February 2023 BotM: Writer and/or Artist is a Person of Color

[Erin]

For this month, pick a book that you would like to read, where the writer and/or artist is a person of color.

If you have any recommendations for this prompt, be sure to share them below!

[Paul]

Some links I found helpful:

https://www.sequentialartistsworkshop...
https://www.comicbookherald.com/suppo...
https://www.thepopverse.com/black-com...
https://www.cbr.com/black-comics-arti...
https://imagecomics.com/features/blac...
https://www.comicsbookcase.com/update...

There’s a fair amount of duplication in there, but enough differences to be worthwhile.

For my pick, I’m trying to not fall back to artists I’m already a fan of, and stretch a bit. Think I’m going with Your Black Friend and Other Strangers. True, I have already read some of Passmore’s books, but can’t pass up an Eisner nominee and Ignatz winner short, plus more stories.

[Geoff]

I like your recommendation, Paul. I'm going to read it, too. I've also read Alienation by Inés Estrada. It was a wild ride that I loved. It is not for the faint of heart, though.

[Canavan]

Paul said: For my pick, I’m trying to not fall back to artists I’m already a fan of, and stretch a bit. Think I’m going with Your Black Friend and Other Strangers.

I followed your recommendation, Paul, and was not disappointed. I sometimes found Passmore’s didacticism grating, and some of the later selections seemed so narrowly focused that I found them inaccessible, but on the whole this was a very worthwhile and thought-provoking collection.

[Tom]

If Mariko Tamaki qualifies, I read and enjoyed Supergirl: Being Super (2016-2017): 2018 Edition.

[Evilblacksheep]

I think I'll either go with one (or more) of the following :

- Bingo Love
- Farmhand, Vol. 1: Reap What Was Sown
- The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984
- March: Book One
- The Magic Fish
- Bitter Root, Vol. 1: Family Business
- Approved for Adoption, Vol. 1
- They Called Us Enemy

I also strongly recommend :
- The Best We Could Do
- The Complete Persepolis (or the first volume, or anything by Marjane Sartrapi)

Would also almost any manga count or not ?

[Jessica]

I'll be reading Nubia: Real One for this month. Liking it so far, will update with my thoughts when I'm done!

[Nancy]

I read Victory, Stand! by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes & Dawud Anyabwile (all POC). This is an excellent memoir about how Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists for justice at the 1968 Olympics. I hope this culturally relevant graphic novel will bring this story in front of a new generation's eyes.

My longer review on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2023/02/1...