I've written before on the impact those Golden Legacy comics had on me as a child. They were instrumental in getting me to see history from a viewpoint other than the white-washed, nationalist version we had in our textbooks. And they set the stage for my learning more about racism, sexism, etc. decades later. Those Golden Legacy comics weren't really activist in any way; they were pretty straight-forward history lessons, just told in a comic form. They covered parts of history that are frequently ignored, and simply added to my overall education. And there are books like that still being produced today. I reviewed Tales of the Talented Tenth: Bessie Stringfield a few weeks ago; John Lewis' March trilogy has gotten gobs of awards and acclaim; I've got biographic comics on everyone from Malcom X to John Mercer Langston (look him up). They're all pretty straight-forward histories, but what they do is legitimize Black history. They point to significant people and events that happened, but weren't covered in your grade school history class. They show readers that there's more to history than George Washington, Abe Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt.
And it's fantastic that different creators are putting these books out. That there are multiple comic biographies of Martin Luther King is just incredible! Kudos to anyone who has done or is doing these!
BUT! Where are the webcomic versions? Where are the biographies of Frederick McKinley Jones? Octavia Butler? Huey Newton? Mae Jemison? You're telling me no one is interested in a biography of Pam Grier!?!
Someone seriously needs to get on this! I think these stories deserve to be told with a high degree of quality, but I also think a mediocre version would do phenomenally well. Plus! PLUS! There's a more than fair chance that the comics would be shared around outside of Black communities, and you'll help enlighten some clueless white folks. Just like those Golden Legacy comics impacted me all those years ago!
0 comments:
Post a Comment