Free to Win, Or Free to Lose (translation: Drop a deuce or chunk up a deuce)

The quandary of liberation is likened to a undigested meal sitting in the bottom of your stomach. You may want to go about your business but the feeling you are experiencing tells you that you had better not go anywhere right now. It behooves you to stay close to the ivory throne. This is a pickle that for whatever reason is a right now feeling. That right now feeling keeps playing over and over and over again in our minds and will not let us go. It is as if an enemy has placed a gag reel in our collective minds telling us stay where you are. You are fine. Status quo isn't so bad. Look at what you have. Can you really trust in something you cannot see? One of the interesting things about faith is that its based upon believing in something you cannot see but the evidence of it exists all around you.

Today is the fourth of July. It is America's biggest holiday, Independence Day. For some of us it means a lot. For some of us, it means little to nothing. It is interesting in that people who think little to nothing about the holiday are often its biggest celebrators. Oh sure, you wont go out and get the red, white and blue paper plates. You wont go and post a gazillion flags around your lawn. However, you will spring for a slab of ribs and a sack of fireworks. Perhaps you will just go to the movies and help the econony that way. Just maybe you will burn 20 dollars on gas to park at a spot where you can see the fireworks go off. Maybe you and your favorite uncle will break out the dominos and play a little Maze. Either way, its your call. You can go on social media and thumb your nose at everybody celebrating the fourth. You can post that Frederick Douglass speech for the 10th time. You did it on My Space, then Black Planet, then you did it on Black Voices, then you did it on Facebook, then you did it on Twitter, then again when it changed to X and I'm sure Tiktok will get a nod too. Its your call.

Just pick a struggle. Too often folks are not happy with what they have to pick from. Smells like entitlement. You get what you get and folks ought to be happy that they do not always get what they truly deserve. So many people lament over their worthiness. Instead they like to talk about knowing their value and that right there keeps a lot of people from making solid and sound decisions. I do not understand how folks don't mind driving and flying hundreds of miles to gamble and risk losing money but will not take a calculated risk to free themselves. That will preach. As a Black comic book fan, I spend time listening to different people talk about what the big two are not doing. They complain and complain, present company included. There is an opportunity that has been made available to all of us who desire to see a story filled with Black characters and done by Black creators called Epiphany Engine. This project highlights characters from several Black independent companies and creators. Something like this has never been done before on this level. The talent is top notch and story boasts top writers in the comic book community. In short, this is that what so many of us have wanted to see. A cosmic story rooted in Afro Futurism bringing together all these different characters and ideas one place. Why? Because we can. Because we can. Because we can. Did I say it? Because we can. This is an opportunity to participate in the empowerment of our culture and community at large. One can give as much as one wants. You can give a dollar or a thousand or a few thousand. Many people are supporting this project but clearly a lot of people are not. Why? I am not sure. I will not throw my people under the proverbial bus because things are not going as I "think" they should. What I will say is that there is no excuse. This project should have been funded on day one. That did not happen for whatever reason. All I know is that if you have any desire to see your presence in a beautiful 192 page graphic novel with a Black family leading the way, I suggest that you go to kickstarter and search Epiphany Engine. It is time to think and live outside the realm of status quo. it is time to act and stop considering. We have done enough considering. Folks are having conversations about conversations and nothing is done to move the needle or improve nothing. It was once said that freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude. Then let us go to freedom and leave the multitude to their tired complaints. Are you tired in being a prisoner in a room with an open door? Will you be free? Make up your mind. Drop a deuce or chunk up a deuce.

Does Marvel hate Masculine Black Men?

From the title you can see that I'm not asking a rhetorical question. Then again, depending on your thoughts about Marvel and its history with masculine Black men; it just maybe a little more than that. Why such a polarizing question? Because, its a polarizing subject. Marvel, like America in general has issues with masculine Black men. Lets keep it a stack, masculine Black men scare people. Its scares white folks, and unfortunately it even scares booklicks in our own populus. When someone is masculine that person is simply showing traits that are traditionally attributed to men and boys. However, the PR program of certain groups has made masculinity a toxic trait. Words like toxic masculinity get throwed around like a balloon at a sporting event. So there has been this "effort" to feminize Black men or to make them "soft". Let's keep it real. Black men traditionally have been considered by the society as threatening. Our size, the color of our skin, the mannerisms of traditional (free) Black men have always been a problem for white society. Is it possible for this same white society to approach entertainment and fandom in a similar way? If so, how. Subtleness.

Marvel made the 2022 movie Wakanda Forever under director Ryan Coogler a "tribute" to the passing of Chadwick Boseman. Millions of Black Panther fans trauma bonded for nearly 3 hours. They were made to witness to King T'Challa's funeral, followed by a troubling funeral of Queen Romonda later on. My brothers Paul and Otis and I as well as others have discussed the truth about Black Panther on screen. The Black Panther in the movies is different than the Black Panther in the comics. It is not even close. While we salute and honor Chadwick Boseman for his noble efforts in embodying the character, the Black Panther fans of the comics know that King T'Challa in the comics books is way more aggresive and his skills as a tactician are unmatched. There was a lot deference to Shuri from the beginning. No one has a problem with this except Marvel took away the ripe opportunity to give young boys a Black masculine hero to emulate and be inspired by. No one in general can refute this. America has taught us since Cripus Attucks, that our Black men, heroes or not are supposed to die. The comic books for Black Panther have been almost the same. The 15 issue run of Black Panther written by John Ridley was not stellar. While many of my brothers have cursed this run to adnauseam, I do think it was run where Ridley was trying to hold up a mirror to Black America and particularly Black men. It was lost in translation and in communication by many who viewed Ridley's run as an assault on the character itself (all of course at the sanction of Marvel comics slash studios). The weakness and brokeness of T'Challa was devestating to observe, which I personally believe was the point. However, with respect to my fellow Black Panther fans, especially the hardcore. That was simply trash and nothing more. Regardless, we saw the masculinity of T'Challa attacked and steps through Eve Ewing's 10 issue run tried to (salvage or save face if you will) but personally it failed as well. An introduction of a transgender character into the story pulled focus from T'Challa's redemption arc into something else. (Draw your own conclusions). Suffice to say that this story arc tried to convince the reader that T'Challa is so much more than the King of Wakanda. I give it a C plus for effort. Truthfully from a pecking order perspective which is a masculine view of matters, there are gods, then kings, and then others. That is it. Trying to pull inspiration from a character who was exiled from the kingdom he is suppose to rule and protect is crazy. You cannot protect what you do not guide or rule. Period.

Let us shift gears to Blade. A complex character with a simple mission. Kill Vampires. However, for whatever reason efforts to make the next Blade movie have been terrible. Multiple writers and directors have either been fired or jumped ship. At this point, why even bother? It has gotten so bad that even the original Blade actor, Wesley Snipes has weighed in on the fiasco. Marvel's far left leaning has crippled itself. Blade is a straight shooter type character. He is complex but there's really no nuaunce to his mission. He is not an Alpha male but a Sigma male. A lone wolf who is committed to his task and carries it out without fanfare because in his life, its just not necessary. However, like T'Challa they want to neuter this character and they know that to do so, would be character assassination. They can kind of play around with T'Challa but with Blade, they cannot because its central to his character in the modern setting. Attempts to produce stories have proven to not pass the smell test and Mahershala Ali who is playing Blade is not going out like a poot butt. They must do it right because Ali does not want to be the guy who clipped Blade and made him a shell of himself. Not happening. Yet, of course this is coming from a masculine man who is confident in his abilities on screen and off. I asked the question, does marvel hate masculine Black men for a reason. Historically we all saw those Black Goliath covers where the Black giant was always being knocked out by the villian or by his own heroic brother Luke Cage. It has been so bad, its been a running joke among Black men who are comic book fans. I wont even discuss Sam Wilson's Cap. Marvel's shell game regarding this character is bothersome. There is something wrong when you take an original character and make them a legacy character. Yet, some would say this a leg up versus a step down. There's a lot of meat on that bone but I'm not interested in tackling that porterhouse steak. Does Marvel hate masculine Black men? They certainly don't love us and while some may consider hate as the opposite of love, I remind you it is not. The opposite of love is not hate, it is fear. So, there's that to consider. -Richard J Wright

"Master, we sick..?" An Observation.

Here we go again. The bible says that there is nothing new under the sun. The things you think are new are actually very old. In this day and time of Black comic book and movie fandom we see old shenanigans at play. The Marvel Cinematic Universe recently released its movie The Marvels in the theaters. The movie did not do so well. Now, define do so well. Box office receipts put The Marvels weekend domestic numbers somewhere in the neighborhood of 47 million dollars domestically speaking. Internationally, the movie chipped in at about 63 million bringing the grand total estimation 110 plus million dollars. Ask anyone if you would like to make 110 million dollars and they would give up their favorite action figure and a step child to make that happen. However, what if you spent close to 275 million to make that 110 million? [ lets give the dumb nerds a minute... remember when nerds were supposed to be smart? I'm sorry, wrong blog, back to what I was typing] Yeah. No bueno. So the movie flopped? Why did it flopped? Google it. I'm not going to explain what many articles have already attributed the flop to. Suffice to say that whatever reasons people want to give. I am not going to let you all off easy. I'm talking to us now.

Now, for whatever reason Black nerds, Blerds, casual Black movie goer, whatever. Did not get on code and go see this movie. Wayment. Let correct something. Bammas have not been on code since the 90s, so, let me rephrase or frame this differently. Black people that knew a Black woman directed this movie, Nia DaCosta and the movie featured a bright up and coming star in Teyonah Parris chose to stay home. Even though the phrase "Black Girl Magic" was uttered in the movie by Samuel Jackson's Nick Fury, there was little to none Black Girl Magic in the seats at theaters. I guess they blew their movie budget on Barbie and couldn't scrape up a few coins to see history. Since "we" say we all into the history of things. Maybe not. Now before some of you go and adjust your beret or kufi. Let me say that I understand some not wanting to see the movie because they "felt" the movie was going to be bad, which really is poppycock. No, you did not feel anything. You "heard" nigga it wasn't good. You heard a bunch of comicsgate, pasty youtube, ashy trolls tell you this was "dead on arrival" you heard them tell you that the M She U is out of control.

So you made the decision to stay home and then get online and tell everybody and they mama that was a shame."We gotta do better by Black women" "that sister deserved better". You would be right if you took your talking out of two sides your mouth to the theater and just tried to enjoy a movie. No. A lot of us didn't do that. We just got on our cellphones and talked about how tragic that was. So much for the grand vote of confidence. However, to be truthful it is to be expected. We always scratch where we don't itch. Funny thing is for the lack of consciouness that pervades our community, many of us will continue to listen to voices that not ours. Then what is really funny is that they find someone that matches your melanin and speaks the same talking points and welp it must be true because so and so said so. Come on my guy. We still doing that? Don't get me wrong, I know there is a lot of nuance with this. However, the principle of us rooting for one another should filter any thought coming from the white house. The white house is the white house. Some of yall will get that, some of yall will get that and still keep up the shenanigans put forth by online "experts". We can agree and disagree with anyone when it makes sense. However, we have to think for ourselves and live that way. Why are folks living rent free in your head? So what you heard that the movie was bad. Go anyway. Enjoy the experience of seeing a movie in the theaters. Now if the principle of protest is so strong that you feel that you cannot do it. Not mad at you. Stand on it. However, I know the sweeping masses of Black folk who heard about this movie do not have that sentiment. Malcolm alluded to the concept of "gatekeeping literally" with the speech he gave regarding the 'house negro and the field negro'. Many have let babylon determine, direct, and expouse talking points and thoughts that are not necessarily ours. Those points can eerily make sense but you have to consider "the source" and then make judgment calls. Otherwise, when your favorite YouTuber tells you that this movie and that movie is trash, 6 months before it even makes it to the screen and you just "trust" that... well I guess indoctrination does work even when it comes from your master uh... i'm sorry someone you trust. Just think. Please. -Richard J. Wright

That Anime Thing... Why It Happened and Why You Should Chill

There is a short sightedness when it comes to understanding why certain things take off and others do not. We are going to get deep on this one boys and girls. Sometimes, you have to let people rant and rave about stuff and then there comes a time where you have to be like, "aight 'chall chill out". Translation, I hear you but now, I'm tired of hearing you. This situation with Anime and Manga has people feeling some type of way. Especially, some Black folks. It is times like these I feel like I need to speak to it and give a perspective that some may or may not have considered. Malcolm X has been quoted as saying, "Of all our studies, it is history that is best qualified to reward our research". Time for a history lesson. A real one. Perhaps, it will give some pause regarding the almighty timeline. Every generation wants and has their own thing. No one is exempt. As a child in the early 70s, we had our own thing. Let me run some of it down.

In September of 1970 Hanna-Barbera debuted the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon show on CBS Saturday Morning. The world famous Harlem Globetrotters who traveled from city to city all over the world had a cartoon show. These were real Black basketball players, men who were being shown in a cartoon show. Later on, The Harlem Globetrotters were featured on NBC back in 1978. Josie and the Pussycats another show on CBS came out in September, 1970 too. This show featured a Black woman named Valerie. The show only filmed one season but did have a season of reruns.

In September, 1971 The world famous Jackson Five had a cartoon for a season on ABC. This was a show featuring the hottest Black music group in the world. So, as kid I saw myself onscreen. Most cartoons to that point featured anthropomorphism which is the process of giving animals, human like behaviors. We see this in all the Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck or the Warner Brothers characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Those characters are older and have been around since late 1920s and late 1930s respectively. All of us watched those characters in cartoons for decades but they were not "ours". Other characters that were ours included a superhero team called "Superstretch and Microwoman" which debuted in September of 1978. Now from 1970 to 1978 is a stretch indeed but the seeds of visibility for Black children such as myself had been planted. We were not dying of thirst for representation. We enjoyed everything that the major networks put out, whether it was Land of the Lost or the Banana Splits. Naturally, we wanted more but we were present. Let us also remember Bill Cosby and his smash hit Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids which ran from 1972 to 1985. However, in 1969 there was a show on NBC that preceded Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids called "Hey Hey Hey, Its Fat Albert". There's a small clip on YouTube from that show. So Animation and Black folks been together.

So fast forward to 1989 when Dragon Ball Z debuted. This show roared into the 1990s and is probably the most popular Anime ever in my humble opinion. My brother owns most if not all the original VHS tapes of this show. Couple this smash with the golden age of Hip Hop in the 1990s and this a cultural mixture produced a generation that loved Japanese Anime. These kids had kids and those kids found love in Anime because they were introduced to it by Millenial parents. Lets not forget that IPs like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter killed it in the 1990s too. Kids grew up loving these franchises as well. This affinity for Anime isn't weird its has been natural for the most part. For my generation, we did not have Japanese anime. However we did have Kung Fu theatre which came on at noon on Saturdays after cartoon line ups.

The exposure of Chinese martial arts influnced hip hop groups like the Wu-Tang Clan. We watched a lot of those movies and then we would go outside and play with our friends trying to mimic the martial artists on screen. We loved the colors and acrobatics and the stories about revenge and the loud sounds coming from our televisions. Let me be honest, I cannot recall no folks dissing us for loving those old Kung Fu movies. We did have one hero who starred in a few movies named Jim Kelly.

Jim Kelly was to us like Bruce Lee was to the Chinese community. So now fast foward to this day and age where kids of this generation are finding fandom in Japanese Anime. Why is it a problem? Is it because it looks weird? Is it because you do not understand it? Is it because kids find more identity in these far east mediums of entertainment than what is available in the west? Some of us think the answer is in telling "our" stories. I do think that telling our stories is important. However, that is the job of the family and not hollywood or any entertaiment conglomerate. Lets be clear.

The best place to tell our stories is not on paid television. The best place to tell our stories is in our own homes. Would you like to share somethings that entertainment can provide, yes. However, it is not the end all be all. It is a cultural problem that can only be solved at the dinner tables and bookshelves of our homes. If a kid has a great sense of who they are, they can find fandom in Japanese anime and still be authentically Black. The situation with cosplay triggers some of us because it looks straight weird and it does not match. Clearly. I remember the first time I saw two ashy heavy set negroes wearing pink wigs. Yeah, that wasn't the lick. Yet, often times these kids are looking to find themselves and they are looking outside for it.

Too many young Black teenagers do not know who they are. Their parent or parents allowed them to be raised by these "brands" without affording them some sense of who they are prior to. Too often we dis them without really fully knowing what is the source of this "dysfunction" or "awkward" pursuit of consumption of Japanese anime. Some kids want to be like Goku, some kids like me wanted to be Superman. Is telling "our" stories the answer? Lets keep it a stack. We have to be careful of what we consider as "ours". Black Americans get called out for cultural appropriation too. You think its all gravy to take a West African tale and "speak" on it only to have someone come around the corner and shade you for it. We don't want to talk about that though. So what's the answer? The answer is to chill. Each one teach one but do not disrespect or belittle anyone's prerogative to watch, or identify with their generation's fondness. I may hate it but its not my choice because its not my voice. That is defined or should defined in our homes and not by these corporations whether they are in Japan or in Atlanta Georgia. Representation begins at home, not on Netflix or Hulu or any streaming service. Charity begins at home, so does education. If you want to change things, then be the change you want to see and help some one you think needs to see like you see. Whining about it, crying about it, or lying about it does not change or help anyone to see. Create the representation or just chill because if you don't; you are not the way, you just standing in the way. I'm just saying.

You can fix it but they never will. A Black Pill analogy.

Black Pill "It is about realizing nothing matters and there is nothing you can do will change anything, it depraves you of all positive thought about makes you want to get some sort of meaning out of this limited time we have" Urban Dictionary Black comic heads tend to have this endless supply of hope for DC and Marvel Black characters. There is this compelling thought that "they can do this or they can do that" and it will change the trajectory of the character itself. Come on, you see it. This character needs a run. This character needs an upgrade. This character needs a sidekick. This character needs this yada yada yada. It just goes on and on. Yet, for all the "efforts" Marvel and DC make, that half full cup of optimism starts to overflow and spill all over social media Black Superhero groups. It just seems that is the most any of us will get out of hoping for the progression of these superheroes who just happen to be owned by companies that have master degrees in dangling carrots at Black superhero fans.

One such character who has literally been on the back of a milk carton for years is Bloodwynd at DC. He pops up in a back story for a DC special. Yep, the bamma got the Rosa Parks treatment. Funny thing is that DC has been putting Black characters in the back of the bus, uh excuse me I mean in the back story for books for years. Oh yeah, Marvel how ever gets the "put a boot in the back of an issue" for years with Black Panther; Marvel Spotlight books featuring Black writers too like Dwayne McDuffie as well. Our fandom goes on these treasure hunts to find these books and make these discoveries due to the lack of Black characters and Black writers and Black artists almost always not getting the spotlight. Truthfully, as much as I try appreciate what is out here, it only irritates me. I have lost my desire to speculate, think about, nerding out in these conversations about these books and the whole nine. I want to focus on independent titles because it least there's no leash. No canon. No jackbutt editors with tone deaf ideas. Now some may say, "hey, at least they trying". Miss me with that. I have accepted that fact that these companies are loyal to shareholders and all these brands are there to serve as nothing more than a revenue stream.

The decline in comic book sales due to lackluster writing and lackluster movies is enough to give pause. So what makes me think that they care about my Black behind? Do you think they care if a Black Lightning comic book run is all I want? Do you think they care that Black Panther fans are weeping over Storm and T'Challa not being a couple? They do not care. Why should I? Sure it makes for great discussions and content but my cup of optimism has been Black pilled. I could care less at this point. I love comics but I recognize that comics do not always love me. So instead of being a troll or a candidate for Stockholm syndrome. I rather spend 10 bucks on Black owned, Black created comic. I rather pay extra for a floppy filled with melinated beings than to have another "rush" over what DC is doing for Black History Month. Milestone comics makes me want to believe in mainstream books again but searching for new books from them like chess players back in the day looking for a Bobby Fischer sighting. It is what it is. I want to believe things will get better for Black comic fans of Marvel and DC. At this point, I just don't. Yeah, the Black pill is strong with this one" *smirks*

Ujamaa: Cooperative Economics

There's no deep comic book connection to this. Just go and support a Black owned comic shop more than once in a while. Support a independent Black creator and their intellectual property. Support Black podcasts with more than like or subscription. Spend some money. Marvel, DC, and Image gets more than enough. Lastly, support who supports you. If you believe in the product or the people behind the product, then financially back them. Its that simple. Of all the principles, this one here is the most neglected and one of the most necessary. We need our money to circulate longer than six hours in the community. It is yours and my responsiblity to do that. End of Story. -Richard J Wright

Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility

It is day 3 of Kwanzaa and today's principle is called Ujima. Ujima means to build and maintain our community together ande make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together. According to the bible, Cain asked God if he was his brother's keeper. Of course he would ask this rhetorical question after murdering him. It is the first recorded instance where this particular question is asked. Am I my brother's keeper? This thought is deep. The principle itself is asking us to take ownership of our brother's and sister's problem. Strange enough, the Black Panther run by John Ridley puts this principle to the test. Several times throughout the run, T'Challa calls on Shuri to help him. She helps and at times reluctantly does so. There is no question as to whether Shuri loves T'Challa. It does not matter if she disagrees with him. She ALWAYS helps him.

The dynamic of them being blood siblings is interesting. They have a playful banter with one another and they are down for one another regardless of the situation. They may dislike what one another is doing but they remain loyal to one another. Honestly, all of us can learn from them. When they have an issue, they help one another. I think their relationship is present but not always in the hearts of their fans. I took a deeper notice recently after watching Black Panther Wakanda Forever for a second time. While T'Challa was not in the movie. I could see Shuri carrying him in her heart. As she explained to her mother in the movie concerning the heart shaped herb, she did not care about the throne or the Black Panther. She was trying to save her brother.

It is no secret that relationships between Black people are stressed. There is a lot of finger pointing but not enough self examination which is why the good Lord gave us 3 fingers pointing right back at ourselves when we try to accuse one another of anything. We all should ask the question. What can I do to make my brother and sister life better? We are to be concerned with the problems we face and take on the responsibility of solving them together. At some point we need to build our community and that only happens when we reach out and work together; that is a start. Will it be easy? Nope. Yet, the rewards are unity and peace with one another. We need this principle to be a priority in our community because too many people have gotten way too comfortable in their dysfunction which nowadays gets idiotically called "peace" There is no peace without my brother or sister, just ask Shuri. -Richard J Wright