Beyond Black Panther

Happy Black History Month and Welcome to a brand new year of awesome content from NARAZU!  This month is usually spent looking back at the visionary leaders who created the world in which we live.  But, at NARAZU, we like to do things a little differently because history is also future: present – the seeds of the unimaginable, planted today.

For this issue, we bring you just that, creators who have taken the gumption of innovators like Stan Lee, Gordon Parks, and Melvin Van Peeples and pushed it farther to create Black and African-American superhero characters who are as fully realized as they are badass.  Watch and learn folks, the future looks bright.

Best Always!

Team Narazu  

All Indie. All Awesome.

Raising Dion

That Netflix might be a viable home for new Black superheroes is unsurprising, but there’s one upcoming series, in particular, to keep very close eyes on, the adaptation of Dennis Liu’s Raising Dion. Originally released as a comic several years ago (which you can luckily still download for free), Liu’s superb first issue introduced Nicole and her 7-year-old son Dion, a child with a host of mighty but potentially dangerous superpowers. The basic concepts being played with here are single motherhood, family unity, young Black exceptionalism, and protecting that exceptionalism from the institutions that would seek to take advantage of it. There’s an eye-catching YouTube short film that functioned as a teaser back in Raising Dion’s early days, and while Netflix has yet refused to announce a release date, production apparently wrapped in the middle of last year. In short: expect an announcement soon, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it slated for release in Q2 or Q3 of 2019.

King Vader

For this one, there’s some mystery about who the Black superhero being praised is – Dominique Barrett himself, a/k/a King Vader, or the many players in his absolutely sensational satirical pop culture videos flowing forth from his mighty YouTube channel. You may have seen King Vader’s videos floating around your social media of choice, but the Chicagoan small-screen maestro (as in, phone screen, ya dig?) has risen to the top of a very specific type of hilarious, highly positive, and delightfully creative form of pop video art, frequently repurposing properties like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, and (undoubtedly my personal favorite) Cowboy Bebop. Aside from being tremendously entertaining, King Vader’s evolving oeuvre is a claxon for ambitious young people of color looking to celebrate the work which inspires them while simultaneously shaping their own inimitable voice in new media. For those of you who shy away from most social media, take a moment to emerge from the depths and click on King Vader’s YouTube channel, but prepare to be amazed.

M.A.N.T.I.S.

Our third entry during Black History Month breaks off from looking at what’s ahead, only because there’s a very specific film in our distant TV past that not enough people have seen. I’m speaking about the double-length pilot for the mid-90s television series M.A.N.T.I.S. Younger folk might not be aware of it, but M.A.N.T.I.S.was a phenomenal concept for a Black superhero show, starring Carl Lumbly as the incredibly wealthy scientist Dr. Miles Hawkins. While rescuing a young girl during a city riot, Hawkins is paralyzed from the waist down after a police officer’s stray bullet hits his spine. Applying his genius and wealth to the injury, he creates a super-powered suit that grants increased mobility and becomes a full-on masked vigilante with a variety of high-tech gadgets, including special tranquilizers that freeze his criminal targets. Of course, the resultant show proved to be of varying quality (rumors swirl that boardroom meddling butchered its bravest concepts), but the Sam Raimi-produced pilot still holds up remarkably well, and features other recognizable stars, like Gina Torres in a strong supporting role. It’s certainly a bit campy 25 years later, but there are ideas in M.A.N.T.I.S.’s pilot that should hopefully inspire future projects. I, for one, think we are long overdue for another disabled African-American superhero series. M.A.N.T.I.S. is available to stream on Amazon(though I reiterate my point that there is a significant drop in quality between the pilot and the series).

Black Comic Returns

Professor John Jennings and Dr. Damian Duffy

Lion Forge

The follow up to the successful 2010 Black Comix: African American Independent Comics, Art and Culture, good luck finding a copy under $50. This new coffee table book is an expansion on the original independent showcase, from veterans like Dawud Anyabwile creator of Brother Man, N. Steven Harris, and Regine Sawyer to “new jacks” like Keef Cross, Jerome Walford, and Ashley A. Woods are listed with their work showing why they’re in this book. Seriously looking at this book would have saved me a ton of time these past two years as most of my picks can be found in the pages of this book, and I’m sure there’ll be a bunch more. In addition to the artists, this book also includes listings of conventions held around the U.S. that celebrate Blerds and give them spaces to fly their geek flag.

Encyclopedia of Black Comics
Dr. Sheena C. Howard
Fulcrum Publishing

Like Black Comix Returns, the Encyclopedia of Black Comics is a more scholarly approach to listing folks of color who are in the Comic game in one fashion or another. This book is a serious piece of academic work that captures the passion of the talent, from the obvious ones like writers, pencilers, and inkers to the people behind the scenes like editors, historians, and curators. Also included in this text are the people who support the industry with running conventions and websites to the academics who teach the importance of black contributors to the craft.

…but then again, there’s reality. Real Life Superheroes is a rarity for Narazu: non-fiction. There are indeed people who dress in costumes, armor, or uniforms not as cosplay but to literally be the heroes their particular Gotham’s need. Journalist Nadia Fezzani spent time in various cities on the streets with people who live the hero life of thwarting crime, helping the innocent, or being desperately-needed symbols, and found that their reasons for donning the masks went from the silly and hopeful to the poignant and painful. Real life heroes, real life origin stories. As in the comics, not all the heroes are welcomed by law enforcement, and there are even those who fashion themselves as anti-heroes. Look up “real life superheroes” on YouTube to see a few in action. As technology catches up to our imaginations, will we soon see lights in the sky calling for a valiant vigilante’s help? Check this book out for a fascinating look into the psychology of how people define heroism and who gets to assume that role.

And now back to fiction. See? Quick, breathless, and adventurous! You wanted heroic, Narazu takes to the skies, streets, and mountains for you! Ever wonder what Conan would have been like had he been born in ancient Wakanda? Or maybe you need the Dora Milaje as spirit warriors charged by the gods to protect humanity? Are you looking high and low for a series of tales that interweave a new mythology of black adventure and heroism? If you are, you’re no stranger to Milton Davis and his MVmedia press. Just released, Fallen contains stories of Shange, banished from the heavens for falling in love with a human, and her lover (changed by the gods into a lion); perennial favorite Changa, who would leave a dazed Cimmerian wondering what the Crom had just happened to him; and others, all written with cinematic flair and that sense of adventure a Saturday trip to the comic store used to bring. Enjoyable tales of sheroes, heroes, and situations that demand more than bulging muscles and flashing swords, but the use of brains as well.