Pioneering Cartoonists of Color

by Tim Jackson

Syndicated cartoonist and illustrator Tim Jackson offers an unprecedented look at the rich yet largely untold story of African American cartoon artists. This book provides a historical record of the men and women who created seventy-plus comic strips, many editorial cartoons, and illustrations for articles. The volume covers the mid-1880s, the early years of the self-proclaimed black press, to 1968, when African American cartoon artists were accepted in the so-called mainstream.

When the cartoon world was preparing to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the American comic strip, Jackson anticipated that books and articles published upon the anniversary would either exclude African American artists or feature only the three whose work appeared in mainstream newspapers after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968. Jackson was determined to make it impossible for critics and scholars to plead an ignorance of black cartoonists or to claim that there is no information on them. He began in 1997 cataloging biographies of African American cartoonists, illustrators, and graphic designers, and showing samples of their work. His research involved searching historic newspapers and magazines as well as books and "Who's Who" directories.

This project strives not only to record the contributions of African American artists, but also to place them in full historical context. Revealed chronologically, these cartoons offer an invaluable perspective on American history of the black community during pivotal moments, including the Great Migration, race riots, the Great Depression, and both World Wars. Many of the greatest creators have already died, so Jackson recognizes the stakes in remembering them before this hidden yet vivid history is irretrievably lost.

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2016

About the author

Tim Jackson was a nationally syndicated cartoonist and illustrator. He earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has illustrated editorial cartoons for the Chicago Defender, Chicago Tribune, and Cincinnati Herald, among other publications.

Reviews

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from reading this book! The illustrations and historical notes were so helpful in understanding the context of the comics, especially in the sections regarding WWII and the 1960s. I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in comics, the history of comics, or dove for the comics in the newspaper when they were younger.

[Sephy Hallow · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important book, with some incredible historical information on the lives and context of Black artists in America. Although the book is a detailed (for its length) insight into Black cartooning from 1800 until 1968 (after which, the author notes, representation of Black characters and creators became more prominent, following the assassination of Dr King), it lacks in a few areas. The sections on the 1930s and 40s are muddled, because there is no much crossover or continuation of artists through this period (treated as two separate periods by Jackson), that a lot of information is necessarily repeated. A more thorough narrative of the context of cartoonists and their evolution in this era might have served better than a strict chronological account, which confusingly darts between time periods. Second, the fact there are only 3 women of colour in the entire book is immensely frustrating. Jackson rightly challenges the notion that "I didn't know where to look" or "information was scarce" is a poor excuse to be uniformed or overlook Black artists, but doesn't apply the same logic to women of colour in the field. Similarly, although misogynoir is clearly present in a lot of the cited strips, it isn't addressed or even mentioned. In the absence of clear information, a dedicated chapter on why there is a lack of representation for women, and a more in-depth look at those featured, would have been welcome.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exceptionally interesting material. The style is somewhat dry / reference-book-like. But the information is so intriguing!! I also really appreciated the many illustrative examples of these pioneering cartoonists' work.