The Kwanzaa Effect (Kuumba)

Huey: "Grandad, what do you do when you can do nothing but there's nothing you can do?" Grandad: You do whatcha can". "You do whatcha can" Wise words from grandad. That is the essence of Kuumba. Kuumba is defined as creativity in regards to Kwanzaa. The principle says "To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it." The work that you do matters. If you believe that what you do isn't really anything significant. Well, somebody lied to you. Shame on you if you told yourself that lie. God Himself fused us with the ability to utilize creativity. Creativity the ability to mimic the Creator. It is taking something present and presenting it in a useful or better form. For example using wood from a tree and making a table or seeing something beautiful and being able to describe it in words. In comics, creativity is something that is often thought about from a writer and art standpoint. However, since this is a Black comic book blog, what about characters that use creativity? Moon Girl aka Lunella Layfayette comes to mind. She's the smartest person in the world. She's also an inhuman and she's merely a child. However, she also pals around with a dinosaur with which she shares consciousness with. Her mind has the capacity to create gadgets and things that help her fight her enemies. She is seen as a hero for young girls who aspire to STEM fields and careers. Her power however is knowing everything and not learning. She is like the kids who are very smart but get nothing out of the educational experience because they are just beyond that. It can deduced especially in this generation that education is antiquated. I like the rapper Propaganda's poem "Bored of Education" It speaks to inability of the governance to govern education effectively. Nonetheless I digress.

Are we doing as much as we can? So that if we are called away from the plane of existence we have left the world a better place? Our desires must to think better and do better. It is the end of the year and many folks are thinking back on the year. I know personally I felt like I did not do my best. We as a collective have challenge ourselves to use our creativity to help someone. We have to push past our intellect into spaces of faith and risk always believing that we are trying our best to right the ship. In the Boondocks episode called the "Hunger Strike", Huey goes on a hunger strike against the programming of BET. His efforts were valiant but the leader, Rev. Goodlove, he was rolling with sold him out. Riley and grandad laughed at Huey but they respected his efforts. After being let down by Goodlove, he is saddened and asks his grandad what should he do when he could do nothing. It is probably the wisest thing grandad has ever said in the show. "You do whatcha can". Never stiffle your creativity. Do this, and the world you live in will be blessed by your labor. -Richard J Wright

The Kwanzaa Effect (Nia)

"The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain

Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

What is your purpose? How does your purpose connect with the community at large? Finding out what you are supposed to is one of mysteries of life that many of us struggle with. Living life is hard when you do not know why you are here. It becomes a little easier when you discover why you are here. What about the community though? It is one thing to discover what you are supposed to do; its another to figure out how it is connected to other people. In the Black comic book community, we enjoy fandom and share in the joy of comic book art and stories. Yet, the question in my mind says, "Is this all there is?" Now of course, a hobby can be enriching to you but how can you enrich others. One of things that I love about our community is when people share their books. Many of these books have history and story attached to them. There is nothing like learning about the stories behind the stories you read. What motivates a certain writer or artist to do anything? It is wonderful to learn about an artist's inspiration. Gifting is also a huge part of our community. Sometimes, guys will just give you a book or some memorabilia, it's cool to get comics in the mail from a collector. Personally, I have been blessed by many brothers. The gifts they give inspire me to do what I do. I love to talk about comics. I love learning about comics and while I do have fun with that, I try to extend myself to reach people beyond the scope of the hobby. I tend to check up on guys who are apart of the community just because. I tend to talk about health and issues men have from time to time as well as what I read today. Part of my purpose in the Black comic book community is to serve.

Serving others does not always mean you know everything. Lord knows I don't. Yet, I surround myself with brothers who collect, curate, and articulate the works of artists and writers. Sometimes I just talk and the monologue morphs into something else. I am passionate about this hobby because it is a niche that is so specific. As a Black kid growing up on the southside of Houston, Texas. I remember many days just me and my books. I remember wishing I had someone to talk about what I was reading. The funny and awesome thing about this community is that it is made up of people from a plethora of walks of life. Everyone is different. Like my brother Otis once said, "I found my island of misfit toys". Since we all found our tribe, it is our purpose to grow and learn from each other. We do this in hopes of empowering the next generations to laugh and cry at beautiful stories and jaw dropping art. In my life, I have been blessed to be apart of this community, my purpose in it is to not just read a few comics but to also inspire, encourage, assist, advocate, and most of all learn. My purpose for beyond me, is to give what has been given to me. Love, lessons, and lots of Black comic books, ya heard. -Richard J Wright

The Kwanzaa Effect (Ujamaa)

The truth is enough. Ujamaa, the 4th principle of Kwanzaa is Cooperative Economics. In short Ujamaa means to build and maintain our own businesses and to profit from them together.

You see this picture above? I have seen many a blerd brag on the fact that T'Challa the great Black Panther has more money than Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne. At the end of day. These characters ink and paper. Plus, I'm sure that Bruce Wayne aka Batman has sold more comic books than Black Panther or any Black Superhero in history. I'm just saying. You see the problem with the Black community is just like blerds bragging on Black Panther's wealth. We have a lot of symbolism but no sustanence. We have a lot of aspirations but very few tangible things. I remember when bammas were saying that Will and Jada were relationship goals. Well, you have seen how that has faired over the years. Economics are the most crippling and telling thing about our plight in America. All one has to do is look at the racial wealth gap to confirm that. I know people who are into financial literacy and network marketing and all sorts of multi-level marketing hot garbage. None of those things can put a dent in the gaping reality that a vast majority of Black people in America are not only broke but in poverty. Those who do have some monies see their money disappear from their communities within 6 hours. That is not even a full time job day. How does money stay in the community? It has to circulate through businesses, goods and services. We have to become disciplined and spend our money with our people. It is really that simple. If there's a Black grocery store in our community, shop at it. If there's a Black farmer's market, buy your veggies and fruit from them. If there's a Black bank in your town, bank there. Will you have to find these places? Absolutely. Now most of the spending we do, we do out of habit and easy access. Unfortunately, this is what business owners that do not look like you and me, count on. They count on our lack of passion for cooperative economics. They count on our lack of discipline. They count on our cheapness towards one another. There are many beauty supply stores that are Black owned but they get passed over because they cannot offer always cheaper prices on the retail side. Your checkbook says a whole lot about you. Are you concious about where you spend your money? Do you have a Black owned comic shop in your city? We cannot talk about how much we love our people and all that jazz if we are not putting our money where our mouth is. If we support Black businesses, we benefit because we are helping our commerce grow. Many of our communities suffer because we do not have a healthy tax base. It all trickles down. If we do not support Black comic creators and Black comic companies, we have no right to complain about representation. We talk about it but when someone tries to give it to us, we frown at it. Critcize it. Hell, we barely will even bother to try it. All of us have been guilty of this. We gotta do better family. Cooperative Economics helps us. Let's really make it a priority in our spending. -Richard J Wright

The Kwanzaa Effect (Ujima)

“… For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” Luke 12:48b

The third principle of Kwanzaa is Ujima. It is defined contextually as collective work and responsibility. In short, “to build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together” (officialkwanzaawebsite.org/ujima.html).

The Superhero Icon from the Milestone Dakotaverse is an interesting hero. He was a character created by Dwayne McDuffie and M.D. Bright. Icon as a comic book began back in 1993 and the original run was 42 issues. The character itself was based upon the origins of Superman who crash landed into a field in Smallville, Kansas where as Icon crash landed on a plantation in 1839 which is significant being that chattel slavery was the way of life in the south. As a result, the alien encounters a Black woman who is a slave. The newly crash landed alien is on a primitive planet and knows that his current form would not be acceptable. So he chooses to change into a Black child and grows up in slavery. He sees liberation and prosperity to the point where he disguises himself as his own descendent. He was named Augustus Freeman and has lived for centuries and now goes by the name Augustus Freeman IV. He is a man of wealth and is politically conservative. Yet, he encounters a young woman named Raquel who with a group of friends attempt to burglarize Augustus’ mansion. This unfortunate set of events however, puts him on a path of being a hero and a symbol for change. Augustus was a man of means whereas Raquel was misguided youth. Yet regardless of Raquel’s set of circumstances, it has not stopped her from wanting to do better and be better. Augustus mentors her but in reality it is Raquel who is challenging and leading Augustus to become Icon. Augustus initially tried to scold Raquel and her friends for breaking into his home. He explains the importance of hard work and ethics. However, Raquel sees this “alien” as someone who should be doing something about the ills in the world. It is a match made in heaven as they say. Icon and Rocket would go on and have great adventures during Milestone’s legendary run in the early to mid 90s. These same characters have been rebooted in the new version of Milestone 2.0 as Icon and Rocket.

So my friend, what does Icon and Rocket have to do with collective work and responsibility? Honestly, a whole lot. A 200 year old man and a teenager taking on the bad guys and the system is how freedom is born. You work with those who will work with you. It is our job to build together, fight together, and take ownership of our collective family’s issues. I told a brother once after assembling a cadre of collectors together for a goal that now that he had brought them together; it was his job to be a steward. If you put something into motion and give it precise direction, it still needs guidance to get from point a to point b. Much is given, so much will be required. A lot people cannot take the weight of the pressure of leadership and power. Many of us look around for “others” to take charge. They look around for “others” to do what they are supposed to do. If you notice the trash on the ground, the revelation of that isn’t the plain and obvious. The revelation is in you doing something about it besides commenting on it. Rocket challenged a man who was physically stronger than her to be more than a comfortable citizen hiding in a mansion under a surname. While we know that Augustus Freeman’s resources and strength made him in essence Black Superman; It was the lowly and “lost” Raquel who gave him purpose. We all can be as strong as Icon but unless we are willing to focus that strength in purpose and helping my brother or my sister. I will exist and judge people like Augustus Freeman. Ironically, not knowing my calling and using my gifts to help my people makes me as lost as Raquel was when she first encountered Augustus. So, my brother and my sister, what will you do with your power? God questioned Cain about the whereabouts of his brother Abel. This of course was after the fact that Cain killed his brother. God asked him where is your brother? Cain replied that he did not know and questioned God. “Am I, my brother’s keeper? Man has been ducking that responsibility since the first murder. If it is to be, it is up to me. [Cue up Willie Hutch’s Brothers Gonna Work it Out] We are our brother’s keeper, otherwise, freedom will always be a thought and never a reality.

The Kwanzaa Effect (Kujichagulia)

Kujichagulia. Self Determination. The second principle of Kwanzaa focuses on our ability to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves. Self determination is the way of people who are free. As a principle this should be the goal. Even in something as small as comics. Thanos found himself needing to do the work he wanted others to do. While I cannot equate our struggle to the Mad Titan, what I can do is ponder on the sentiment, "do it yourself". Why do we get misty eyed over Marvel and DC characters? Only a handful of those characters there were created by Black creators anyway. I think sometimes we are used to Marvel and DC. They are like the weatherman you see on the news every night. You just get used to seeing them day after day. Black Panther. Storm. Falcon. Green Lantern. All great characters and yet they are only ours in aspiration. Now aspiration by definition is pretty cool. Aspiration means "a strong desire to achieve something high or great" (Merriam-Webster). However, self determination must sacrifice sentimental value. Sure, keep collecting to your heart's content. Enjoy talking about how dope these characters are. Wear their images on T-shirts. However, they will be and always be aspiration. Self determination though is inspiration.

Inspiration by definition means "something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create" (Webster-Merriam). Yes, Black Panther inspires creators to want to create. Naturally that inspiration by nature is there not only give tribute but ultimately replace the former. Isn't it ironic that Ultron speaks this way concerning parents and children. Yes, we love Black Panther, Blade, Storm and all the rest. Yet, self determination demands that we move beyond them. We must define our characters, name our characters and create our characters that will truly speak for ourselves.

I love the characters that we have made our own. We had to in the wake of representation. Now, we must ascend to a better hope. You can collect to your heart's content however, if Kujichagulia, self determination is a real thing to you and me. Well, you better start looking for content made by us and for us. We can whine and gripe about how Marvel and DC underuse their stable of characters. It has never been on them to give to us what we are supposed to do. Fandom aside. It serves us well but it never was created to liberate us. Self determination is the way of the free. In order to be free you must be free. Marinate on that. Happy Kwanzaa!

The Kwanzaa Effect (Umoja)

“And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do’” Genesis 11:6

Kwanzaa is a celebration of the Black experience rooted in 7 principles, these principles are designed to guide the African diaspora towards liberty and community. The first of these principles is Umoja. Umoja as a principle means unity. Unity is something that is the key to liberation. We must be united. There is no success without working together, being together, and striving together. Truthfully speaking this is why the Black community suffers to this day. Our enemies have been able to exploit our weaknesses to keep us fractured and separated. Man by nature is communal and to that extent very tribal. However, today there is a so-called gender war among people in the west. However, in the west, that war has devastated the Black community. People are walking away from marriage. People are walking away from relationships. The result of that has led to the disappearance of the nuclear family. Unity is the remedy. However, like any war, the first casualty is the truth. That is something that people are not ready for. Not sure why, but it clearly is the case because unity will solve many of our problems. Unfortunately, many people are not interested in such an antiquated concept. The people have traded unity for “peace” and why? Heaven knows. Words like “toxic masculinity” and “gynocracy” tend to reverberate in conversation. Regardless the reasoning, everyone suspects that something is not only off, but absolutely wrong. How long are we going to play the blame game? To what hope do we have in such confusion? Everyone is choosing themselves but in doing so, the future doesn’t bode well. So why such bleakness my G for a day designed by Dr. Maulana Karenga to promote unity? I heard the elder Steve Cokely say a few times that Black people are only unified in two instances, victory or defeat. The trouble is we don’t know which one we are closer to. Some people think things are cool. Some people think things are very terrible. The truth is not somewhere in the middle. It’s in the data. Trouble is people do not like data and they are terribly afraid of being a reduced to a statistic. I’m not here to discuss stats because that isn’t what I do here but suffice to say, the data dictates that we are in a world of hurt and there is no quick fix.

As far as comics goes. When I think of unity in a comic book. Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Intergalactic Republic of Wakanda run comes to mind. T’Challa gathers all of the roster of Black Superheroes from Marvel together to fight for Wakanda Prime. Coates takes a moment to do something that had never been done before on a massive scale. We have seen Marvel heroes fight together in big events like Secret Wars, but never on this level regarding Black Superheroes.

It almost beckons the question as to why this idea had never been approached on this scale before. Would Marvel allow anyone to tell a story like this? Who’s to say? What we all know is that it was beautiful to see. Issue 23 of the run gives a glimpse of what unity looks like, T’Challa uses the misfortune of a fallen warrior Nakia, to rally the diapora. T’Challa appeals to the “Wakanda” in all of them. He sought to link them together because the only way Wakanda Prime stood a chance was for the collective to see themselves as the same. In Black comic book conversations we often dream about an all Black Avengers team or all Black X-Men team. We get glimpses but rarely do we see Unity, Black Unity as a thing in comics. Sad to say, if we are awaiting Marvel or DC for that matter to consider and construct such a powerful thing. We will be waiting a long time. Yet, do not fear because tommorow’s principle is Kujichagulia or self determination. If they wont do, then we have to do it. Like unity, it’s on us. It never should be on them because the minute it is. Well, the feeling would be like Tupac said in his song Blasphemy “Should we cry, when the Pope die, my request We should cry if they cried when we buried Malcolm X” Unity is needed. Its not something we need to discuss with oppressors, its the cry and burden of the oppressed. We have to find away, like T’Challa did when life and death for Wakanda was in play. We need each other. I don’t want my family. I need my family. The sooner we come to that revelation, the better off we will be Happy Kwanzaa! -Richard J Wright

Right On for the Darkness

Cue up Curtis Mayfield's "Right on for the Darkness" or Billy Paul's "Am I Black Enough for You?" or Common's "The Corner"

Black comic books. Where can I find Black comic books? Now, you can go the indy route and try to find books by independent Black creators. You can go to the comic book store and pick something right off the wall. (My how times have changed, and I would caution you on that because Black faces dont necessarily mean Black spaces. Let that bake in your noodle for a spell) I'm not going to go into a spiel about why we need Black representation or why it's important to find yourself in the pages of comic books. Been there and done that. However, I want to speak directly to Black comic book collectors because there's a run of Marvel Black Panther books every Black collector should have in their collection in my opinion. Now you may ask why these particular Black Panther comic books? I'm so glad you asked. First of all, shout out to the king Reginald Hudlin. Reginald Hudlin wrote on Black Panther for a number of years and in that run of Black Panther books, he did something amazing that to my knowledge had not been done before. He brought a number of Black Marvel Superheroes together.

Now, Ta-Nehisi Coates in the Intergalatic Republic of Wakanda run put together the most Black Marvel superheroes in the history of Marvel in issue 24 of Black Panther. It is noteworthy that book is not possible without Reginald Hudlin.

In March 2006, in issue 12 of Black Panther, the story takes place down in Louisiana, near New Orleans. A couple of brothers are walking home and we see a mother on her knees praying asking the Lord to bring her boys home safe. The boys are walking home and are paranoid. Black men walking on dark roads in southern parts of America in certain places can relate. However, it is one thing to be afraid of white boys riding around in pickup trucks in the south and its another thing entirely for those white boys to be vampires. Double the trouble. However, the daywalker Blade happens to be out hunting. Then as if whole thing is already bizarre. A tree attacks one of the vampires and that is made courtesy of Brother Voodoo. Without giving the story away suffice to say that this issue leads us to the Blackest Blickity Blickity Bla Bla Black issue in Marvel's storied history. Marvel Comics Black Panther issue 13.

This book is significant in that it contains some of Marvel's Black top Superheroes. All of which are original Black characters. No cheap carbon copies of white superheroes. No my brother and sister. All original. Black Panther, Luke Cage, Blade, Brother Voodoo and a superdope guest appearance of Spectrum aka Monica Rambeau. I point this out beecause some fanboys get all hot and bothered by legacy characters. Here, its all straight no chaser. The story is excellent and will whet your appetite for more honestly. Plus Hudlin being Hudlin gives us a laugh at the end of the issue by having our heroes ride away in the sunrise in a candy apple red 59 eldog. (if you don't what an eldog is, i will snatch your Black card from you personally) You should collect both issues 12 and 13 but at least grab issue 13 when you see it. Side note. Falcon does makes an appearance in issue 12 of this run. Suffice to say there's a lot of Black folks in these here comics and for me Black power fist up and right on for the darkness. -Richard J Wright

Storm: "You Wanna It to be One Way, but its the Other Way"

No one wants to incur the wrath of HBO, so I wont embed a clip from the show the Wire. Suffice to say that the clip I wanted to show deals with an interesting dialogue between two characters. One, Marlo, a ruthless drug dealer in the streets West Baltimore and the other is a just a security guard trying to feed his family. In short, Marlo enters a store and buys a bottle of water. While at the counter he slips a couple of pieces of candy into his jacket. The security guard sees this brazen display of theft in plain sight. Marlo walks out the store and doesn't even bat an eye or acknowledge the security guard, which by the way is armed with handcuffs and a walkie talkie. The security guard confronts Marlo and explains that he is just trying to do his job and if nothing else Marlo, the ruthless drug dealer should respect that in the least. Yet, Marlo doesn't flinch or much else even care. Instead, Marlo looks him in the eye and says to him. "You wanna it to be one way" He repeats the phrase. This just irritates the security guard because like it or not, its the truth. At this point, Chris Partlow, Marlo's deadly muscle pulls up. Chris sees the exchange and wonders what is going on. Marlo just hops into the car and they ride away. Of course, not without Chris looking intensely at the security guard. So... What does that have to do with Storm?

Storm, is the most popular Black superheroine in Marvel comics and perhaps in all comics to be frank. She is an amazing character with an amazing skill set. The sister controls the weather, okay? Now when you are the most popular and arguably one of the most powerful, there's bound to be issues. Right? A few of my homies and I were discussing Storm and her history in comics in regards to of all things relationships. Storm has had a few love interests over the years. No big deal. Right? Wrong. If you talk to certain cats. You will hear things like "Storm is a pin cushion in Marvel comics" "Storm is for the streets" and these are more tame quotes.

However, like the situation involving the security guard being taunted by Marlo, some comic book heads in the heavy melinated persuasion feel similar. Let's just bottomline this. Why Storm gotta be "loose"? Why she always up in Wolverine's face. Why she kissing on Nightcrawler? Why her and Forge? Yada Yada Yada.

So guys, if you good and triggered by now. Let's really dig into this. So what is the real problem? Is it swirling? Is it fetishizing of a Black woman? Is it just jealous Blerds and their weird perceptions of made up characters? Truthfully, its probably all of that and then some. However, I can tell you that most of the "logical" reasons are low hanging fruit. Of course we have to consider Storm's humble beginnings. Storm the character was created in 1975 and was in the comic Giant Size X-Men #1. The character was created by Len Wein and pencilled by Dave Cockrum. Storm joined the X-Men after being sought after by Charles Xavier. Now of course what is a story about a Black goddess without a hand from White Supremacy racism (shout out to Dr. Francis Cress Welsing)? Even though the word is that Storm is a descendant of African priestesses who all have white hair and blue eyes and can possible wield magic, Professor Xavier was like "nah boo, you just a mutant". (we gonna leave that alone... that could be a book by itself). Iconography is one of the most important mediums there is in the visible world. However, like all things in comics it comes from a human experience and that experience can be troubling. Storm is very beautiful. She is on the cover of a lot of X-Men books for that reason. Nobody is stupid. Marvel knows what its doing. The sexualizing of characters is nothing new.

In the book Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation, Jeffrey A. Brown notes "Black superheroines are often presented as hyper-sexual and metaphorically bestial. Moreover, popular Black Superheroines like Storm, Vixen, Pantha, and the Black Panther are explicitly associated with exoticized notions of Africa, nature, noble savagery and a variety of Dark Continent themes including voodoo, mysticism and animal totemism". So yeah, Storm was drawn and written with certain things in mind. Yes, she is a strong leader. Yes, she is very powerful. Yes, she's dope but to ignore the intentions of her characterization is just lying to yourself. Marlo told the security guard, "you wanna it to be one way". Marlo is representative of the dominant society, those who rule and those who enforce the "agenda". The security guard is representative of the people forced to live in the society and those who have to find away to survive without being crushed by the "agenda". The problem with the security guard is that in surviving, you think you matter. You think you are important but like all things under the thumb of the dominant society you are there but you really don't matter. God forbid that Marlo's muscle eyes you because then you become a casualty in the war. In comic book fandom. We who adore Storm are that security guard. We want to matter but unless we create our own and create own narratives, we are forced to endure dumb and ridiculous conclusions that our precious Storm is for the streets when in reality, She herself wants it to be one way but its the other way! -Richard J Wright

Can You Feel It?

Cue up the Fat Boys' song "Can You Feel It?"

The Black American experience is unique. It is unique in that it is an experience defined by survival. We adapt. That has been our power. We literally made lemonade from a crate of dried up lemons. We take things and we make them ours. Food. Art. Music. Language. Comics. Killmonger shows us in the Black Panther movie this dynamic. He was a kid from Oakland, who made it to throne of Wakanda. He killed. He lied. He stole. Yet, more than that. He learned. When he stares at the mask before him; Ulyssus Klaw ponders and asks him is the mask he is staring at intensively is Vibranium? He simply replies, "nah. I'm just feeling it". That is who we are. We feel. Our pain. Our visions. Our enviroment. We feel it. The need for representation is the need to feel. When we see ourselves on the covers of comics. It speaks to us. It says to us. We are here. We want you to see us. We want you to not feel threatened but we need you know we are here. This whole thought that representation is only authentic when it is original characters comes from an perspective that originality is best. However, we know as the bible says, "there is nothing new under the sun". So even if you see something that looks original, if you look closer you will come to understand that it isn't new and there's nothing original about it. We want original characters but we not dissing legacy characters. Adilifu Nama says in his book "Super Black American Pop Culture and BLack Superheroes that "Imitation periodically leads to innovation". Hip Hop's musical origins started large in part with sampling. Cats took pieces of a record, usually the "break" and created brand new songs. Somewhere I read a hip hop quote. "Hip Hop did not invent anything but it did reivent everything". What is a stolen people supposed to do? Play by rules made up by the thieves? Where do you think slang comes from? Where did you think the inspiration for tagging trains comes from? We see art museums filled with little pictures in fancy frames. You think a kid from the South Bronx whose life has been "framed" by poverty and lack of job opportunities wants to stay there. Feel me? See my artwork! See me! So in short, we do what Killmonger did. We take the mask.

We are all Killmonger when we see things we have been denied. You see the mask can represent a plethora of things. The mask is a symbol of home. He had never been there but he knew it was a bread crumb. When we put on dashikis. The colors, the designs, feel like another place but its a place where we may belong or long to be. In any case. Comics are a medium where we long to be. So when I see comic book with my image on the cover. I don't necessarily feel I have arrived but I know the journey just got a little shorter. Can you feel it? - Richard J Wright