THE Jamar Nicholas and Leon the Protector of the Playground!

I had the pleasure of meeting Jamar Nicholas (Multi-nominated and four time Glyph Comics Award winner, Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics winner, and Artblog Libertarian Awards Author! Author! BEST Books by Philadelphians at)the Baltimore Comic Con. I’m not sure which year it was, must have been early 2000 something. I had just finished buying a few trade paperbacks of various superheroes and walked over to the “Artist Alley.” (On a side note, I am all for changing the name of “artist alley” and not having every AA always in the back of every comic con or in far flung corners. Minor rant over…) I saw “Detective Boogaloo: Hop-Hop Cop” and remembered seeing the art for this online. We chopped it up for a few, I picked up the Files Folder for the character and went on my way.

Each year I’d see Jamar and like we never missed a step, we talked, joked, and laughed like we knew each other for the longest. Then again this is who Jamar is, a good guy who isn’t just at cons to sell a product. I’d pick up a Draw magazine or two, a poster, the “Fist Stick Knife Gun” graphic novel Jamar drew, and each year we’d talk about what’s coming up the next year. I remember one year Jamar talked about a project, “Leon Protector of the Playground,” and how excited he was for it. Like always, “When it drops, I’ll be down” I said. I’m very glad I did.

“Leon Protector of the Playground” is an all-ages graphic novel that follows the hero Leon as he defends his friends and peers from a colorful (and hilarious) group of villains. Leon is a child superhero who isn’t bogged down with a heavy backstory or adult produced trauma. He just wants to rock his new school clothes and help people; and enjoy a slice of pistachio chocolate cake..

Each chapter is a fun read and filled with bright full color storytelling. Jamar filled with book with fun, you can feel how much he enjoyed the process. The children at Guillaume Elementary, where you need to provide your own tartar sauce on Fish Stick Fridays, are written and treated like children. Besides dealing with the likes of Broccoli Rob, Urine Nathan, Tattlesnake, and Brahma Bully (thankfully we have Leon for them!) I would have loved to have gone to this school or send Noah there when he was younger. I HIGHLY recommend getting this book for the young person in your life and for yourself for that matter.

Today you can find Jamar on Twitter @jamarnicholas, at Jamar.Nicholas at Instagram, patreon.com/jamarnicholas (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all the amazing gems he drops), and the amazing Pencil to Pencil podcast (with co host the epic Mike Manley) on YouTube.

Sunspot. Afro-Brazilian Mutant.

The first three images are of Roberto Da Costa, an Afro-Brazilian mutant teenager known as Sunspot. His power grants him the ability to absorb solar energy and convert that into superhuman strength, also giving him a black aura with an amazing Kirby Krackle around him. If I recall from “The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition,” he can bench press roughly 10 tons (I could be wrong on this one). At some point later in his career, Sunspot could project beams of energy and could fly. But I’ll focus on his base power set.

What made Sunspot a different kind of “brick” character than others is that Sunspot had limits. Most of my favorite characters had limitations that forced heroes to be smart with their powers. Sunspot needed solar energy, so at night or in darkness, he could be at a disadvantage. His costume made of Unstable Molecules stored solar energy, but it wasn’t an unlimited supply. Also spending too much energy too fast could leave him without enough of a charge to power up. At times Sunspot’s mental and emotional fatigue could impact his abilities as well. Sunspot didn’t look like some buffed out dude either. He looked rather average, like any other teenager.

Being one of the few Black faces in the X-Men books and the only one in my FAVORITE book and team “The New Mutants,” Sunspot quickly became “my dude.” We both had quick tempers, or as I say “a low tolerance for foolishness,” felt like we were bound for better things, and felt like no one really understood us. Sunspot and I had dreams of becoming full fledged members of The X-Men. We were going to have a X-Men branch in Baltimore City and the base would be a hollowed out Sentinel. Then Dani Moonstar would one day see me in a new light and we’d get married. Then…

I see you looking at me like that. Stop that. Don’t disrespect Young Kofi’s dream.

Anyway… So I guess you are asking who is the guy in the fourth picture? Why that’s Roberto Da Costa! No, it’s not an error or fan drawing. Nope, this is a panel from a Marvel comic. Over the last several years, Sunspot has been a victim or whitewashing.

[Whitewashing, verb: 1. Paint (a wall, building, or room) with a whitewash. 2. Deliberately attempt to conceal unpleasant or incriminating facts about (someone or something)]

Nowadays when people think of Whitewashing, they are talking about removing a person’s color or a person of color from various types of media or replacing a person of color in exchange for a White person.

In Sunspot’s case, he went from being a chocolate brown young man to a White adult. Or what the creators at the books who were on those titles must have felt a “real Brazilian” looks like. It couldn’t have been a lack of knowledge, Sunspot has been around since 1982 and has always been the same guy. I know you’re asking, “Maybe Da Costa got that Sammy Sosa treatment?” Naw, he didn’t get that Sosa Cream Job, nor is it vitiligo or a side effect of his powers, or even a lack of talent as other characters were colored with skill and care. Well actually, historically comics have a long history of not properly coloring Black, Brown, Asian characters… But that’s another topic altogether.

You’re probably asking, “Damn, Kofi. Why does this bother you so much?”

Because the whole crux of Sunspot’s origin is that he is AFRO-BRAZILIAN!!! In his first appearance, his power activated when his anger got the best of him. Darn Kofi, why was he angry?” Roberto was livid because his White (or fair skinned Brazilians) peers verbally and physically assaulted him. And from the dialog, this wasn’t the first time it happened. As a kid growing up in the 80’s, I know that feeling and have reacted in the same way (without the powers).

Many “fans” argue it’s not a big deal. Especially when The New Mutants film was announced and the actor looked NOTHING like Sunspot. They couldn’t grasp his culture and race. It’s like making Shang-Chi a kid from Malibu or T’Challa a British Crusader. “Well what about Nick Fury?” Nick Fury’s origin isn’t tied into a racial background. Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne (ok, we know Gotham City Police aren’t going to let a Black man act an ass like Batman is allowed..) all could be any race or background. For me it’s not difficult to grasp. But fanboys be fanboying…

Last I saw, Sunspot was back to being Black and a member of The New Mutants after a stint as an Avenger. I’m glad for him. He hasn’t offered me an invite to The X-Men, it kinda hurts but then again Krakoa is hella full right now. It’s just good to see this character still be in the public eye and hopefully he will get his proper shine at some point. And don’t worry about me joining another superhero team, another crew in Dakota City offered me a shot to be down with their team. Not sure what this “jumped in” talk is all about though…

Hardware. Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Of all the Milestone Media comics that were announced, Hardware (Curtis Metcalf) was the one I was looking forward to the most. The first image I saw of him was a man in armor, holding a chained bladed weapon. Hardware looked like a person not to be trifled with. From what I gathered, Hardware was an incredibly smart man who made his suit to fight against those who wronged him. I was sold! At that point in my life, I was very much in the “If they punch you in the arm, you elbow their jaw until it unhinged” line of thinking. Anyone who provoked this out of Hardware, they deserved whatever they got. And then I got the first issue in my hand.

I wasn’t ready for the opening, not at all. The bird attempting to leave and bumping into the glass, Curtis described how this bird would keep crashing into this glass, not understanding that the barrier would not allow for his escape. Yet each time it was out of his cage, it would rush for a freedom that would not happen. Then we read that for all of his academic accomplishments and his amazing career thanks to his mentor Edwin Alva Sr., for all the success and money he made for his company, Curtis is just like the bird he felt sorry for, a man trapped under a glass that he couldn’t escape.

Alva told Curtis flatly that he was a cog in the machine when he asked for a royalty point on his inventions. Not family, not a friend, not the “heir apparent” for the company. This was a huge blow to Curtis, to be told he wasn’t even respected, he was “useful.” Besides the dynamics of the “father figure/son” relationship that Alva pretended to have, getting Curtis into a school and furthering his education (with the promise of working for Alva) and an employee being told they are “just a cog” in a machine, you have an older White man telling a Black man that he is basically property. Curtis is better than a lot of us, I can see an eye being blackened at the least.

Well that’s what Curtis wanted to do and went about it, attempting to find anything he could use as leverage on Alva. And he found so much! After sending this information to every law enforcement and news outlet he could and getting no results, Curtis decided that his only option left was to physically take on Alva directly. Not at Curtis Metcalf, but as an armored boogie man who would strike at the heart of ALL of Alva’s illegal activities. He became Hardware

After the first issue, it was a wrap for me. Hardware was my guy. I spent every moment I could telling everyone who would listen to me, “Get these Milestone Books! You NEED to read Hardware!!!” As much as I caught all the context of his heroic journey, it wasn’t until I was older and into the workforce before I “got” what Curtis was feeling. I’ve never had anyone talk down to me like Alva did to him, I would be lying if I hadn't felt “trapped” at a job. Too many times I can count on my hands, I’ve felt like a cog in a machine or under appreciated while someone smiles in my face telling me just how much they appreciate me.

And it’s not something I’m alone with, being Black in the workforce, we deal with so many micro transgressions on a daily basis. And if you are a woman or LGBTQ, you may face ten times as many. 

Yes Hardware does break through his glass barrier, but it took his ex-girlfriend Barraki Young for him to see much of his feeling trapped was his doing. Hardware wasn’t created to help others or stop crime. Hardware himself was a cage that Curtis Metcalf put himself in. He was so driven to “strike back” at Alva, he didn’t see the damage he was doing to himself and to the community. Eventually Hardware moved past this and became a hero, but his heroic journey is one of the reasons I like Hardware. Had I had the means, I might have been just like him.

That’s a lie. I WOULD have done exactly what Hardware did. And I pray I’d have someone who’d sit me down and check me to be the hero I need to be.

Cyclops Catches Storm's Hands

Storm is probably one of the most popular Black Women in superheroes & comics. It doesn't help that for many, by no fault of theirs, Storm is one of the few Black Women given a large amount of shine by her membership in the X-Men. And yes, I'm a Storm fan. I'm a huge fan of her evolution as a person and her powers are amazing. But take away her powers and what do you have?

A complete badass. Cyclops found out the hard way.

For a stint of time, Storm was without her powers. Thanks to Forge's Neutralizer gun, Storm was stripped of her powers (issue 184). When I was younger I was furious. However it lead to Storm being seen not only in a new light, but cementing her place as the one hero you don't want the smoke from.

Cyclops was having a moral dilemma, his heart was with the X-Men and his commitment to Professor Xavier's dream. On the flip side, he had a wife and newborn that needed his attention and love. It didn't help that his wife Madelyne was nearly an exact clone of his long dead former love Jean Grey (But that's a whole other story. Also I want to add while I dig Cyclops the hero, Scott Summers is a trashy dude. Again, a story for another time...).

Storm and Cyclops agreed to have a duel in the Danger Room, the X-Men's training area powered with holograms, robots, and such. The whole time Cyclops saw this as an unfair match. Storm had no powers and Cyclops believed he was the better combatant, despite his respect for Storm. One stray shot from his Optic Blast, match over. So when the lights dimmed and the fight started in a ruined city, Cyclops thought he had won this match.

Wrong.

Storm made Cyclops look like a rank amateur. Storm pushed and pressured Cyclops into several mistakes and ended by snatching his visor that controlled his eye beams off his face. Had Cyclops not been distracted with his own thoughts, perhaps the duel would have went his way. Storm fairly brought up that Cyclops can't spread himself so thin and be a proper leader for the X-Men and husband & father to his family.

Storm went on to have several successful stints as field leader/leader of the X-Men. When she had no powers, Storm faced many powerful foes. Some she might have easily handled with her powers, many more would have taxed her at full strength. And yet, Storm was never a liability to her team, only a power asset.

Eventually Storm would regain her powers in full. For a Young Kofi, seeing a Black Woman leading my favorite team while being powerless was empowering and showed how powerful we are. Superpowers or not.

Static #25

The hero Static from the Milestone Media Universe is one of my favorite characters. Much like Spider-Man, Static is the "every man" type of hero. Unlike Batman, Icon, Professor Xavier, or Black Panther Static is extremely tangible and relatable. Not to mention he's powers, adventures, and cast made for a great read every month.

So enter issues 25. Virgil/Static and his girlfriend Daisy decide to have sex. Which many teenagers, myself included, have done since the day has been old. Now the creative staff handled the build up and story with amazing care. Unlike other comics at the time and before, this wasn't a grab to get sales or show T&A. In fact, the plot point wasn't super major to many of us, until DC Comics made it major.

Dwayne McDuffie made a post of how he got wind DC didn't want to use the original cover because it was too controversial. And I suppose to some, two teens kissing and condoms (at least they are being careful) on the ground might be "too much." I'd agree if they were in a state of undress or Daisy was drawn like a pin up doll or some object to be drooled over by gross men.

But it wasn't like that at all.

And to further add insult to injury, Legionnaires no. 16 had a picture of Dream Girl (I believe the Legionnaires were teens/young adults as well) with her ass sticking out and a "come here big boy" look on her face. The two males on the cover, zero sex appeal. Mind you, Legionnaires didn't need it, but yet it was there.

So Static had two covers, the first showed them kissing and the second the full cover. And throughout the whole issue and afterwards, nothing went beyond PG. It did show the extreme double standards in comics and society at large. And despite all this, Static and the Milestone Media continued to be amazing and in my opinion, one of THE greatest universes in comics.

A Heroine named Rocket

1993 was an amazing year. It gave us some of the greatest Hip Hop albums ever with “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers),” “Midnight Marauders,” and one of my all-time favorites, “93 Til Infinity.” I had graduated high school and rolled with the greatest crew anyone could ask for. On the comics front, it was a good year (back then every year was a good year) with not just Marvel and DC Comics, but many independent books coming out. Image made the biggest splash with ex-Marvel artists forming their own company & books (honestly a lot of X-Men rips, but I dug them).

For me, 93 was the year of Milestone Media, an imprint at DC Comics that had minority heroes at a time when you wouldn’t have too many Black heroes with their own books. From the moment I saw Hardware on the cover of Previews, I was a fan. Ok, I was a Stan. Coming short of sending Milestone Media letters every month asking about the characters and asking for a job (I’d volunteer to work for them without blinking if given the chance). What I loved about the books and characters is that they were tangible. While I wasn’t a superhero or some alien hanging out with gang bangers, I felt that I knew the characters or at least someone like the characters I was reading.

Icon wasn’t the title I was looking forward to the most. The whole “alien from another planet” is always cool with me. My preconceived notions of “Black Conservatives” gave me pause when I read the premise. Frankly they still make me raise my eyebrow, but that’s life I suppose. What drew me in was his partner, NOT SIDEKICK, Rocket. Rocket, Raquel Ervin, was like SO MANY young ladies I grew up with and called friends. Smart, witty, fallible, tough and yet fragile as any of us… Raquel is the hero that Dakota City and Icon needed. The hero we needed, even though we didn’t know just how much then. Or how much we need a heroine like Rocket now.

Rocket first appeared taking part in some dumb mess, breaking into a home of a rich person. It wasn’t just any rich person Raquel and her friends entered. Augustus Freeman, a successful lawyer who really was an alien over 150 years old, caught the would-be thieves and also was shot in the chest. This should have been the end of Rocket’s story. However Augustus was not hurt, annoyed, but not harmed at all. He stopped the robbers and to avoid his secret getting out, Augustus let them go with a stern warning and the “raise yourself up by your bootstraps” speech many of us roll our eyes at.

Raquel felt that Augustus could be more than just a man hiding from the world. She approached him and explained he can be an Icon for The People. Augustus agreed and Icon was born. Raquel also had a vision for herself, thus Rocket came into the world. On their first outing they ended up testing Icon’s beliefs in the American justice system when they ran afoul of Dakota City’s Finest as they were attempting to save the Mayor from a kidnapping. After saving the Mayor, stopping a super powered “Bang Baby,” and hopping on some cops, Icon was on his way to being just that for Dakota City.

Rocket’s world was about to change as well. Just after starting her career as a superhero, Rocket discovered she was with child. In the years I’ve been reading comic books, this was a first for me. I’ve seen adults with children. Plenty of single parents, we’ve had plenty of bad parents (looking at you Magneto, before the retcon), orphans for sure, however a teenage mother was new.

And with Raquel being Black added a new dynamic. This wasn't some “streetwise, sassy, hothead” stereotype; Raquel was a fully fleshed out character with hopes and dreams beyond just wearing some super outfit, saving the world, or meeting some cute boy. What really gave her depth early into the comic was how she came to decide to keep her child. Dwayne McDuffie and Erica Helene (co-writer for issue seven) showed how complex this choice is for young women, and for women overall. It wasn’t a moment to preach or say what was good or bad, the story of Rocket and her child was about a young lady making a choice that she’d live with for the rest of her life. It had a 17/18 year old who was groomed on superhero comics fully invested in what he’d call some “soap opera stuff” only a year or so ago.

Rocket ended up having her son, Amistad, briefly retiring from the superhero business. She trained her best friend Darnice to be the new Rocket and “Buck Wild, Mercenary Man” as the new Icon when Augustus decided it was time to return home. Soon Raquel would be drawn back into the superhero fold and once again become Rocket as Augustus would return as Icon.

For me, Rocket is one of the greatest hero journeys in comics. She grew into someone bigger than herself, every bit the hero she wanted Icon to be, Rocket was that and more. Many times Rocket was the glue between Icon and the other characters. And Icon grew to not only respect her outer strength, but more so her strong spirit.

Rocket was recently in the animated show “Young Justice,” in the 3rd season it appears Rocket was a member of the Justice League along with Icon and Hardware. Perhaps Young Justice at one point as well. Besides that, there hasn’t been much seen from her and the rest of the Milestone Media characters for various reasons. There was talk of revamps and relaunches, I personally would love for new trades as I lost my whole collection years ago. While they make for a great team, Rocket could stand strong with her own comic. Maybe one day….

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