All-Negro Comics #1

by All-Negro Comics

HardPress Vintage Comic Book Collection

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

53 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1947

Reviews

[Dom · Rating 2 out of 5]

More historical than is interesting to read. Nice art for the time however.

[Ed Erwin]

Interesting mostly as a historical artifact, though some of the stories were fun. It would have been nice if this could have continued past the first issue.

[Dogsandbooksanddogsandbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Image Comics for my electronic copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The first comic book that was created in every aspect by and for the black community in 1947. Meant to be a series, All-Negro Comics #1 was the only book published. Containing a variety of comic styles, each teased the reader with a future episode. Unfortunately, those didn't happen.

With this comic book, it was a way to revisit and set straight some common misconceptions about the black community. Read by today's standards, the treatment of women is still unacceptable: women were seen as stupid and mostly bodies. On the other hand, the male characters were smart, educated, heroic, and in some cases as in the Dew Dillies, adorable.

The comic portion was a quick read. There is also quite a bit of history that is given of the comic industry of that time and into the future. What it took to get this comic book published is also discussed.

My favorite part of this book is the updated versions of the old comics. Contemporary black comic artists give their take on the individual comics using the same characters, just updated.

[Ingrid Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three quarters of a century ago, Orrin C. Evans led a team of cartoonists to create the first comic book anthology of original Black characters created by Black talent, with the expressed purpose of entertaining while rejecting harmful stereotypes and pushing boundaries in the industry. This was only 8 years after Action Comics #1, 6 years after Captain America #1 and a whole 19 years before Black Panther hit the pages of Fantastic Four.
Remembering that these comics are from the 1940 stops any remarks about stereotypes.  I had no idea there were black only comics,  a black "Dick Tracy" that is just as corny as the white version. As usually it's OK to be derogatory to women, as seen in many panels of these comics.  I'd like to say that is a product of its time as well, but unfortunately, it's still a safe bet.
The art is fantastic, though some of the story lines are hard to follow simply because I don't get all the slang.
An important collection that needs to be seen and appreciated.
Highly recommended.  Publishing date Nov. 04, 2025

Thanks to @netgalley and Image Comics for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Editar este quadrinho em português e ainda imprimi-lo em uma campanha do Catarse é um resgate histórico importante. A All-Negro Comics foi o primeiro gibi criado por um homem negro e estrelado apenas por personagens negros. No entanto, a edição do quadrinho em português apresenta diversos problemas. A começar com os da ordem visual: não existe projeto gráfico; as letras são simplesmente jogadas tanto nos textos como na balonagem. Não tem indentação do texto, não tem respiro de entrelinha, não tem números de páginas, as fontes se misturam, há problemas de revisão. Um texto do editor original, Orin C. Evans, que é citado nos textos iniciais e finais, foi simplesmente omitido da versão brasileira. A impressão que dá é que a editora não respeitou o leitor que investiu na campanha e no quadrinho, fazendo um trabalho amador, que poderia muito bem ter sido resolvido com um fanzine em preto e branco ou um scan. Porém, não da forma como foi prometido na campanha, colorido e com papel polen, numa apresentação tão aquém de uma obra de tanta importância histórica.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

*An ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

A fascinating primary document if you’re into comics from an academic or historical perspective. All-Negro Comics, as it declares on the cover, was America’s first all-Black comic, originally published in 1947.

The comic book is a collection of different short stories by different writers and artists. The varying art styles were fascinating to look at side-by-side, but like most comics from the 1940s, the storylines not super riveting to a 21st-century audience. I enjoyed them, but the essays peppered through out by Black comic publishers, creatives, and other industry insiders were the best part.

Highly recommend to anyone looking for a primary text of a historical landmark in comics history. (I’m especially keeping this one on the reserves for future comics classes.)

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really delightful. Loved the dew dillies so much.

Read the actual comic a few months ago, but only just got around to reading the essays and the new stories, which I thought was a fun little tribute.

Definitely makes you wonder if there really was a finished second issue that was never published. I wonder what happened to the stories.

Picked this up at the Houston cinema arts festival.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing in this first attempt at all-Black comic may not be the strongest and the art feels dated, but this volume's value emerges for those interested in African American print culture and counter-narratives that resist white authored texts.

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical

A very quick read. The stories are simple and basic but as a historical curiosity it's worth the read. ✌

[HappyYuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed checking this out for its historical significance.

[Ame · Rating 4 out of 5]

The full comic can be found here: http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/preview...
This is the first comic to be completely written and illustrated by African American comic book artists. It's unfortunate that this is the only issue as well, because I would've read more Ace Harlem stories in a heartbeat.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 1947 comic is the first to be published by African American writers and artist. It features the first African superhero (arguably) - Lion Man (LM). LM shares some similarities to Black Panther (BP). This is a very important comic book that anyone who is interested in the history of American comics will want to read.

[Redwan Orittro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and quick read but for 2020 it's very racist