All Negro Comics, Philadelphia, 1947: front cover (Comics Collection, Kislak Center)
Friday, April 22, 2022, noon-1pm
In 1947, twenty-one years before the Black Panther character first appeared in Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four, the African American journalist and Philadelphian, Orrin Evans, published the one and only issue of All Negro Comics. Cutting across genres, from super hero to hard-boiled detective, the comic sought to give audiences “a finer appreciation of their African heritage.” This talk will look at how precisely Evans sought to do this and why, sadly, the comic’s run was limited to just one issue.