Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books

by Ken Quattro

Hear the riveting stories of Black artists who drew, mostly covertly behind the scenes, superhero, horror, and romance comics in the early years of the industry.

The life stories of each man's personal struggles and triumphs are represented as they broke through into a world formerly occupied only by whites. Using primary source material from World War II-era Black newspapers and magazines, this compelling book profiles pioneers like E.C. Stoner, a descendant of one of George Washington's slaves, who became a renowned fine artist of the Harlem Renaissance and the first Black to draw comic books. Perhaps more fascinating is Owen Middleton who was sentenced to life in Sing Sing. Middleton's imprisonment became a cause célèbre championed by Will Durant, which led to Middleton's release and subsequent comics career. Then there is Matt Baker, the most revered of the Black artists, whose exquisite art spotlights stunning women and men, and who drew the first groundbreaking Black comic book hero, Vooda!

The book is gorgeously illustrated with rare examples of each artist's work, including full stories from mainstream comic books to rare titles like All-Negro Comics and Negro Heroes, plus unpublished artist's photos. Invisible Men features Ken Quattro's impeccable research and lean writing detailing the social and cultural environments that formed these extraordinary, yet invisible, men!

Genres: Comics, History, Graphic Novels, Biography, Nonfiction, Art, African American

248 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2020

Reviews

[Bill Wallace]

A fine study of a little-explored corner of comic book history, this is the story of African-American artists in the Golden Age. Although I know comics history pretty well, nearly all of the individual detail here was new to me. Likewise, I know a fair amount about the abuses of race perpetrated by the white establishment historically and the last 20 years have shattered any illusions that a fair number of white Americans don't still have Klan suits in their closets, the individual details here are new, depressing and, in some cases, enlightening. By telling the life and career stories of people who fought and sometimes overcame prejudice, a mosaic of American race relations emerges that opens time like a book, a genuine view of 20th Century American history through a new lens, as well as a new insight into the business of creating four color funny books in an era of bigotry and occasional triumph.

The comic book stories reprinted are good, if not the greatest examples of comic art, then certainly a typical cross section of the often uneven Golden Age. The biggest star here, of course, is Matt Baker, an artist whose work deserves even more recognition than it has received. We are well overdue for a "Matt Baker Library of Comic Art," collecting his best work.

The only negative comment I have about this volume is a minor one. Many of these artists also worked on men's magazines, both the "Sweats," with their deranged machismo, and the early spawn of PLAYBOY. One, Eugene Bilbrew, drew fetish erotica. Whenever the biographies veer into the blue end of publishing, instead of celebrating the art, the author can be detected lightly clucking his tongue, an odd bias for a study of comic books, which are joined to the shadowy end of publishing by their four-color tendons.

[Dan]

First, my thanks to Net galley for a copy of this important, fascinating work.

Ken Quattro's Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books examines the role of Black artists and creators in comic book and comic strip history. Quattrouses source material from many of the Black newspapers and magazines of the era, beautifully recreated in the book, along with deeply researched profiles of the creators to fill in a very largely ignored part of Golden Age history. So much of this was new to me as a long time comic reader. The styles, the ideas, the storytelling both cutting edge, and of its time, so well compiled and rendered in the book, its just a joy to look at and admire. The profiles examine the lives of these creators, both successful and some not as much, with names that will cause internet searches for more examples of. Just a great book that I hope brings more attention to these lost to their times creators.

[Kent Clark]

I've always enjoyed reading about the history of comic books and looked forward to this one but the title leaves me a bit confused. I realize the author chose it for the tie-in to the Ralph Ellison book but I have a difficult time understanding how 'invisible' relates to the artists in the book. All but a couple of the men featured went on to have fairly prestigious art careers. Is it simply referring to the fact that few comic fans are aware of what books they worked on? Because that is pretty common for any comic creators of the golden age, aside from the few who hung on long enough to ride the revival in the 60's. Artists rarely got to sign their work in the early days of comics so, if these men are 'invisible' because of that then so are 90% of all the artists from that day. Besides which, out of the 18 artists featured, only 3 actually worked in comics because they wanted to. The rest only did it to pay the bills. And moved on as soon as they were able. I went in to this read expecting to read about horrible experiences of the artists having doors slammed in their faces and denied work because of racism. But I can only remember one instance from the book where any of the artists were even met with a single racist comment. And that was from Stan Lee who also hired the man. The author claims in the foreward that he had no agenda but I find that difficult to believe after finishing the book. He seemed to be looking for racism where there wasn't any and creating it when he couldn't find enough. This part for instance, "When news of the new comic was released, it was no surprise that white columnists had a different reaction to it than did black ones. A short clip in Collier's seemed almost incredulous at what had been accomplished: 'America's new All-Negro Comics is the first publication of it's kind drawn by negroes and containing only negro characters.'" How is that incredulous? It's literally just stating a fact.
This was an interesting read and I enjoyed the artwork but the author would have been better off simply writing a book about these men as artists without trying to make them into martyrs because few have heard of them. That's simply the reality of being a Golden Age comic book creator of any race.

[Marion Hill]

4.5 Stars.

Black History Month is in full swing and I have seen many social media posts recognizing the achievements of African Americans throughout the nation’s history. However, I have always wanted to find out something that does not get much recognition or overlooked during this annual celebration in February. Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comics by Ken Quattro is an outstanding example.

I have shared that my love of reading came from comic books as a teenager. The mixture of prose with art laid out in sequentially in a comic over the course 25-30 pages is an interesting and unique way of storytelling. The superhero genre has dominated the comic book field since the 1950s during its Silver Age. It seemed on the surface the comic book artists from that time were mostly white men. However, I have learned there were a handful of black comic book artists working from the late 1940s through late 1950s. These artists worked for a little pay but created a broader outlook for the industry on the whole and expanded it beyond superheroes.

Invisible Men profiled eighteen black comic artists and the path of their careers from the aforementioned time period. Most of the artists grew up drawing as kids and trained as fine artists, but turned to comic book art to make a living. The author highlighted how the artists worked on comic books covering adventure, crime, horror, humor, and romance from a white perspective.

The most gifted of the artists was Clarence Matthew Baker. Baker was known his ability to draw beautiful women with accurate proportions and great detail. His best known work was from a titled called Tiger Girl published in 1946 and Canteen Kate published in 1952. Tiger Girl featured a heroine fighting in the jungles of Africa and Canteen Kate was another heroine story set during wartime with her giving the troops much-needed morale. The stories were stereotypical and a product of its time. However, Baker’s art stood out as exceptional and could have been published now.

Elmer Cecil Stoner was another artist that caught my attention. Stoner worked on comics like The Blue Beetle published in 1944, which had a superhero take on Hitler and fascism. He worked on a comic book called The Funnies published in 1940 and featured the superhero Phantasmo who looked like an early vision of Marvel’s The Giant Man. Stoner was a part of the Harlem Renaissance and had connections with Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, and Zora Neale Hurston. It showed the comic book artists were not excluded from the wider artist community.

Quattro highlighted the effects of the Jim Crow laws had on these artists. But, amid that inequality, the comic book industry provided an unlikely avenue for black artists to showcase their talents. Also, Stan Lee (before he became recognized for his association with Marvel Comics) hired several of the artists to work on various titles for Atlas Comics. Lee was a proponent for getting black artists work in the industry.

Invisible Men is a book that reveals a slice of American History I had no clue about until a week ago. It shows the range of black people doing something that had been swept up by the annals of history. I highly recommend this book for comic book fans and historians and those who want to learn more about the nontraditional avenues black people inhabited in our nation.

[Robert]

A great micro-history of the world of trashy comics of the 1930s-50s from the perspective of Black artists who worked in the industry. Provides much info about the lives & work of various Black early comics creators. So many of these artists possessed great talents but were forced into the margins of the publishing industry like so many artistic Kilgore Trouts. I really like the comics that were included, & wish Invisible Men included more. Something about the ever-present self-satisfied look on the Blue Beetle’s face made the Blue Beetle Comic by E.C. Stoner one of my favorites in the collection. Cal Massey’s “Absent Minded Professor” (“Horror From the Tomb #1”) is a great horror comic example & another favorite. I like how the author waited until the Afterward to drop on the reader the fact that teenaged Captain Marvel fans succeeded in petitioning Fawcett Publications to drop a racist caricature sidekick from the comic in 1945!

[Ron Turner]

A little more scholarly than I thought it would be but I appreciate how thorough it was. I also like how it included the original artwork.

[David]

A fascinating depiction of a group of men whose own lives went largely undepicted while they were known, to whatever extent they were known, for their graphic art skills.

[Ben Truong]

Invisible Men: Black Artists of the Golden Age of Comics is a collection of biographies in graphic novel format written and illustrated by Ken Quattro. Eighteen African American comics creators receive overdue hero treatment in this collection that documents their essential roles in the rise of graphic pulp literature within the struggle for Black equality in postwar America.

Quattro skillfully compiles comprehensive profiles of each creator with excerpts of their work in a variety of genres. Black artists entered the golden-age world of pulp magazines and comics as outsiders filling the talent void left by white artists drafted into the war, often anonymously, producing white jungle heroes and buxom women.

Invisible Men: Black Artists of the Golden Age of Comics is written and constructed extremely well – it is far from perfect, but comes rather close. Quattro researched the life stories of each of the eighteen men's personal struggles and triumphs as they broke through into a world formerly occupied only by whites. Using primary source material from World War II-era Black newspapers and magazines, this compelling book profiles pioneers of the Black comic book illustrators and creators with rare examples of each artist's work to complement the biographies.

All in all, Invisible Men: Black Artists of the Golden Age of Comics is a wonderful collection of biographies and comics that Quattro doggedly research and choose archival reprints wisely, which make this volume an essential reference for pop culture history.

[Derek McCaw]

Most worked in “shops” where their main employers had no idea who they were. A couple passed as white. No matter: in the early days of comics, readers would only know them by pen names that covered whole art teams. There was a reason for “house styles” in comic books, which even at their best were still considered low art.

That was then. Now comics are held in higher regard — and should be — and with his book Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books, historian Ken Quattro has dug deep to both reveal some seminal (and often uncredited) comics artists and place their lives and work in the context of American history. Gathered from newspaper articles, historical records, and anecdotes passed down, Quattro weaves short narrative biographies, followed by letting the work speak for itself.

My full review here:

https://fanboyplanet.com/uncovering-i...

[Mike]

This is a brilliant and engaging book about a heretofore unexplored corner of comics, especially pertaining to the golden age. The traditional story has been that there were no black comic artists before the 60's or 70's, and this is untrue. Matt baker was sometimes seen as the exception that proved the rule, but he is but one of the dozen and a half depicted in this book. Ken Quattro , who styles himself 'the comic detective" shows his journalistic background here, but would do any gumshoes proud with the 20 years of work that went into this.
Only touched on in this book, and reflected on in the foreword, is the hierarchy of races and ethnicities that produced comics; Quattro's paraphrasing of Ralph Ellison for his title makes a clear point, however- there were talented black men doing the creative work, but because of race, prejudice and discrimination, credit was denied them, rendering them invisible .

[Marc Steiner]

A deep dive into the first generation of Black comic book artists. Ken Quattro presents new and detailed information on many of the creators including their parents, childhood, and careers. Also included are photos, contextual history, art work, and reprints of stories early in each of the creators' careers.

If you are interested in any aspect of comicbook history this is definitely a highly recommended book.

[SupesDaddy]

A groundbreaking book! This incredibly researched and masterfully written book provides a detailed look at the lives and careers of the first Black comic book artists. Quattro is an established historian and his profiles of this group of extraordinary men is long overdue. This book should win a ton of awards.

[Mark Stratton]

Five Stars aren’t enough for this book. It’s that well done and that important.

[Christopher Campbell]

For one of my final reviews for the year, I wanted to review something that wasn’t the usual anime, manga, or tv show-wise. We’ll be reviewing a new book by Comic Historian, Ken Quattro titled ‘Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books‘.

This book profiles eighteen comic book artists and the paths they took during that period. Most of the artists either started drawing as kids and trained to become fine artists, or they would turn to make art in Comic Books to make a living as Comic Book Artists. Ken Quattro compiled a well-written, well-told, book that not only laid out extensive profiles of each artist but told each of their stories, which included each of their work receiving the attention they rightly deserve.

Each of the Artist Profiles told the stories behind these artists, from their struggles, and triumphs, and documents their essential roles in the rise of graphic pulp literature within the struggle for Black Equality in Post-War America. They were entering the Golden Age of Comics, and Pulp Magazines as outsiders filled the void left by white artists who were drafted in the war, and during that time, it was often done anonymously.

I was impressed by the use of material from World War II-Era Black Newspapers and Magazines, offering rare examples of each artist’s works and complementing their biographies. It even highlighted the effects the Jim Crowe Laws had on these artists but amid inequality, the Comic Book Industry gave Black Artists a way to showcase their talents. Take for example, before Marvel became this larger-than-life publisher, Stan Lee would hire several Black Artists to work on various titles when it still was Atlas Comics. Lee was a proponent of getting Black Artists to work in the Industry.

As I have mentioned in our review header that this is the must-read book for Comic Book Fans, Why, you might be asking yourself? Because it was another way to learn about these eighteen incredible pioneers of Comic Book Artists. Not only this was a crucial part of history that needs to be told but that this examined the work and contributions that Black Artists have made in Comic Books and Civil Rights.

[Norman Cook]

2021 Eisner Award Winner - Best Comics-Related Book

This is a meticulously researched book about Black artists who worked on early comic books. I don't think I had ever heard of any of these men, so I was intrigued by this "lost" history. Black artists suffered the same prejudices that plagued Blacks in every walk of life. What I found more interesting, really, were the descriptions of life in general in the 1940s and the struggles these men had. I didn't care a lot about who their parents were or other minutia of their lives, but I can understand why this information was included. I suspect this will be the only biographies of most of these artists, and Quattro wanted to make sure these details weren't lost.

There is a fair amount of artwork by these artists included in the book. Most of it is frankly mediocre (at least by today's standards) and indistinguishable from most of the comic book artists working during those times. Comics then were crammed with narration and word balloons, so the art itself was usually very basic. The comics these artists did work on were almost always B- or C- (or even lower) grade titles, where meeting deadlines was far more important than quality. However, some of the profiled artists went on to much greater success in advertising, fine art, teaching, and other non-comics fields. The comics were for many of these artists simply an entry point into art, or a side job or interim job to make money.

Not a book for everyone, but if you're a student of Black history or comics history, this is an excellent book.

Kindle edition; 252 pages.

[Anthony S.]

Simply a brilliant book! Unlike most comics "history" books that drool over the artwork of a favorite creator, the author here delves into the lives and the circumstances of each of the 18 Black artists he profiles.

The author, Ken Quattro, allows their stories to unfold naturally, without commentary to influence the reader. He does this through the use of mostly contemporaneous Black media. An illuminating and inspired choice.

And not only is this an important contribution to American history, the author knows his comic book history. Even the most seasoned comic book fan will learn something new from this book.

Additionally, the book is chock-full of photos and rare comic book artwork from these artists.

This book won the coveted Will Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book in 2021 and it was well-deserved. It is without a doubt the best comics history book I have ever read. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

[Chris Aylott]

Biographical sketches of what it turns out were quite a few Black artists quietly working in comics throughout the middle of the 20th century. Quattro reconstructs their lives as best he can, acknowledging that in many cases the records are incomplete, and draws out enough detail to show the links between them and the variety in their experiences.

The variety of comics published at the time stands out, too. We see so much of the surviving superheroes from that -- Batman, Superman, etc. -- that it's easy to forget how many genres of fiction and non-fiction were appearing at the newsstands every month. One of the Quattro's best decisions is to include at least one multi-page story drawn by each of artists, making the book not just a series of biographies of a sampler of the breadth and depth of comics art at the time.

[Fraser Sherman]

Comic books in the Golden Age were dominated by white dudes. Quattro looks at some exceptions. Many of them worked through "shops" that provided finished stories to publishers, rather than selling to publishers themselves. Some worked mostly in fine or commercial art. One of them was passing as white. Some worked on well-known properties such as the Phantom Lady or the 1940s Blue Beetle; others wrote horror, romance or obscure but noteworthy works such as Voodah (a Tarzan type who was the first black character with his own series) and All-Negro Comics.
There's a lot of biographical detail on these guys (yes, they're all men) and their families, which gives a feel for the society they came from (unsurprisingly, slavery figures somewhere in their family tree).

[Matt Sautman]

A highly accessible work that is meaningful for academics and more mainstream comic fans that emphasizes the many contributions Black artists made to comics history despite the fact that the medium’s focus on mainly white subjects in their art made them invisible. The ability to straddle the divide between comics anthology, coffee table book, and an academic quality reference book is not an easy one, yet such a balance is easily found here.

[Billy Hogan]

An excellent book about some of the many unheralded black comic book artists at the beginnings of the comic book industry, including the first all black comic book company, fifty years before Milestone Comics made history. If you're interested in comic book history, this is an important addition to your bookshelf.

[Johnathon]

Superb history of the numerous black creators during the Golden Age of Comic Books, covering their work and the racism they experienced, and how they affected each other. Quattro goes a great job documenting the various biographies, from those that hid their race to others that used their comic book talents to fight injustice. A fantastic read and a must for comic book fans.

[Katrina]

Read the forward and flipped through the rest, I know, bad reader. But this is a great reference as it clearly sets the stage of the lives of the highlighted artists and includes lots of clear artwork with detailed biographies.

[Adrienna]

I couldn't finish this one even though it was interesting to see black graphic or comic artists during the early 1900s. I read a few stories out biographies in book and it's comics.

Book club choice. Okay 👌 read.

[Bradley Weber]

Listen to my discussion about this book at the Of Books & Booze podcast!

[Anna]

I wanted to give this book a higher rating. The topic is an important one in the history of American golden age comics and I love the high quality reprints of each artist's work, but I felt like Quatto's biographies were somewhat lacking.

[Jon]

Excellent history of black comic artists in the early days in this medium. Love the samples of their work.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Mills College Library]

741.5973 Q25 2020

[Nutkin]

This books is amazingly detailed in the biographies that it provides of often overlooked Black artists from comics history. I loved the various examples of each individual's art including a comic.

[Bill Coffin]

The history of comic books is an interesting one, for so much of it occupied the realm of "low art," and was meant to be enjoyed ephemerally, if at all, and then to be forgotten. And while much scholarship has been done to commit the history of this delightful medium to its rightful place within the archive of history, there remain large gaps where the work of many have been forgotten.

This book addresses one of those gaps: the contribution of Black talent to the comic industry's earlier days. Providing a terrific showcase of nearly twenty creatives, this book goes over their careers and reprints their work. The work itself is all over the map - from mainstream comics such as the Blue Beetle and Classics Illustrated to the specific niche of All-Negro Comics - a clear reminder of how racial segregation spares no aspect of society once it is enacted. The quality of the world ranges from the fantastic to the hacky. Not all of these artists were terrific. But they were all working their craft at a time when what they did enabled all of the work that was to follow.

This is not a particularly exciting book to read - it's more a historical list of mini-biographies. But it is an important one, for sure. Adolphus Gripon. Elmer Stoner. Robert Pious. Jay Paul Jackson. Owen Middleton. Elton Fox. George Lipscomb. Clarence Baker. Alvin Hollingsworth. Ezra Jackson. Alfonso Greene. Eugene Bilbrew. Orrin Evans. George Evans, Jr., John Terrell. William Smith. Leonard Cooper. Calvin Massey. Remember their names. And pass them on.