Image Comics By Black Creators To Read For Black History Month

Just because it is February does not mean it is the only month black creators should be celebrated. As February is Black History Month, I wanted to shine a spotlight on a few black comic book creators for 2022. Some you might be familiar with, and some might be new to you. Check out the list below and do yourself a favor go read some comic books by black creators. Of course, this is just a microscopic view of what is out there by black creators. So, please, check out Image Comics for a more comprehensive list. Enjoy!

New Masters

Nigerian brothers Shobo & Shof, Creators for Creators Grant recipients, present a six-issue series called New Masters, a revolutionary mix of science fiction, adventure, drama, and dynamic Afro-futurism. In a marked vision of West Africa under the influence of alien colonizers, a strange brew of outcasts finds themselves caught up in a struggle for control of an ancient artifact with immense power. The first issue is out now, with the second coming on March 9th. 

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Monkey Meat

In this five-issue series, Juni Ba (Djeliya) introduces a new fantasy universe in Monkey Meat. The Monkey Meat Company made its money selling cans of processed meat worldwide. Using their fortune to fuel their crazy experiments, they turned their native island into a magical extreme-capitalist landscape where demons even have to pay their rent. Follow the creatures of Monkey Meat Island in this fun and exciting lark. Each issue of Monkey Meat is a stand-alone story. Juni Ba is an illustrator and writer hailing from Senegal and France whose current work includes the Kayin and Abeni mini-series, published by Kugali. Juni Ba is also a cover artist who works for Skybound and IDW. The first two issues of Monkey Meat are out now.

Killadelphia 

The most well-known comic book on the list, the Eisner-nominated Killadephia features the highly talented Jason Shawn Alexander (Spawn) and the writer behind television's Marvel's Runaways and STARZ's American Gods Rodney Barnes. When small-town beat cop Jimmy Sangster returns to his Philadelphia home to bury his father, who was brutally murdered, he stumbles into a mystery that will lead him down a path of horrors and everything he believes in will be questioned. Once known as the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia has fallen on hard times. Besides, vampires seem to have taken up residence in the city once known as the birth of liberty and freedom. Sometimes going home is not always the best idea. The first three volumes (a total of eighteen issues) are available now.

Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog

Another book on the list by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander is Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog, which is a terrifying tie-in to Killadephia. Fans of horror comics will love both of these titles. Jimmy Sangster has left Maryland for the vampire-infested city of Killadelphia, but evil remains in the Baltimore streets. The demon Corson re-surfaced from the netherworld to possess a wrongly convicted man. His revenge will cause despair in all of humanity. However, Jimmy's former lover Nita Hawes has begun a quest to rid her city of the evil which possesses it. Guided by her deceased brother's spirit, she comes to terms with her past. If not, she could join her brother in a state worse than death. But, you know what Dracula said, "There are far worse things awaiting man than death." The first four issues of Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog are out now. Volume 1, which comes out May 18th, collects the first six issues. 

Farmhand

In Farmhand by Eisner Award winner Rob Guillory, Jedidiah Jenkins is a simple, hard-working farmer. But his crop does not consist of vegetables or soy. Instead, he grows quick-healing, highly-customizable human organs. For many years, Jed's organic human transplants have been a savior to many, but deep within the soil of the Jenkins Family Farm, something malevolent has taken root. Farmhand is a dark comedy where agriculture has gone apocalyptic. The first three volumes (a total of fifteen issues) of Farmhand are available now.

Bitch Planet 

Eisner Award-nominated writer Kelly Sue DeConnick (Pretty Deadly, Captain Marvel) and Valentine De Landro (X-Factor) created this treasure, Bitch Planet, their critically acclaimed satire on science-fiction. Think Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale) meets Inglourious Basterds. Sounds encouraging! Two volumes of Bitch Planet are out now, containing the first ten issues. Bitch Planet: Triple Feature Volume 1 is also available now, collecting issues 1- 5.

Look for follow-up articles on comics by black creators from Marvel and DC in the near future.

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Written By Eric Onkenhout

Source(s): Image Comics

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