I'm one of the judges for this year's Glyph Awards, which are given to the best in comics by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year. The submissions list is a long one, so expect to see me double-dipping, reviewing some of the comics I'm reading for the nomination process. Some of these are crap, such as the mean-spirited, tedious Spectre serial in Tales of the Unexpected. Then, there are others, the gems I might not have seen if I were not a Glyph judge.
Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clemente Oubrerie [Drawn & Quarterly; $19.95] is a sexy, thoughtful comedy set on the Ivory Coast in the 1970s. Aya is an ambitious, focused, and intelligent young woman who wants to become a doctor. Her friends Adjoua and Bintou are all about dancing and romance. The three are surrounded by annoying well-meaning relatives and annoying would-be suitors. Never as crude or salacious as our American sitcoms, this 96-page graphic novel is compelling, funny, and real.
Writer Abouet draws on her own Ivory Coast childhood for this story, capturing the culture and life of the emerging nation prior to the unrest of recent times. Artist Oubrerie enriches the tale with his vibrant depictions of Abouet's characters and the city in which they live. Their work won the 2006 Angouleme International Comics Festival award for "Best First Album" and deserves to be a contender in our own Eisner and Harvey awards.
I created Black Lightning back in 1976 in a partnership deal with DC Comics. It was not work-for-hire and no such contract for my creation of the character exists. DC's strange notions of what "partnership" entails has been the cause of countless disagreements betwixt the company and yours truly.
Despite these disagreements - and the resultant personal and financial harm visited on me - and despite the missteps taken with Black Lightning by some editors and writers who do not understand the character, my creation remains popular with the readers and of unquestionable historical import. I'm thrilled with this, though, naturally, I'd be more thrilled if I were writing Black Lightning and profiting from his popularity.
Not a week goes by without someone asking me questions about Black Lightning, what I think of some comic book he's appearing in, and whether or not DC will ever do right by me. Some questions I can't or won't answer for obvious reasons...if you know what I mean and I think that you do. Others...well, that's what this regular TOT "department" is for.
One of the most common questions is what DC Comics owes me re: the use of Black Lightning. Sadly, they do not owe me for the use of the character in their comic books, though it surely wouldn't be a big drain on their budget if they did pay me for such use. But they do owe me for any other use of the character; this is often the cause of those disagreements mentioned above.
For example, the "DC Direct" line released a Black Lightning action figure. I'm owed a percentage of what the company made from the action figure. At this point, I have not received any payment. I don't know that payment won't be forthcoming. It took years for DC to send me a small check for the Black Lightning figure done by HeroClix, but they did eventually send me that small check. But, at this time, for the new DC Direct action figure, I haven't yet received any payment.
I noticed the most recent Previews catalog offered this way spiffy Alex Ross poster of the Justice League of America. As a member of the League, Black Lightning is depicted on that poster. DC will also owe me for that use of my creation, though I suspect they won't see it that way. After all, this is the place that once sold a $25 Watchmen watch and then claimed they didn't owe any piece of that action to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons because it was "a promotional item." They crack me up sometimes.
Anyway, that's the deal as I see it. I get paid on any use of Black Lightning outside of actual DC comics. DC doesn't always see it that way. If checks for the action figure or the poster arrive, I'll let you know.
Moving on to a more positive item:
The above Black Lightning sketch card is by the very talented Jay Fife. It's one of four Fife drew and contributed to a charity auction for the American Cancer Society that Blue Line Pro is sponsoring. Blue Line publishes Sketch, a popular trade publication of art and "How To" for today's comics book creative community, and also sells pro art supplies. When I have details on the charity auction, I'll pass them along to you. In the meantime, you can visit the company's website at:
Black Lightning was created to be a positive role model. I'm thrilled to see him used to support the American Cancer Society and other worthy organizations.
Getting back to Fife, my pal Jay is a portrait, pin-up, cover and fantasy illustrator based in the Upper Ohio Valley. I love his work and if you'd like to see more of it, go to:
Feel free to keep e-mailing those Black Lightning questions to me. This "department" was created to answer them. It's also where I'll be commenting on appearances of my creation in DC's comics and where I'll be running whatever Black Lightning art you want to send my way. Of all the things I've done in my career, this character is my proudest accomplishment.
Keep watching TOT for more Black Lightning stuff.
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BLOGGY BITS
I guess this is the "department" where I write about the more personal stuff that doesn't involve Black Lightning. Today, I am quite boorishly discussing money.
When Justin and I relaunched TOT at the start of the year, I had a good paying gig which I figured would easily subsidize this column whether anyone used the Tip The Tipster link or not. I hadn't figured the gig would end within a week of the relaunch. So much for my soothsaying skills.
I set an incredibly modest goal for what I hoped to receive in donations. The only reason I won't give you the exact amount I had in mind was because I don't want potential clients to think I make a habit out of working that cheap. Lord knows there are plenty of folks out there who already think I'd be thrilled to write for them for starvation wages or less.
A lot of people read TOT. I assumed that means they enjoy it and that they would happily kick in a few dollars to keep it going. I should know better than to assume. As of this writing, only 44% of my incredibly modest goal has been met for the month of January. Since I don't expect the same people to donate every month, I fear February's donations will be less.
What does this mean for the future of TOT? Justin and I are committed to bringing you five TOTs per week for this month and the next. After that, we'll have no choice but to reassess what we're doing here. As much as I love writing this column, I have a life outside of TOT, a life that includes college, household, and other bills that need to be paid.
My landing good-paying gigs on a regular basis would certainly make it possible for me to think of TOT a "loss-leader" and keep it coming. Sans such gigs, I can easily make more money selling stuff on eBay than I could writing this column.
Writing about this is less fun for me than reading it is for you. But, if circumstances should dictate an end to TOT and, very possibly, my message board as well, I didn't want that end to come without giving my readers a chance to prevent it.
Thus ends the depressing bloggy bits for today. I promise my next bloggy bits will be much more fun.
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COMICS IN THE COMICS
Speaking of fun, I get a kick out of what I call Comics In The Comics, strips and panels that feature guests from other strips or comic books, that mention characters from other strips or comic books, and that make reference to comics in general or to the strip/panel in particular. When I come across these, I share them with my readers here or on my message board:
I'm far from alone in enjoying these "in" jokes. TOT readers send them to me and, like the ones I come across, I love to share them with you. My most prolific "finder" of these wondrous things is the terrific Tom Duffy. In fact, every one of the strips you see here today were sent to me by Tom.
Getting down to business, here's La Cucaracha by Lalo Alcaraz from December 21, 2007:
Here's the December 31st installment of Frank & Ernest by Tom Thaves:
Here's Gary Delainey and Gerry Rasmussen's Betty from January 8 of this year:
Wikipedia says Working Daze is "a strip by John Zakour and Kyle Miller. [It] centers around the working relationships of a group of geeks who work for MacroMicroWare, a giant impersonal software company. It is syndicated by United Media." Here's their strip from January 15:
One more. It's J.C. Duffy's The Fusco Brothers from January 16:
Have a Comics in the Comics you'd like to share with me and your fellow TOT readers? Send it to me at:
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
I review The Amazing Adventures of Nate Banks #1: Secret Identity Crisis, Secret Identity Crisis: Comic Books and the Unmasking of Cold War America and The Walking Dead Volume 2: Miles Behind Us.
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
Please send material you would like me to review to:
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
