Customer Reviews

Black Images in the Comics: A Visual History

5 star:		(3)
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3 star:		(1)
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This book is somewhat disappointing on a couple of grounds. For one thing, Stromberg only uses one panel from each of the comics he discusses, thus the reader has a difficult time getting these particular comics in full context (although his accompanying notes are good). This and (as Charles Johnson noted in his prologue), the "Negro Comics" of Black newspapers of the 1900s are given somewhat short shrift as a means of comparison. Cartoons dealing with the portrayal of Africans as simian-like savages are used so frequently that the point that this stereotype was common among cartoonists is beaten to the ground.

These flaws aside, it's a good introduction to the subject of Black protrayals in the cartoons. Aaron McGruder (of "Boondocks" fame) wrote his college thesis on this subject, cartoonist Tim Jackson has a website on vintage Black cartoons, and B. Keith Murphy who is a professor at Ft. Valley State University (Georgia) have also done research on this topic. I hope this book encourages them to publish their studies.

I had met the author of this book at a major comic book convention and was very interested in the topic. I learned a great deal about comic images from all over the world. It has become a valuable part of my research library on this topic.

This is a small book (about the size of a paperback) that packs a lot of information. Each page gives a sample cartoon and the facing page gives a one page write up. I found this to b informative and a very unique work; giving a lot of insight into the evolution of comics within the context of cultural prejudices and stereotypes. i highly recommend this for anyone with an interest in the history of comics.

I enjoyed reading the book, I always had an interest in comics growing up.
I would very much like for you to suggest to me any similar reading material.