"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

Kujichagulia: Self Determination

Day 2 of Kwanzaa is called Kujichagulia or self determination. Simply put it means "to define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves". If there is one principle that the Black comic book community should embrace and wholly be about it; it is this one. The history of comics is well established and in that establishment, Black people were not depicted in a positive light. Early efforts to show Black people in positive lights came directly from Black people. It is a fargone conclusion that iconography has been the most important tool in the forwarding of white supremacy. To give people a perception of another people give them permission to see them a certain way. The most important movie that showed this was the film Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith. This movie helped reinforce and create the culture that allowed open hostility towards Black people by white people.

Our people have endevoured to create and push back against the propaganda. All Negro Comics #1 was one such effort. This book was created in 1947 and only existed to publish one book. This book was successful in establishing a blueprint for positive Black images in comic books. The company All Negro Comics, Inc. was not able to continue publishing their book due to distributors not selling the company the paper to print their book. As devestating as that was, it simply identified the enemies of our people's progress. Time and time again others would try and some would say they failed but the only failure is quitting.

Our people have always desired self determination. Our issue has been only of contentment. We have been content with characters created by Marvel and DC. These characters historically are treasured because our people have always enjoyed comics and heroes in comics. At times we have criticized both companies for not utilizing their Black characters enough. We on the other hand have not supported original creations from various Black voices. We know the importance of original creations but we can be slow to support those creations due to lack of resources and skill level regarding art and story telling. It is not enough that we embrace a historical product. It is not enough that we embrace "mainstream characters". It is not enough to wish or lament self determination. Truthfully speaking, the biggest superpower we all have is the power to choose. Whether we admit it or not we make choices that either embrace status quo or embrace change that may be considered radical. All because we choose ourselves. It is great to read and enjoy what you love, however our love must be greater for the artists and writers of our stories. We must champion self determination because it is empowerment at its core. We can appreciate legacy characters but we are limited in doing so because we all have to recognize the fact that these creations are the result of companies wanting to exploit established intellectual properties. In short, they seek a fast buck without the hard work of creating something new and comprehensive. Our desire should be to embrace original creations because they reflect our struggle to be seen and taken seriously.

I enjoy many characters from the Marvel and DC. I read their stories and enjoy who they are but I also realize that many of them come from a lens that do not reflect the African American experience in its totality. It does not make them less perse but consciously one cannot help but to see the stereotypes and tropes that permeate through a white writer's thoughts. However, when we encounter creations that come from the Black experience and written by Black people who live that "experience", one can discern the nuances of Black life. It gives life to the thought our elder William H. Foster so graciously expressed in his book titled "Looking for a Face like Mine". We not only are looking for that face, we should be looking for the hands who can create that face too. Embrace self determination and support Black creators with more than words but with your money.

-Richard J Wright

Umoja: The Principle of Unity

Habari gani? How's it going? Or like we say in Houston, "Whut it do?" Either way, it is day one of Kwanzaa. Umoja, the principle means to strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. Needless to say, Umoja in the Black community today is a tall order. However, it is supposed to be because all the other principles of Kwanzaa are not meaningful, much less obtainable without unity. The standard is set with the whole of the people in mind. This Kwanzaa, I am not going write about the wrongs or warts in the Black community. Instead, I will simply reference comicbooks by which the blog is intended to be about. Unity is an interesting thing in that, often times people come together as a result of war, not peace. In otherwords, folks like to fight before they unite. Whatever gets them to the table and talk I guess. Black Panther written by John Ridley comes to mind. This comic is not my favorite comic book at all. However, I do like Ridley's writings in other books like I am Batman, and GCPD The Blue Wall.

However, Ridley's writing of Black Panther has been very questionable. Now, I am not here to dis or whine about how bad it is, and it is. (LOL) Yet, I want write about an interesting turn of events that took place in issue 12 of the run. It seems as though T'Challa the Black Panther has been brooding about the meaning of life. He is depressed. He was in mourning until he wasn't. He almost took a nihilist mindset. He is lost. We have seen him descend into a deep abyss of self pity. There is an interesting thought when it comes to people regarding hitting rock bottom. When you see people going down, you can try to talk them out of it or shake them out of it. However, they cannot hear you or anything until they reached the bottom. It is when they hit the bottom that rescue and redemption can take place. T'Challa has finally hit rock bottom. What got him there? Seeing his best friend who he thought was dead, alive. Yeah,that might shake a boot up. In the midst of this run, T'Challa has made his share of enemies and alienated others.

So, now that he is alone. He is destined, forced, compelled or what ever adjective you want to assign to this dumpster fire; to seek out those who he had conflict with to stop his best friend from doing the very thing that he asked him to do. Well. Maybe not exactly but the nuance of it all make its within a madman's capacity to understand the mission. So now T'Challa is ready for war but first he has to come clean with everyone in order to go into battle. After all, he is asking everyone who he fought and lied to; to join in his quest. Yeah, like I said early, (not good). He convinces them all to stand with him and clean up his mess. I appreciate the effort Ridley put into this to make it a glorious call to arms. It just isn't. The effort is there but it fails to fire on all cylinders. Our Maybach is in actuality in a "1919 get out and push" machine. This new found unity that T'Challa is cleaving to, is a result of poor management. It mirrors Black unity today because all of the outrage and outcry from the past few years has simply lined the pockets in intersectionality alphabet personnel and his made Black people at large more jaded than ever before in the history of America. Key words like "on code" and "stay woke" do nothing for the bottom line. Yeah nigga, its that bad now. So when the T'Challas of the left and right try their dear best to marshal the forces they themselves have abused like T'Challa has done, niggas is like "whatever, nigga" There isn't nothing else better to do. So keep in mind that as the Black Panther limps to its final issue, remember everyone is a bridge. You never know when you are going to need to cross them. Do not be like certain folks in the community who play the blame game when things do not go their way. You ignore and shun the bridges, do not cry when the bridge is out, indefinitely. Today is Umoja. Let us strive, let us pray, let us seek, let us remember what unity truly is. Otherwise, it will remain fleeting idea in the minds of dreamers and seen in bad comic book runs. -Richard J. Wright