black superheroes
-
It Must Be the Shoes: Super Heroic Can Bring Out the Hero in Every Kid
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a shoe! Rarely do the words “innovative” and “adorable” occupy the same space, but we just learned about something that is both: New children’s shoe line Super Heroic has arrived to save the day—or, in this case, save the play. Five years ago, Chicagoan Jason Mayden was a…
-
Watch: Black Panther Cast Explains Why Black Superheroes Matter
The Black Panther character is more than the namesake of a movie that’s breaking the box office. He’s a culture. Marvel Comics has introduced the world to a diverse roster of superheroes since its launch in 1939, but the most notable has got to be Black Panther, who made his first appearance in Fantastic Four,…
-
On Black Panther, Black Leopard and the Politics of Being a Black Superhero
In approximately three weeks, on Feb. 16, the biggest and blackest movie extravaganza that we have seen since the turn of ’00 will finally be hitting theaters. It’s funny, really. The premiere of Black Panther is so close and yet so far away. But that’s not stopping all of the buzz that’s abounding. Everywhere you…
-
#BlackPantherChallenge Has Taken the Internet by Storm and Celebrities Are Chipping In
You’re gonna see Black Panther, you’re gonna see Black Panther, everyone gets to see Black Panther! Earlier this month I wrote about an awesome GoFundMe that was set up to raise money to help Harlem kids see Black Panther (aka the world’s most amazing movie; I will never hype this up enough). From there, the GoFundMe…
-
Ladies First: Black Lightning Is a Superhero Story That Doesn’t Strike Us Down
(Warning: Spoilers abound below.) “Strange Fruit” echoing in the background of the show’s opening minutes. A young black woman narrating. References to Fannie Lou Hamer and Harriet Tubman. Mentions of SZA and Solange. Testosterone might power Black Lightning, the superhero, but a healthy dose of estrogen helps drive Black Lightning, the series. In the series,…
-
Let’s Get Lit: Black Lightning Is the Superhero Show for the Trump Era
Let’s make a black-superhero television show, shall we? First you’d need to have a network that actually has a track record of successful shows about superheroes. CW? Check. Then you’d need a diverse black cast that hits all age groups. Cress Williams as the star, with old-school cred from Living Single and crossover love from…
-
Wakanda Forever: On the Importance of Black Panther
The time has finally come. After waiting 20-odd years (read: my entire life), we are finally on the eve of Black Panther’s arrival. And by “eve,” I mean that finally, Black Panther will be the very next Marvel film to grace our eyeballs. Indeed. Come Feb. 16, 2018, black people across the African Diaspora will…
-
Black Heroes for Hire: Scratching the Black Panther Itch
As colorful as comics are, they have not always been kind to people of color. Even though Stan Lee and Marvel were bold enough to create the X-Men in reaction to the civil rights movement, not everyone else was so enlightened or has been so enlightened since (see #DonaldforSpiderman). The gap is noticeably present in…
-
Watch: Philly’s Real-Life Superhero
The first time Ariell Johnson imagined herself as a superhero was when she laid eyes on Storm of The X-Men. “I just saw this white-haired, white-eyed black woman flying around shooting lightning at people and I was like, ‘Who is this?’” she says. “I felt like I was just kind of watching other people’s adventures…
-
Rising Above a Disability Through a Comic Book
In March of 2009, David Rector suffered a series of horrific medical crises. The former NPR producer, with a voice like black velvet caressing your skin, lost the ability to speak—or walk. He was virtually comatose for two weeks. But a friend suggested using Rector’s encyclopedic knowledge and love of comic books—especially D.C. Comic’s Superman…