In
The Souls of Black Folk, written in 1903 by W.E.B. DuBois, the author describes the African American experience as a Double Consciousness, a psychological condition brought on from living in a world as a Black person through the eyes of racist white people. Comic historian Ken Quattro was profoundly affected by DuBois work while he conducted research for IDW s
Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books, his new book chronicling the lives and work of 18 Black men the comic book industry not only forgot but barely acknowledged existed.
Men like Matt Baker, Elmer C. Stoner, Orrin C. Evans, and E. Sims Campbell may not be household names, but they are part of the group introduced in
Superheroes and trailblazers: Black comic book artists, rediscovered
Ace Harlem, a Dic Tracey-like detective created by Orrin C. Evans and John Terrell. The comic ran in the premiere (and only) issue of All-Negro Comics, the first all-Black comic produced by an all-Black staff in 1947. Yoe Books via The New York Times.
by Helene Stapinski
(NYT NEWS SERVICE)
.- Ken Quattros deep dive into Black comic book artists started out of frustration. Twenty years ago, while researching a man named Matt Baker whose drawings were distinguished by his strong style, Quattro, a comics fan and blogger, kept coming up empty-handed. There was nothing about him except that he was Black and that he died young, said Quattro, who is known as the Comics Detective.