10 Black Comic Book Writers

 

The Culture has always been a source of inspiration for comic books (you can draw strong parallels between the X-Men and the Civil Rights Movement for example) but for the longest we were underrepresented in comic books as superheroes and behind the scenes as writers, artists and creators. But thanks to modern technology making self-publishing easier and the breakout success of the film Black Panther, The Culture is getting it’s opportunity to shine. Check out 10 of the top scribes brining our stories to light in comics today.

ERIKA ALEXANDER

Erika Alexander, is an actress and writer most famously know for role playing Maxine Shaw in the 90’s culture classic sitcom Living Single. However, Alexander is also the writer behind the award-winning sci-fi comic Concrete Park a story about exiles from earth stranded on a desert planet where some fight for power and survival and others fight for redemption and to build a new society. #FunFact: Erika’s husband Tony Puryear is the co-writer and provides the art for the comic.

TA-NEHISI COATES

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a New York Times best-selling author and national correspondent for The Atlantic who has also found the time to write three Black Panther stories for Marvel. Black Panther (2016), Black Panther:World of Wakanda, and BlackPanther and the Crew. He’s played a major role in the resurgence of the Black Panther character.

REGINALD HUDLIN

Reginald Hudlin is a critically acclaimed film director, writer, and producer. Hudlin directed House Partyand Boomerang, produced Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, and also directed several television shows, including The Office, Modern Family, and The Bernie Mac Show. Hudlin wrote Black Panther for Marvel Comics from 2005-2008, and is most notable for the “Bride of The Panther” storyline that sees T’challa and Ororo Munroe (aka Storm of the X-Men) married during the height of Marvel’s Civil War forming the ultimate black power couple in all of comics.

PAUL LOUISE-JULIE

Paul Louise-Julie is a writer and artist who is responsible for the fantasy miniseries The Pack, a story that blends Egyptian mythology and werewolves to great effect. Louise-Julie is heavily inspired by African culture and art and he is currently at work on Yohancé, a space opera with a heavy African aesthetic inspired by his love of science fiction and Star Wars.

CHRISTOPHER PRIEST

Christopher Priest began his comic book career at Marvel Comics under a different name: Jim Owsley. He worked as an editor and later a writer, penning Power Man and Iron Fist, Deadpool, and had a critically acclaimed run in the third volume of Black Panther. He also wrote Green Lantern, The Ray, and Steel for DC. Priest also created the much-loved series Quantum and Woody alongside artist Mark Bright, which has enjoyed multiple runs.

ANGELA ROBINSON

Angela Robinson is a writer and filmmaker who has written for the HBO series Hung and True Blood. She directed the award-winning film D.E.B.S.as well as the true story about the creator of Wonder Woman, Professor Martson and the Wonder Women. Robinson wrote the first four issues of DC Comic’s The Web, making her one of only two black women to write comics for the publisher.

REGINE SAWYER

Regine Sawyer is a veteran of the comics industry and the founder of Lockett Down Publications, which publishes The Rippers, Ice Witch, and Eating Vampires. She is also the driving force behind the Women in Comics NYC Collective International, an organization that serves to recognize and highlight the efforts and work of women comic book creators.

FELIPE SMITH

Felipe Smith is an artist and designer known for his manga MBQ, which tells the story of a black man trying to make comics in LA. He is also known for Peepo Choo, a manga that studies the collision of American and Japanese cultures. Smith has worked on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and is also the writer of Marvel’s All-New Ghost Rider series, which is the first appearance of Latino Robbie Reyes as the iconic Ghost Rider.

GEOFFREY THORNE

Geoffrey Thorne is a writer and actor who portrayed officer Wilson Sweet on In the Heat of the Night. He has produced, written, and acted in other television and film properties such as ER, The Women of Brewster Place, Ben 10: Omniverse, and Ultimate Spider-Man. Thorne has written comics for many publishers, including Dark Horse and Lion Forge. Recently Thorne wrote Mosaic for Marvel Comics which tells the story of Morris Sackett, a professional athlete and Inhuman.

 

DAVID WALKER

 

David Walker is a filmmaker, film scholar (his expertise is Blaxploitation films) and a writer of novels and comics. He is the co-writer of the amazing graphic novel Number 13 and has worked on titles for Marvel, DC, and IDW. His work on the comic book adaptation of Shaft won him a Glyph Comics Award in 2015. He is also the author of the young adult graphic novel The Adventures of Darius Logan Book One: Super Justice Force.

 

 

Written by @TalentedMrFord

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