To say that these are difficult times that we are living in is an understatement. I certainly don't feel qualified to speak on what the black community has been going through. There are plenty of people who live it and can give you much more insight than I ever could. What I can do, is share with you the work of some great comic book creators in the black community that you can support. Since our inception, I feel like the Down And Nerdy Podcast has tried to give a spotlight to black creators through comic book reviews, interviews and news about upcoming releases. While the list of incredible talent is much larger, here are a few of my favorites that I think you would enjoy as well.
Vita Ayala
Vita has really taken off lately, especially in the last year. Self described as Afro-Latinx, and non-binary, Vita has written for pretty much every major publisher in the business. You can support Vita directly through Patreon, and also check out some of their amazing work below.
Bryan Edward Hill
A writer of comics for DC, Image and others, Bryan often keeps me on the edge of my seat with a lot of his stories. Hill has also written for both the Titans TV series on DC Universe and Ash vs The Evil Dead. If I see his name on a book, I'm picking it up with a doubt.
Listen to our review of Batman & The Outsiders #1.
Khary Randolph
I discovered Khary Randolph's work for the first time when I was reading Excellence (written by Brandon Thomas) from Image Comics. I then went on to discover a treasure drove of covers and interior art he had done for Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man, Livewire, Harley Quinn and so many other amazing characters. You can view his whole portfolio here.
Rodney Barnes
I am ashamed to admit that I did not discover Rodney Barnes until reading the incredible, Killadelphia. After I got hooked on that story, I found out that Barnes has also written some great TV like Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Marvel’s Runaways and STARZ’s American Gods. He also wrote a young Lando story for Marvel Comics.
Brandon Easton
Here is a name you might be familiar with already, even if you don't know it. Brandon Easton has written for Marvel's Agent Carter and will also be part of the Transformers: War For Cybertron – Siege anime coming to Netflix. Easton has also been a part of several exciting comic book runs including M.A.S.K., Judge Dredd: False Witness and many others from IDW. Trust me when I tell you, he has great Hasbro knowledge!
Listen to our review of Judge Dredd: False Witness!
Hear our first interview with Brandon Easton on Episode 140 of our podcast.
David F. Walker
You want to talk about an amazing storyteller, David F. Walker is it. He has done amazing work with Luke Cage, Cyborg and many other well known characters. Having written for several of the major publishers, Walker has also written Shaft for Dynamite, Bitter Root for Image Comics and was a big part of the launch of Wonder Comics with Brian Michael Bendis at DC. I haven't had a chance to interview him yet, but he has always been on my interview bucket list.
Listen to our review of Naomi #1.
Dietrich Smith
You want to talk about an amazing artist, and one of the nicest guys you'll ever talk to, Dietrich Smith is it. Whether it's' sketches that he posts on social media, or his work on books like Destroyer and Shaft: Imitation of Life, he really knows how to bring a story to life. If you're a writer looking for an artist who doesn't get nearly as much work as he should, this is your guy.
Listen to our interview with Deitrich Smith from Episode 110 of our podcast.
This is just a short list of the very many talked African American comic book creators. I am always happy to talk about good books and good people. If you have a project you would like me to check out, or a creator you think I should know about, please contact me here through the website or on our open DMs on social media.