forever and a day

As you may know, there was recently a DC Comics boycott as a part of the DCSoWhite movement since DC has not had a mainline ongoing solo with a Black lead for over 1200 days. You can read more about this here, here, here, and here. The boycott has been cancelled (link), but that doesn't mean we can't still show support for Black comic creators!

One of the things the movement called for fans to do was to "[Support] Black creators through independent and creator-owned projects." So this post is meant to provide tips on how to do this.

Check out other works of Black creators you're already familiar with

The Black comic creators you're already a fan of who have made comics for DC or Marvel have likely also made comics for other publishers too. You can usually find out about other comics they've worked on through their Wikipedia page, social media pages, and their own website if they have one. And it's a good idea to follow their social media to learn about any of their projects in the future!

Look through indie publisher websites

A great way to find out about indie comics is to check out indie publishers' websites. There will almost always be a page on their websites with all their comics so you can easily look through them and the creators will be listed so you can look into the creators too. This is one way to find out about Black comic creators who you might not already be familiar with.

The publishers that are listed as examples in the webpages linked above are Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Vault Comics, Ignition Press, and Stranger Comics.

Check out existing lists

There are already lists online that specifically recommend Black creators to check out and comics by Black creators. You can also find recommendations and lists on social media. This is another great way to find out about Black comic creators you're not yet familiar with.

Speaking of lists, I would like to point you to this post by @bimboopo which includes a list of many Black webtoon creators which you can go check out!

And that sucks, as a long time comic reader.

My entire life I've enjoyed stories about people that in no way reflect me or my experience, because that's most of what there was to pull from. If I want to see myself, I have a couple options every now and again, and I better hope I like the writing and characters enough. There will always be comics about White men. Always. One getting cancelled or selling poorly will not change that reality, nor will the conclusion be "Well, nobody wants to buy books about White characters."

But the implication that it's on *me as the consumer* to buy every Black led-book ever to make sure they try again in 5-7 years maybe is insane. DC caters to a certain demographic because they want them to buy their books. Why would a demographic that is not consistently, meaningfully included, keep showing up?

Really, what bothers me the most is the reminder the fanbase they've cultivated isn't simply not one that resembles me, but actively doesn't want to see me present. You can only be reminded of that so many times before you decide it's time to move on. I'm stubborn for personal reasons, ideas I'm invested in and the like. But I think I've become pretty sour on this whole slice of the hobby.

Y’all remember when it was a trend to draw characters in boxes or smth, or am I hallucinating this?

But anyways I just finished re-reading Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and it reminded me how much I like these fellas.

Courtney is literally me, if I was female and still 15 years old.

The Black Comic Alliance, the collective of content creators behind the viral #DCSoWhite campaign, has officially announced Stage 2 of its advocacy movement: DCBlackout, a coordinated protest calling on readers, supporters, and content creators to withhold financial support and pause content creation tied to DC Comics publishing initiatives until meaningful structural changes are made around…

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