tapped by DC Comics to create their Style Guide, which established the definitive versions of their intellectual property.  The Style Guide was used by licensors and other DC artists to create a unified brand identity for the DC Universe’s vast array of comic book stars.  I seem to even recall hearing an anecdote that some artists would seek out work with DC just so they could get their hands on the Style Guide.

As I stated in the comments section of Brian Cronin’s post, even if you’re not familiar with Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’s name, you’ve already seen his work on everything from milk ads, collector’s glasses, bed linens, stationery, backpacks, toy packaging, t-shirts, or any other merchandise or advertisement featuring characters owned by DC Comics.  If you perform a Google image search on ”batman” and “t-shirt” or “wonder woman” and “t-shirt,” looking for apparel that actually features images of these characters, the first ones you come upon will more than likely include illustrations drawn by Mr. Garcia-Lopez.

Besides being the hidden hand behind the DC marketing machine, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez was, and remains, a gifted sequential artist.  By his own admission, he was a slow artist, so his output of comic book work is relatively low, despite his decades-long career.  His body of work is peppered with short runs on established series.  However, each page he drew is a remarkable demonstration of Garcia-Lopez’s storytelling mastery, boasting clean, open lines; innovative, but clear layouts; and a dynamic, but natural, approach to the human form.  Quite simply, the man can draw anything and draw it freakishly well.  Note all the different types of people in the crowd scene below and how the body language, clothing, builds, and faces are unique to each one.

Here, Garcia-Lopez creates a sophisticated and sexy Lois Lane and a casual, relaxed Superman who looks perfectly at home in tights among diners in evening wear:

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’s longest run on a series was the fan-favorite Atari Force, and he also worked his magic on the Eisner Award-nominated, three issue, sci-fi miniseries Twilight, which was written by comic legend, Howard Chaykin.  However, my favorite work of his was the 1988 four-issue mini-series Cinder & Ashe. I have literally read the covers off two sets of this series, and am quickly working my way through a third.

Cinder & Ashe, written by frequent Garcia-Lopez collaborator Gerry Conway,  is about two New Orleans-based freelance security specialists who take an assignment to rescue the kidnapped daughter of an Iowa farmer.  Jacob Ashe is a Vietnam veteran and ex-soldier of fortune, while Cinder DuBois, his female partner is a half-Asian, half-Black,  former street thief that Ashe saved from certain death during the Fall of Saigon.  Cinder & Ashe’s case involves a conspiracy that ultimately brings the duo into the orbit of a mysterious figure with dangerous connections to their own tragic pasts.  The story flashes back between their earlier lives and the then-present day of the late 1980s.  The theme of the series is about the destructive power of secrets, how they overwhelm us, haunt us, and how we must ultimately confront and overcome them. 

Garcia-Lopez draws the hell out of every inch of that book.  He takes you from the bayous of Louisiana, to the fields of Iowa, to a climactic battle at the recently commissioned Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC.  Every detail feels authentic without being over-rendered or overly  photo-referenced and every panel bleeds emotion or thunders with visceral, cinematic action.  This series would be right at home on the stands today next to any of DC Comics’ Vertigo line, and I can’t think of any good reason good reason why they haven’t reissued it in a trade paperback edition.  Apparently, Planeta-DeAgostini, a Spanish publisher, has secured the rights for a Spanish-language hardcover collection, but I don’t think they have the rights to sell the trade directly into the United States.  (Believe me, I’ve tried.)

To date, despite his long, storied career with DC Comics, the comic book company has yet to publish a collection of his work, however independent book publisher, TwoMorrows Publishing , has stepped up to the plate by devoting an edition of their “Modern Masters” series to Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.  It provides a wonderful retrospective of his career and never-before published illustrations, sketches, character designs, and concept illustrations by the artist.  If you’re a comic book fan, you owe it to yourself to buy a copy.

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez most recently completed a three-issue run on Batman: Confidential #26-28, which was inked by Kevin Nowlan.  The pair will team up again on a Metal Men feature for the upcoming DC Comics series, Wednesday Comics.

Finally, I’d like to leave you with an image of an original, second-hand Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez convention sketch I picked up off eBay for a great price.  It’s my long-held desire to buy an original comic book page by the man, but until that time comes, this will have to do.

- JEP

(NOTE: There’s a great selection of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’s work at http://master-post.livejournal.com/.  Some of the images above were pulled from that site, so I wanted to give credit where credit is due. )

July 2oth marks the thirty-sixth anniversary of the death of Bruce Lee.  In his honor, I will be doing a short series of posts to commemorate the legendary martial artist and cinematic icon.

The first entry involves one of my favorite superhero storylines of all time, a breezy, fun tale that posed the question, “What if Bruce Lee was still alive…and hanging out with Elvis?”

In the mid-1990s, the comic book industry was undergoing a serious creative downturn.  The industry was still choking under the glut of poor Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld clones that had entered the business in the early 1990s, and draftsmanship and storytelling were suffering under the occupational forces of this clone army.  One of the few bright spots was an artist named Rodolfo Damaggio.  Damaggio was sorely underappreciated at the time, partly because he happened to inherit the art chores of DC’s Green Arrow at the exact time the company chose to replace Oliver Queen, the original Green Arrow with his previously unseen son, Connor Hawke.  Fans were so incensed/befuddled by the decision, that they overlooked the brilliant art Damaggio was generating and the clever storylines that writer Chuck Dixon was producing.  Remember, this was at a time when comic book deaths were a little more permanent than they are now, so fans didn’t care how well the book was drawn or how well it was written, they just wanted the original Green Arrow back.  However, I was immediately enamored with Damaggio’s brilliant staging; his natural, distinct characters, masterful anatomy, and the sense of place and realism he brought to each page, so I didn’t care if Oliver Queen ever came back, as long as they kept Rodolpho Damaggio around.

My favorite storyline from their run was a two-parter that ran from Green Arrow #106 and #107.  The story built on an overarching plot that involved Connor’s ongoing efforts to raise enough money to save the Buddhist monastery where he spent his formative years from the clutches of a greedy theme park developer.  After winning a toughman competition in Las Vegas, Connor is hired as the bodyguard of The Grand Rahfi Ali Ben Khadir, the 12 year-old heredity leader of  “a tiny suzerainty in the peaks of the Hindu Kush.”  Ali readily admits that he must one day assume the full mantle of leadership among his people, but until then, he just wants to have a good time.

Connor saves the Rahfi from the clutches of terrorists sent by Arghulian, a mullah from his native land who is attempting to usurp the Rahfi’s throne from the hands of its pre-pubescent heir.  After their escape, Ali introduces Connor to his other two bodyguards whom he had given the night off; two “bonecrushers” who bear an uncanny resemblance to Bruce Lee and Elvis Presley!  (Although Dixon never uses their names…c’mon!  I mean, C’MON!)

It is implied that Lee and Presley faked their deaths to find peace and spiritual renewal under the tutelage of the boy’s late father, the original Rahfi.  They serve their debt by acting as the Race Bannons to Ali’s Jonny Quest.  Dixon crafted a remarkably simple and pleasurable high concept storyline that begs to be explored further.  (I’d love to see the further adventures of Bruce Lee and Elvis Presley as bodyguards for hire, traveling the world and kicking ass under the watchful eye of an unseen handler who is eventually revealed to be Tupac Shakur.  Since I don’t think that’s likely to happen, the closest you’ll probably ever come to that sort of action is this.)

In the climax of Dixon’s story, Arghulian sends back-up to the surviving terrorists in the form of Seljuk, a madman whom even the other terrorists fear.  The final throwdown between Bruce Lee, Elvis, Green Arrow, and the katar-wielding terrorist is a thing of beauty, with Seljuk handing out bladed backfists like Skittles. 

You can probably find these two issues in the back issue bin of your local comic shop for a pretty low price.  I’d highly recommend the whole post-death of Oliver Queen cycle for Damaggio’s gorgeous art, and some nice straightforward action stories by Chuck Dixon.

Happy Friday!

- JEP

A little over two years ago this month, at Wizard World Chicago, the Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack creator announced that he was working on a four issue mini-series featuring Marvel Comics’ Black supehero icon.  The above concept art accompanied the announcement, and that, combined with Tartakovsky’s pledge to return Cage to his 1970s Blaxploitation roots had me pretty excited.

Sadly, I haven’t seen any subsequent stories about the project.  If ya got any info, be sure to send it my way.

NOTE: This post was inspired by SideBarNation.com’s October 2007 interview with Phil LaMarr, the voice of Samurai Jack.  You can find their podcast with the talented voice actor and MadTV alum here.

- JEP

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Newsarama.com’s brief interview with Genndy Tartakovsky on August 10, 2007 following the announcement.

Marvel.com’s story from the same day, with the de rigueur “bad mother…shut yo’ mouth” reference and a larger version of the above image.

On Wednesday, I promised a major announcement for WORLD OF HURT, and today, I plan to deliver.  I am extremely proud to announce that The Internet’s #1 Blaxploitation Webcomic will find its second home on Newsarama.com, the Internet’s premier home for comic book news, reviews, and information.

Don’t worry, of course, new episodes of WORLD OF HURT will continue to be posted every Wednesday, right here at www.worldofhurtonline.com, but starting next week, “re-runs” of WORLD OF HURT,beginning with the very first episode of “The Thrill-Seekers,” will run every Tuesday and Thursday at Blog @ Newsarama.  Think of it in the same way as a syndicated TV show like The Office.  Every Thursday, NBC airs new episodes, but you can also find previous episodes in syndication on your local TV station.   It is a tremendous promotional opportunity to reach new readers and spread the “gospel” of Pastor to fans of comic fans who may not have found the site otherwise.

I am very proud to be part of the Blog @ Newsarama family.  Troy Brownfield and David Pepose of Newsarama.com have been extremely accommodating and helpful.  In order to introduce WORLD OF HURT to the Newsarama.com audience, David conducted an interview with me this past week.  I was honest and candid as possible, and hopefully it gives you some insight into how WORLD OF HURT came to be, what I’ve learned along the way, and what more I want to accomplish.  The interview was posted last night and can be found HERE.

I can’t believe how far this little strip has come in the past six months.  Everyone has been so receptive and positive about the strip thus far.  I’d like to thank everyone who has discovered this site for sticking around for the ride, and I’d like to welcome all the new “WORLD” Travelers who have just joined us in progress.  I urge you all to buckle up and hunker down, ’cause it only gets more fun from here.

On another note, in three days, the ever-popular feature, Off-Topic Mondays, returns to WORLDOFHURTONLINE.

- JEP

Today is the opening day for the new movie, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief.  I first saw the trailer for this film when it played before Avatar.  It seems like a perfectly adequate young adult movie based on a young adult book series.  I have no problem with that.  I accept that I’m not necessarily the target audience for this kind of film.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, is a film adaptation of the first book from Percy Jackson & The Olympians series of young adult novels by author, Rick Riordan.  It appears to be a coming-of-age story cut from the Harry Potter cloth, wherein a young man discovers his hidden birthright of magical powers along his fate as the only one who can destroy an ancient evil.  In Percy Jackson’s case, he’s a halfbreed demi-god, the son of Poseidon, the God Of The Seas from Greek mythology.  I sought out the background information of the Percy Jackson series, because there was one aspect of the trailer that caused me to literally, and ruefully, laughed out loud: the Black kid.  No, I’m not laughing at Brandon T. Jackson, the young actor in the role.  I’m certain that he does a fine job.  What made me laugh was the point at which the trailer flashes a title card that states “THE HERO,” and then a displays series of shots which clearly establish the clean-cut White kid, Percy Jackson, as the protagonist-the hero.  Next, the character of Grover Underwood-the Black kid- is established as “THE PROTECTOR.”  Even from the trailer, you can tell that Grover’s the guy sent to guard and guide Percy through his hero’s journey and introduce him to the wonders of the strange new world he is about to enter.  He’s a cross between Yoda and Bagger Vance, I guess.

I appreciate Rick Riordan’s attempts at inclusion; to get a bit of diversity on the page, and ultimately, the silver screen, but we’ve been down this road before.  We’ve been the stalwart Black sidekick.   If Grover’s tough, resilient, plucky, or whatever enough to protect Percy Jackson from whatever threats he may encounter while he discovers, and learns to use, his powers, then it stands to reason that good ol’ Grover would have the fortitude to BE the hero, right?  (Hell, with a name like ‘Percy Jackson,’ I’m shocked that he ISN’T Black.)  I know, the Black kid can’t be the hero in this particular story, because the Percy Jackson & The Olympians is rooted in Greek mythology, so their gods obviously weren’t Black.  I would give you that argument, if Rosario Dawson hadn’t been cast as the Greek goddess, Persephone.  

Perhaps she’s described a little lighter in the books.  Then again, maybe Percy Jackson can’t be Black, because he’s the son of the God Of The Oceans, and everyone knows that Black folks don’t swim.

One thing I missed in the trailer, but realized later, was the fact that Grover uses crutches.  Apparently, Grover does this to hide the fact that he’s actually a satyr, and the crutches help disguise the unusual posture and gait caused by his cloven hooves.  Because I’m already  approaching 1000 words, for the time being I’ll ignore the fact that the Black kid is secretly a mythological being whose has traditionally been portrayed as a sex-crazed, indolent, half-animal with a huge schlong that does nothing but play music all day.  That’s a post for another day.  Instead, I’m going to focus on Grover Underwood as yet another example of the plucky, Black, crippled sidekick that seems so popular in fiction.  Rick’s cashing in all his EEOC chips with Grover, huh?  But, where have we seen this archetype before?  Let me see:

Well, there was that one kid, Stevie Kenarkin from the Fox sitcom, Malcolm In The Middle, played by Craig Lamar Traylor:

As much as I love the Teen Titans, I have to regretfully add Vic Stone, Cyborg, to this list.  His dangerous Black virility was dampened by the fact that his limbs, part of his face, and possibly his junk, was burned off by an other-dimensional protoplasmic creature:

Hammer (no MC) was a minor character from the comic book, X-Force, who was paralyzed during a mission with The Six-Pack, a team of mutant mercenaries led by Cable.  His teammate Kane (a White dude) had both his arms blown off, but he received superior cybernetic replacements for those.  In a fictional universe where characters return from the dead with alarming regularity, Hammer still remains confined to his wheelchair.

A recent addition to the ranks of the crippled Black sidekick is Marvel’s James Rhodes, aka War Machine.  Seems like he had his face blown off in Avengers: The Initiative, along with a lot of his other pieces.  Fortunately, it seems that he may get better in time for the next Iron Man movie.

However, my favorite example of the plucky Black, crippled sidekick is from no less a writer than Alan Moore himself.  When Rob Liefeld hired Moore to revitalize his Youngblood property, Moore introduced Max Doyle, a robotics expert who piloted a number of of giant robot bodies.  Collectively, Max and his robots went by the name of Big Brother.  Get it?  ‘Brother’ can be slang for a Black dude and he zips around in a giant…Uh, I’ll let Alan Moore describe the character in his own words:

Big Brother is the final male member of the team.  His real name is Max Doyle.  He’s Waxman’s adoped son; he’s seventeen; he’s black; he’s only about five feet tall, and he’s crippled in both legs.

I actually dug the concept, but once you read the description out loud, it sounds like Johnny Sokko played by Arnold Drummond from Dif’frent Strokes.

I’m not saying that these attempts at greater diversity are not appreciated.  They are, because these portrayals are a far cry from the days of Stepin Fetchit and Aunt Jemima.  However, if you’re a writer in a position to create a new character and their supporting cast, just stop for one second and ask youself: “Why can’t the HERO be Black? Asian? A Woman? Physically challenged?”  I think if  you answer it honestly, you’ll find yourself with something more challenging to yourself and your readers than a token nod to cultural diversity. 

- JEP

I recently purchased a copy of Comics Interview #12 from Ebay.  I bought it for a heckuva bargain.  I had been searching for this issue for a very long time, because it featured one of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’s rare interviews.  The focus of this article was his work on the then-current series, Atari Force.

 This particular issue has a publication date of June 1984, and was chock full of great intervews with creators who are still making an impact in comics today, including letterer Tom Orzechowski, writer/editor Louise Simonson, and most notably a lengthy discussion with celebrated comic book writer, Alan Moore.

Among other topics, Moore discussed his start in the industry, writing and illustrating comic strips for local newspapers (I had no idea he drew, too), and his  later work writing for the comic books, V For Vendetta and Swamp Thing.  Moore also discussed his revival of Dez Skinn’s Marvelman.  (Yes, this article even predates the series’ subsequent title change to Miracleman.)  Today, any discussion of Miracleman/Marvelman as a commentary on, and subversion of  “…the obvious cliches and the absudities of comics,” is par for the course.  It’s impossible to discuss without framing it in that context.    As Moore says in the interview, “You take all these cliches, twist them one degree to the right, and you’ve got something that’s totally fresh.”  In today’s market, that’s standard operating procedure for superhero comics, but in 1984 this was absolutely revolutionary stuff!  Later, Alan Moore states:

It’s frightening, what anybody that powerful would do to people around them psychologically.  Look at Marvelman-he’s not a human being.  I can see him gradually developing a complete contempt for human beings.  Everyone would look so crude compared to him.  I’d like to explore this idea at DC (Comics) – what Superman has done to the Earth by his very presence.  No matter how hard people struggled, no matter what advances they made, what personal bests they achieved, they’d be nothing compared to Superman or Marvelman.

That actually sounds pretty awesome.  Hmm, I wonder if he ever did anything with that idea?

- JEP

Although Black science fiction remains a fairly small sector of the market, I’ve found that one of more fascinating archetypes found the genre is that of the “Black Wandering Immortal Hero.”  Examples include Octavia E. Butler’s literary creation, Doro from her “Patternmaster” series; Dwayne McDuffie’s Icon from Milestone Comics; and Jaycen Wise, the independent comic book creation of the artist, Uraeus.  For many African-Americans, there is no family crest or immigration record to document their family’s earliest arrival in this country; sometimes the best they can hope for is an oral history or some record of a financial transaction as their ancestors passed from one set of hands to another.  Possibly this archetype speaks to the African-American desire to connect with a past that was lost to us due to broken family lines.  Possibly the Immortal Wanderer is literary wish fulfillment for Black Americans who, from time to time, might engage in the thought experiment of, “What would I have done if I had been there?” or ‘Man, if only I had been there…”  The latest addition to the ranks of the Black Wandering Immortal Heroes is Lucius Hammer, created by writer, Brian Williams, and artist, Christian Colbert of  Ravenhammer Comics.

The setting for the first issue of Lucius Hammer is the early 1970s, but his tale begins sometime near the turn of the 20th century.  Lucius was raised in the town of Possum Bend, Alabama, and from an early age, Lucius’ parents were aware that he was special and gifted with unique abilities.  His remarkable strength manifests as a youth, but throughout the course of the story, it becomes evident that Lucius may possibly be immortal.  After his mother’s death, Lucius’ father encourages him to explore the world and find his own direction in life, but he warns him to  guard his secret abilities closely.  Most of the first issue is a flashback, and provides the reader with a quick snapshot of Lucius’ life.  Like Benjamin Buttons, Forrest Gump, or Woody Allen’s Zelig, Lucius moves through the major events of the 20th century and reflects on how they  influenced him.  In the world of Lucius Hammer, superheroes began appearing sometime after World War II, and their arrival inspires him to openly use his powers in a similar manner to help and inspire others.  Sometime in the early 1970s, Lucius goes public under the nom de guerre of Powerhouse and forms his own superteam called The Dream Team  The consolidated power an all-Black team of superheroes draws the attention of the U.S. government, so President Nixon activates a Cold War super-soldier by the name of  The American Way to take down Powerhouse and The Dream Team.  The first issue ends with the threat of the impending confrontation between the Lucius and The American Way.

Overall, I thought Lucius Hammer was a blast.  Williams does a commendable job of compressing Lucius Hammer’s origin and setting up the conflict all within the span of twenty-two pages.  Williams throws a lot of information at the reader, but because much of it is conveyed  via Lucius Hammer’s first person narration, it comes across as more conversational and less purely expository.  This is a story very much in the old-school Marvel manner. Williams creates a fairly relatable hero and gives you everything you need to know about him before launching into the adventure.  Although Lucius Hammer’s story carries him through some bleak times in the 20th Century, and the notion of a government conspiracy to put Black superheroes in their place, might be fodder for a very dark story, the overall tone of Lucius Hammer was one of optimism.  Lucius makes mistakes in his effort to find his place and purpose in the world, but his heart and head are in the right place.

If I had one criticism for this book, it would be the implication in the opening page that Lucius is the “bastard son of John Henry.”  I understand the desire to tie the immortal Lucius Hammer into one of the few Black characters in American folklore, especially given Lucius’ surname, but the connection just reminds me of Bryan Singer’s Superman-as-Absentee-Father in Superman Returns.  And, man, I hate to be reminded of Superman Returns. Like Superman, I don’t see John Henry as a character who would knock up a chick and leave.  If nothing else, John Henry was all about honor and commitment, even if it killed him.  Also, the word “bastard” in the opening page might be the only thing keeping it from being an all-ages appropriate book.  But these are fairly minor quibbles in an otherwise fine book.

Christian Colbert reinforces the generally upbeat mood with bright, open art that is somewhat reminiscent of Ed McGuinness.  Colbert’s figure work shares the blocky, robust quality of McGuinness’, but the linework is more pared down, cartoonier, and accordingly, there’s just a little more fluidity to Colbert’s forms.  It was actually Colbert’s designs for Lucius Hammer and his supporting cast that attracted me to the book in the first place, and Colbert proves to be as strong a storyteller as he is character designer.  Colbert, with assistance from Derek King, is also the book’s colorist, and his selection and use of color is absolutely gorgeous.  I especially love the vibrant orange and the warm browns he selected for Powerhouse’s uniform.  Colbert is also effective at using color to further the storytelling and enhance the mood of individual scenes.  There’s one page in the book that perfectly demonstrates what a great team Williams and Colbert make.  It begins at the funeral of Lucius’ mother, with Lucius Hammer, and his family standing on a hillside where a single cross marks his mother’s freshly dug grave.  The color pallette features beautiful, rich autumnal colors. At the gravesite, his aging father encourages Hammer to leave their small town and explore his own path.  The final panel on the page shows two crosses on that same hill, now cold, grey, wintry and snowswept, with Lucius’ narration box stating that once he left Possum Bend, he never returned home.  There’s not a punch thrown or a hint of spandex in sight, but this page impressed me the most, because it was a wonderful synthesis of art, writing, and coloring, with an elegant economy in the storytelling.  While a lot was said on the page, there was still so much implied between the panels that gave a greater weight to the story.

I definitely look forward to more installments of Lucius Hammer and would encourage you to check out the Ravenhammer website and Brian Williams’ Lucius Hammer blog for more insight into the series.

- JEP

This past weekend, I attended Wizard World Atlanta.  It was the inaugural show and only my second time exhibiting as a vendor, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  The general consensus among other artists and vendors was that business was a bit slower than expected and I experienced the same thing.  Foot traffic through the aisles was surprisingly light and I was sitting just three tables down from Gaijin Studios, across the aisle from Michael Golden, and kitty-corner from Bill Sienkiewicz and David Mack! 

I think there were several factors that contributed to the attendance issures, such as the fact that it was the first time the convention had been held, so the convention had not established an identity of its own yet.  Additionally, I’m not sure how many people knew about the convention, so Wizard World should make a bigger advertising push for next year.  The rainy and cold weather, the SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome that Saturday, and shockingly high prices of $35 per person for one-day passes may have also had am impact on attendance.  I will say that it was well-organized and the vendors and artists enjoyed large tables.  There was generous space behind them in which to set up displays and store their goods.  The staff and volunteers were also friendly and extremely helpful. 

Personally, I had a tremendous time, because I got to hang out for a while with my nephews, I met some great new people and re-connected with some old friends.  My old roommate, Anthony Summey , came up from Savannah to help man the table again.  John Aston, the creator of the Blaxploitation webcomic, Rachel Rage, met up again where we continued our bitter, bitter rivalry.  However, at next year’s HeroesCon, we plan on putting our mutual hatred aside long enough to get a table or two together.  I got to hang out a with old-school WORLD OF HURT booster and former Savannah-ite, Doug Gross.  Also, I gotta give a shout-out to Little John (not Lil’ John, though), a long-time Blaxploitation fan who may be the only cat who’s more into the strip than ME!  Also, I had fun meeting up with the fellas from the podcast, SiDEBAR, Dwight, Swain, and the newest addition to the cast, Adrian.  SiDEBAR is the reason why God gave comic book fans ears.  It’s smart, literate, yet fun, accessible and down-to-earth at the same time.  Awesome fellas who I can just shoot the breeze with like I’ve known them forever.

Other highlights include:

• I was honored to be invited by Dr. Jonathan Gayles to participate in his film project involving Black masculinity in comic books.  On Sunday, he conducted an interview with me where he let me pontificate about everything from WORLD OF HURT to Luke Cage.  The interview lasted about 40 minutes and perhaps in a little bit of an omen, as we were winding up on the last question about the history of Blaxploitation, Richard Roundtree wanders into the background of the shot.  The hallway was otherwise empty, but he just ambles by, as cool as you please.  You couldn’t ask for a cooler moment. I met John this year at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia, PA and he was kind enough to follow-up with me.  He’s a really great guy and I urge you all to check out his site at BlackSuperheroDoc.com.  He’s doing really exciting work (and I’d say that even if I wasn’t in it!)

• Actor, Nick Jones, stopped by the table.  He recognized me, because I follow him on Twitter (@njfuture), so he decided to come by and learn more about the strip.  For those of you who don’t know, Nick Jones plays John Stewart in the upcoming Green Lantern film.  (I have to admit, I didn’t ply him for more details about the movie, and I’m kicking myself for that now, but I did try to sell him on playing Pastor if they ever do a movie.)  I mean, the dude’s classically handsome and LOOKS like a movie star, but doesn’t act like it at all.  No pretensions or entourages.  He’s just a tremendously, tremendously cool guy and a lifelong comic book fan who was content to just chill at the show and take in the sights.

• Meeting Fred “The Hammer” Williamson (Black Caesar, That Man Bolt, Hell Up In Harlem) and gave him my quick elevator pitch on WORLD OF HURT.  Based on past interviews, I know he’s not a fan of the word “Blaxploitation,” so I carefully avoided it.  He looked at me a little skeptically, at first, but he soon warmed up a bit, took one of my postcards and said he’d check it out.  He was also nice enough to take a picture with me.
• Seeing Richard Roundtree (Shaft, Shaft’s Big Score, Heroes) in person.  He just happened to be walking by the table on his way to somewhere else, so as I saw him coming, I grabbed a WORLD OF HURT postcard and introduced myself. Nice guy.

- JEP

(P.S. I mentioned on Twitter that I’d be discussing Luke Cage today, but I’m posting that blog entry next week.  I wanted to discuss a scene from New Avengers #7 which I had seen posted online in previews.  I have not had the chance to purchase the issue yet, so I didn’t think it was completely fair to discuss the scene in detail without reading the entire issue.)