Growing up I was never into action comics. I believe that this had to do with being a
girl living in world that seem to only reserve certain type of reading
materials for boys, comics being a part of that group. Even with the Wonder Woman television series
in rotation during my young life, I still wasn’t pulled in. When I was a teen I became fascinated with
the X-Men hero Storm. She had brown skin
like me and could kick butt. To this day
X-Men stories are indeed my favorite of all superheroes and it is the only one
that I will spend money on to see in the theater. I recently did some research to find out just
how many characters are actually black superheroes from popular brands like Marvel,
DC Comics, and a sleuth of others. To my
amazement I found that there are several hundred heroes that live in skin like
mine. Black Superheroes via Wikipedia
I have never considered myself a comic-fan, but with my new discovery and some new and upcoming comic book reads that showcase characters of African descent, this may all change. I have been in the dark too long about black superheroes. I am walking into the light! Check out these recent and forthcoming comic book releases that will be featured in bookstores near you. Happy Reading!
Luke Cage: Avenger
(Release date TBA)
I have never considered myself a comic-fan, but with my new discovery and some new and upcoming comic book reads that showcase characters of African descent, this may all change. I have been in the dark too long about black superheroes. I am walking into the light! Check out these recent and forthcoming comic book releases that will be featured in bookstores near you. Happy Reading!
*All images in this post belong to Marvel Entertainment, LLC. Click the title to find the original retrieval source.
(2016) Coates, Ta-Nehisi
This is a book series that you don’t want to miss out
on. Marvel’s Black Panther has been
around since the late 1960’s, but the latest stories featuring this hero from
the fictional African nation of Wakanda is written by one of my all-time
favorite authors and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates. Coates is considered a modern day James
Baldwin. His recent book ‘Between the
World and Me’ has received much praise and also the won the National Book Award
for Nonficiton prize in 2015. His take on the new era
of Black Panther is refreshing and is filled with plot details that speak about
injustice and change. Coates has signed
on to write several Black Panther comics so follow him and look out for more
books in the future.
Luke Cage: Avenger
(2016) Benson, Mike, et al.
Marvel's Luke Cage first came onto the scene in 1972. He was wrongly convicted and soon becomes a hired hero to fight criminals on the tough New York City streets. Luke has unbreakable skin and can stop bullets without even thinking about it. There is a new Netflix series about the character premiering on September 30, 2016. We hope to see more from this character and spin-offs from this comic book series especially because he has a young child with superhero mate Jessica Jones that is bound to be a superhero themselves.
(2015) Reeder, Amy & Montclare, Brandon
Marvel's Luke Cage first came onto the scene in 1972. He was wrongly convicted and soon becomes a hired hero to fight criminals on the tough New York City streets. Luke has unbreakable skin and can stop bullets without even thinking about it. There is a new Netflix series about the character premiering on September 30, 2016. We hope to see more from this character and spin-offs from this comic book series especially because he has a young child with superhero mate Jessica Jones that is bound to be a superhero themselves.
(2015) Reeder, Amy & Montclare, Brandon
There are not enough words to describe how I feel about Moon
Girl. She is a girl. She is a genius. She is a superhero. AND she is African-American. This girl is me! Well except for the superhero part…and the
genius part...OK well, you know what I mean.
Lunella Lafyette is struggling with the "newness" of being a pre-teen all while trying to
deal with her superhuman powers. When a
device she created accidentally opens up a vortex to the pre-historic past she encounters Devil Dinosaur and that is
when the journey begins. #2 in the
series is to be released in 2017.
(Release date TBA)
Riri Williams is another teen genius who is somewhat of a protégé
of Iron Man. When Iron Man decides to
hang up his metal suit, it is a perfect time for Ironheart to step in and take
his place. This is a brand new storyline
from Marvel so it is still developing.
Join our email list to stay updated about the new character and when the
first book will be published.
