Comics

Comics

Being my medium of academic interest, the comics used for this exhibit outnumber any other media in this exhibit. As such, they warrant their own collection. More than just the quantity of the presence, comics are an important medium when discussing black male representation. Comics use of both images and text for a mass consumer culture makes them accessible to all people: young and old, native speakers and foreigners, rich and poor. It does not cost much to make a comic -- a person just needs paper and a pen, not necessarily computers and crews. From there, a creator can create within the confines of the page and beyond, with only their imagination as their limit. The American Underground Comix and 80s and 90s West Coast Zine movements, as well as today's webcomic and crowdfunding comics, are a testament to the accessibility comic creators and readers have. Their mass consumer price and portability make them easily shared among the masses. Comics are the most democratic of mediums. As such, analyzing how black male bodies are created, consumed, and reproduced in comics is vital to understand black masculinity in culture. 

My selection criteria (in no particular order) for this collection is as followed:

1. Does the comic offer unique insights to these questions: (a) How are these bodies represented and framed? (b) What are the intentions and effects of these bodies? (c) How can these bodies be received? (d) What are the semiotics of the black male body in this work?
2. Each comic differs in genre, tone, and art style from the other three.