Lucius Hammer

CREATIVE DIFFERENCES

2012-01-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

And now...the news you all have been waiting for....Lucius Hammer's artist, Christian Colbert, has left the building. The reason for his departure is probably something you all will want to know about. I would also want to know if I were the fan of a potentially blockbuster indie comic...why the main illustrator would vacate his position as co-creator? Unfortunately due to the fact that I am a man of my word, I promised that I would not reveal the details of this split and so...the content of this blog will not be what some of you may think it might be considering the circumstances. Ravenhammer Comics will continue. Lucius Hammer will forge ahead in 2012, and the "lost issues" of 2011 will most likely appear for the first time this year at ECBACC in Philadelphia. This will include the Harlem Shadow and a new series of trading cards. It goes without saying that as an artist myself, I am very disappointed in the turn of events, but in the midst of seeming failure...I cannot relent or give up at this point. I have been accused a few times of being arrogant about my talents and my creations. It has been suggested here and there that I have been insensitive in situations where I tried to take the high road and was pushed to show my "not so nice" side.What you have to understand is that to create a character and a universe from the ground up is daunting work. If one is so bold to undertake such an endeavor in the first place then I think it is a forgone conclusion that this individual has confidence in what he's doing (I'm speaking about myself of course) and he damn well better because we know what happens when you don't believe. I think it goes without saying that as a writer in this business, you automatically start out with a handicap by not being able to fully delineate your wonderful ideas because you can't draw. In order to make your dream happen, you engage in the pride swallowing siege that is hiring an artist, I also imagine the reverse could happen for an artist needing a writer's services. All of these ingredients put together sometimes wind up creating a tense battle of the egos, wills and integrity. But what's important for me to communicate here in this blog to all people in the industry, this independent game and just casual observers that I will indeed finish what I started. Without the original artist. At first...it seems like a hard pill to swallow. But not only am I dedicated to bringing you a fully illustrated graphic novel concerning the exploits of Lucius Hammer, but I also intend to do the same for the Harlem Shadow and we are creating some new products that are going to really satisfy your hankering for Lucius Hammer. I have been looking for the right artist to take up the mantle, and to be honest...I have not yet found a worthy replacement. Whatever my differences were with Christian Colbert, I certainly had no complaints about his art. The boy can draw and I wish him nothing but the best in whatever it is he's shooting for. But Lucius Hammer, The Harlem Shadow and the rest of the universe we were starting to build is bigger than both of us...and thus it's taken on a life of its own. At this moment, we are preparing a new website for Ravenhammer Comics that we hope to deliver to you in the next month or so. I am writing a digital pulp novel for the kindle and the nook based on the Harlem Shadow and that should be ready by May. For the DIE-HARD Hammerheads who have to have issue 2 of Lucius Hammer or The Harlem Shadow now...go to graphic.ly and download those puppies on your nice little e-device that you got for X-mas...everybody else stay tuned for announcements regarding the new artist and the incredible content we are going to deliver to you in 2012. RAVENHAMMER LIVES!!!!!!

Brian Williams
Head Writer/ Co-Owner of Ravenhammer Comics
January 5, 2012

DC NEW "BLACK" 52...or has DC Comics finally figured out how to position it's BLACK SUPERHEROES?

2011-11-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

Being as opinionated as I am about "BLACK COMIC BOOKS" and the comeuppance of "BLACK SUPERHEROES" in this POST OBAMA world...many of you might be wondering why I have not yet commented on the bold new direction of DC Comics's African American heroes who have been rolled out in the new "52" package. I have remained tight-lipped regarding these products because I am pretty much disgusted and unmoved by their efforts. This is going to be a rough ride, so please...the following article is not written for the squeamish. This is an important rant and complaint to the establishment or status quo...and I realize most of us have been hypnotized into thinking we are satisfied with "status quo" but let's take the red pill and examine the host of black comics that have been released over the past few months.

DC COMICS has never really produced any black superheroes that were particularly relevant to me. Black Lightning created by Tony Isabella was kind of groovy but even as a kid back in 1977, I always sensed that DC was holding back or "keeping a brother down" as they say. There's always good old John Stewart (THE Black-face GREEN LANTERN) but if you have read any of the previous blogs on this site...Stewart has been categorized as a SECOND Banana hero or a STEP and FETCH it hero...in other words it took the acceptance of a white hero to clear the road for a black version. That's not to say I don't enjoy the recent incarnation of John Stewart but it cannot be denied that his origins were as a funky sidekick to a more serious and noble Hal Jordan character. If you doubt what I'm saying, do your research on the character's first appearance and then we will take it from there. The point is...DC was not very focused or just wasn't very successful creating minority characters...particularly black ones who could stand on their own two feet. Now if you compare the evolution of the BLACK SUPERHERO at MARVEL COMICS during these early periods, you get a vast range of characters like BLACK PANTHER, THE FALCON, LUKE CAGE, and STORM just to name a few...and this is where one can begin to understand that DC is just a conservative, dare I say "stodgy" company who had fallen behind the times. Black Panther was an African King at the head of a technologically advanced empire solely run by black folks. The fact that MARVEL stepped outside the box to even suggest such a concept is still mind boggling. But DC didn't get it...until the nineties.

1990. I was there. A young college student...full of hope and optimism. Full time hip hop fan and film critic (among other things)...my appetite for pop culture during this period was enormous. Spike Lee and Robert Townsend had recently sparked a shocking, out of nowhere BLACK RENAISSANCE in the film industry with flicks like SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT and HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE. These films had been fueled by the growing and outspoken art form of hip hop which was painstakingly pre-packaged for mainstream American consumption by pioneers such as DJ COOL HERC, Afrika Bambaataa, and Sugarhill Gang. This cultural cauldron of African American angst and creativity continued to simmer until there was a full blown explosion. It was amazing. It was powerful. And I witnessed and participated in it all. The flowering of this new "BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS" was also spurred by the new found interest in Malcolm X no doubt instigated by Chuck D and Public Enemy and the fiery chants of groups like X-Clan who encouraged young blacks to investigate their "real" roots. POP CULTURE is contagious...this re-awakening to the contributions, history and talents of African Americans spilled over into many different mediums...including comic books. DC Comics rode the wave by creating Milestone Comics. Milestone Comics was revolutionary and seemed to be an abrupt U-Turn for a company as rigid as DC had proven itself to be. But in a world that had been overturned by an emcee named ICE CUBE, overcome by bold fashion statements reflecting urban street sensibilities like CROSS COLOURS, and interrupted by the brash new television show sporting a predominantly black cast...IN LIVING COLOR...Corporate America had been socked in the jaw by "JUNGLE FEVER" and was thrilled by the economic prospects of appropriating this neo-blak culture. DC COMIC got involved in the feeding frenzy. Static was one of the superheroes introduced in this bold new universe of black capes...an intriguing animated series was spawned by the original comic book series written and created by the late, great Dwayne Mcduffie, and now a new series in DC's NEW 52. And away we go....

When the first of the new DC 52 books shipped, I passed on Static Shock. My primary reason for doing so is because times are hard. It's an economic recession and brother man got bills to pay. That being what it is...I picked the book up and just wasn't intrigued by anything I saw in it. I must also confess that when I originally picked up Static back in the nineties...I was geeked for like the first six issues and then the whole notion of neo-blak comic books kind of went sour for me. Static was cool for what it was...but I kept getting the feeling I was reading a cleverly disguised Spider Man story. The new STATIC SHOCK by DC in the NEW 52 is promising but there's something missing. Virgil Ovid Hawkins is our intrepid teenage hero with the crazy bio-electric powers that enable him to levitate, fly and beat the mess out of super-villains. He's still the positive, nerdy, cerebral teen wiz that he was in the original series and the cartoon. I confess I did not actually purchase this book because of the scratchy, uninspired art...but I did something that is considered taboo at the lcs (local comic book store)...I read the whole run, issues 1-3, in the shop. My immediate concerns for Static Shock are the basics...artwork, setting and script. To me this book is just not getting the love it deserves. One very big mistake is pulling Virgil out of the Dakota Universe. One day, I plan to revisit my Milestone Collection and re-read the various titles so I can write a very careful assessment of what I thought was hit and miss about the universe. The one thing I can tell you now though is the setting of all of the Milestone stories was in the fictional city of Dakota. This was an awesome setting and allowed these characters to live and breathe in slightly different air than the DC proper heroes. The midwestern city of Dakota in this new series has been dumped for New York City. How exciting. Another teenage adventurer in the Big Apple. The villains are also kind of blah and Virgil goes through the same things we see most teenage heroes going through. It's awwwwright....but just not good enough DC. John Rozum seems to be a competent writer but he has already left the book and that's cool with me because it felt like he was phoning it in anyway. Whoever writes Static Shock needs to write it with the same passion and love for the character that Mcduffie had, and that person needs to also understand that every time they bang out mediocre product on this title...the harder it's going to be to resuscitate it later.

Next up is Mr. Terrific. Wow. What can I say? This book is stunningly offensive to the senses. It is an exercise in straight up boredom, sub-par artwork and devastatingly bad dialog. I first became attracted to the character of Mr. Terrific through the JSA title he appeared in from time to time. I liked his costume and thought it was cool that he was this hyper-intelligent adventurer who solved crimes with his brains and tech-toys. Was this enough to warrant publishing his own series? Probably not. Mr. Terrific is a horrific mess of a comic that I wish somebody would have had the cajones to put to death before it saw the light of day but the deed has been done. Another thing that just flat out annoyed me throughout the course of Mr. Terrific's exploits is we keep hearing that he is "the world's third smartest man." Third? Who the hell is the first and second? That's just so stupid. Hopefully the book is about to be cancelled with authority. Personally, I would have preferred for DC to have used this re-launch energy toward a new HARDWARE series (My personal favorite Milestone Media character) or even a pimped out GREEN LANTERN in the HOOD title starring John Stewart. Come on DC!!!!!!!

Last but not least....BATWING. The Black Batman of Africa. Batwing was one of the many thought-gasms produced in Grant Morrison's balls out attempt to retro-fit Bat Man and undo some of the harm caused by the DARK-WATCH Syndrome of the eighties. Bat Wing was a cute and interesting thought to ruminate on after closing the final page of a BATMAN INC comic. I think I can speak for us all when I say that there are many other interesting black characters I would like to see depicted in their own series before an African Black-Face Bat Man facsimile. I tried to read the book based on its Morrison pedigree. I did not like it. Nor do I see the potential for ongoing adventures. It's like having a comic book version of Hotel Rwanda or Tears of the Sun. Granted...there could be some really interesting stories told about the continent of Africa (check out Unknown Soldier issues of recent vintage) but they would need to be thoroughly researched and the characters should be more than 2d cut outs of an existing super-hero. Again, this book seems to be getting positive buzz about it's storyline and the art but I'm not feeling it. The art looks like someone is playing with different computer paint programs. I can tell the person is talented but the art is watery and murky.

So as a black writer of my own comic book starring a black superhero...I can definitely say that I'm not hating. I wanted these things to be good. Great even. But it looks like until the big companies start letting minority writers and artists come in and work on these books....you're going to continue to get these half inspired attempts at creating meaningful black heroes. The whole reason I started writing LUCIUS HAMMER is because my main go to comic book companies (Marvel Comics and DC) would not produce the kind of product I'm looking for. I'm sure Dwayne Mcduffie tried to tell them. But they refuse to listen. They probably won't learn even after having to cancel all three of these titles we've discussed. And these titles will be canceled.

Here's a thought DC...why don't you try hiring a few black writers and artists to produce these books? What could it hurt? Is racism still that strong that black creators are not even recruited to delineate the adventures of superheroes of their own race. Playing devil's advocate, I can see the trepidation in letting a black man take over the writing chores of say...The new DC 52 Superman. But Static Shock? Black Lightning? Bronze Tiger or Green Lantern? I challenge DC and Marvel to make a commitment to it's characters of color and employ folks of more diverse backgrounds so we readers can read more diverse stories. Hell....Judd Winnick can't write everything!

DC NEW 52 SUPERMAN is OLD SCHOOL COMIC BOOK MAGIC!

2011-10-31T21:45:00.000-07:00

I reviewed both Bat Man books so far (Detective Comics and Bat Man titles) but only one of the Superman titles...Action Comics. It is now time for me to explore the conundrum known as Superman...the flagship title of DC Comics and also the seeming impetus of this entire company wide overhaul. I won't go into my obvious love of the character...I have already spoken at great length about my fascination with this character. When I learned that George Perez was writing the NEW DC 52 incarnation of Superman, I had some slight concerns. I'm an old school fan of good comics. George Perez has been involved with some of the best comic books ever created (Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman and New Teen Titans)...however I was not convinced he had the literary pedigree to take the reins on the world's greatest comic book superhero. With Grant Morrison completely owning Action Comics and re-defining Superman for a whole new generation...Perez's take was sure to underwhelm and come across as dated. Superman Issue 1 in the DCnU was exactly what I thought it would be. Not as interesting or as engaging as Action Comics. There appeared to be way too many caption boxes and maybe it was too wordy for its own good. I was quickly turned off by the story which was so heavy on characterization concerning the supporting cast that Superman was almost a non-entity. The story really is trying to signal the end of an era and it does so symbolically with the demolishing of the old Daily Planet building. Of course The Daily Planet is now being positioned as the new one stop shopping alternative for news (PGN or The Planet Global Network) and this is being spearheaded by Morgan Edge. Lois Lane in her new continuity incarnation is the executive vice president of new media; Jimmy Olsen is still the pavement beating, on the run and gun photographer and Clark Kent writes articles more focused on the social issues plaguing Metropolis not stories about his Kryptonian alter ego. The Planet Global Network is the nice, shiny phoenix that has risen from the ashes of the Daily Planet and Superman/Clark Kent is not happy with this change. It seems to signal a sinister, more opportunistic brand of journalism that he in no way endorses. When I first read this issue I was bored to tears by this storyline but now that I have had the chance to think about it, I find it intriguing and refreshing. Leave it to George Perez, a throwback artist and writer from the seventies and eighties, to include insightful and social commentary in a Superman book. Superman is then attacked by some kind of flame creature and afterward forced to meet Lois's new boy toy in an awkward late night visit. Some of these elements seem bland and disconcerting. If your are a Superman fan then you know that integrity is the name of the game. Some of Supes dialog did not ring true for me...nor did Lois's having a male visitor at her apartment after hours laying in her bed...I know this is a new, updated Superman but certain things make SUPERMAN....super. That being said...the writing was decent and enough to make me curious about issue two. I think it's important to mention here that after the release of the first issue it was announced that a new creative team would be taking over the Superman title after the seventh issue. I was mildly relieved. Most reviewers and fanboys on the net had universally panned Superman Issue 1 and declared it D.O.A. Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens would be the new guys at the helm after issue 7. This did not thrill me because I am left to wonder why Ivan Reis is drawing Aqua Man while Dan Jurgens will soon be replacing Jesus Merino to illustrate Superman. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to me. Wouldn't it seem logical to put your best artist and writer on your most popular and pivotal character? Anyway...behold...Superman Issue 2. The day it was released I began to feel the excitement that fanboys feel on Wednesdays when the new books hit the shelves. Although I had been so disappointed in issue 1, I desperately wanted to enjoy Superman...so I bought Issue 2 as soon as I got off work and read it cover to cover. And you know what? I'm sold on George Perez and Jesus Merino. From a writing standpoint...I see now that George was setting up the playing field so that the story could breathe and run...this is what experienced old school writers do so that the story is tight and consistent going forward. As a consequence of the sometimes slow and plodding first issue...the elements that Perez establishes are the same plot points that I sought out issue 2 for. This is classic comic book writing. Now...as far as the art...I was not turned off by the art in issue one but it just didn't pop the way I wanted it to...perhaps I was still imagining someone like Quietly at the helm or Gary Frank. But Issue 2's gorgeous depictions of Superman battling an invisible foe were invigorating...using Perez's layouts, Merino finds ways to make Superman look brand new...the new costume is beginning to grow on me primarily because I like the way Merino is drawing it. This book feels like an old school joint that I used to pick up at the local drug store as a young chap...you know the kind before comics became so pretentious. There are some very cool scenes in issue two; one involves a conversation with Lois's father, General Lane. I read a few reviews saying that General Lane came off like Commissioner Gordon...but on the real tip, he reminds me of Thunderbolt Ross from The Incredible Hulk. General Lane does not like Superman and he's not shy about expressing his disdain. Superman is fully aware that this guy hates his guts and you can tell that it bothers Supes. I like that storyline, and I love the scene in issue 2 between these two. This will be a major source of my interest as I continue to pick up the Perez/Merino run. There is another scene between Clark and Lois that is also pretty interesting and begins to foreshadow their relationship dynamics. Clearly there's nothing romantic jumping off between Clark and Lois...and there have been small hints dropped that her and Supes have been messing around, but it seems all new and re-shuffled...I'm interested. The other high point that has me intrigued is we get to see a shot of Superman in his Fortress of Solitude. It's only a fleeting glimpse...but it's enough to spark my curiosity to keep reading this thing. And girls and boys...that's what comic books are all about. Superman is getting better all the time...and it's slowly but surely becoming my favorite read out of the entire NEW 52.

Superman Issue 1; Writing- B Art- B

Superman Issue 2; Writing- A Art- A

DC NEW 52 PART DEUX...Should I stay or should I go/ Swamp Thing and BATMAN

2011-10-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

What's good people? I tell you what's good...the surge of vitality that DC COMICS has brought to comic book shops in the past four weeks. If you are a novice and need some lessons in what being a comic book fan/ writer/ artist or all around aficionado is all about then please check this link to another article I wrote for the Examiner. Com . If you are following the current events unfolding in the comic book industry right now, you will know that DC Comics has damn near done the unthinkable and rebooted their entire universe of characters. I am so blown away by the audacity and out and out reckless abandon of this move that I had to dedicate a series of articles to this historic and balls out undertaking by a company that's always carried the unofficial title of " Your Dad's Comics."If you haven't read my reviews for Action Comics # 1 and Detective Comics # 1...have at it...http://luciushammer.blogspot.com/2011/10/dcs-new-52should-i-stay-or-should-i-go.html.SWAMP THING # 1 and 2...I am a long time Swamp Thing fan. Came across my first issue of Swampy at a garage sale and have been an off and on fan ever since. I will say that my first exposure to the shambling, monster of muck and mire was under the creative direction of comic maestros Len Wein and Berni Wrightson. Swamp Thing started out as a one off, Tales from the Crypt type story that morphed into a full blown sci-fi, gothic anti-hero soap opera that kind of borrowed elements from both Marvel's The Thing and The Incredible HULK in the tragic, monster turned hero department. Swamp Thing was a regular man trapped in a monstrously deformed figure composed of soil, vegetation and swamp muck. Of course he began his exploits as a scientist who invents a bio-restorative whatsamajigger that can resuscitate plant life. Somewhere along the way...the scientist whose name is Alec Holland runs afoul of some thug types who want the formula for themselves and their greedy boss man and the rest is history. The thugs ransack Dr. Holland's swamp laboratory, destroying it and setting him ablaze as he carries the formula to his bitter end....descending into the bowels of some forgotten bayou. Of course he rises as the Swamp Thing and lives on to battle his arch enemy and naked, creepy scientist...Arcane. He battles a creature who looks a lot like Frankenstein's Monster. Another who resembles a wolf-man like Lon Chaney Jr. and he even meets Batman. Swamp Thing was on some crazy, high concept horror shit! And it worked. Later on after it was revamped in the eighties by comic book demi-god, Alan Moore...Swamp Thing not only got much more deeper into psychological horror but became more high minded in terms of what the creature actually was. The conceit that Moore craftily and eerily alludes to in his classic run on Swamp Thing (MUST BUY READING...BOTH THE MOORE RUN and the WEIN and WRIGHTSON stuff) is that Alec Holland died as a result of the laboratory explosion and as his corpse sinks into the fetid murk of the swamp...the combination of the bio-restorative formula and the ever resilient powers of the life force present in the swamp attempt to reinvent Alec Holland and spat forth the elemental entity we all know and love as Swamp Thing. Alan Moore turned Swamp Thing into this kind of eco-connected super-hero monster that was a weird reinterpretation of man from the point of view of a plant. He even created a collection of creatures that are vaguely reminiscent of the Ents in Lord of the Rings called The Parliament of Trees. Deep heady stuff. And that brings me to my review of Swamp Thing 1 and 2. I love Alan Moore's stuff. I sincerely do. But it was Alan Moore. Only Alan Moore can be Alan Moore. The guy currently writing Swamp Thing in the NEW DC 52 is Scott Snyder and so far he strikes me as channeling the deep philosophical ideas Moore once mined for this title. But whereas Moore came off as brilliant and cerebral....Snyder seems to be trying to hard to tell an intellectual horror story. In his newly revamped take on the character...somehow Alec Holland has returned to his human form (BOOOO!) and there is a bunch of pretentious mumbling about ecosystem life webs called The Green and The Red which I must admit sound cool...but I'd much rather see Swamp Thing shambling through the swamp fighting zombies and chained to some ancient pillar in a mad scientist's castle. My point is...this stuff doesn't always have to be so overwrought and complicated. Sometimes, simple and straightforward is much better. I'm not saying that I won't eventually come to dig Scott Snyder's take on Swampy; he is a good writer who is competent and could be on his way to being great...my only thing is...borrow from Wrightson and Wein's original incarnation more than you do from Alan Moore's. Why? Because Moore is a master and we have already been down the dark psychological path with this character. Let's get back to his origins from the original guys that created the comic. In other words...Let's have some fun. Yannick Paquette is the artist on this book and his work is nothing short of brilliant. He draws a powerful, primal Swamp Thing and every page is an epic and lush representation of this new universe we are in. The art is so good that I am praying that Snyder can rise up to bring a great story to match these amazing pencils. Paquette evokes Wrightson and Alan Moore collaborator Stephen Bissette; I get goosebumps thinking of what this guy could do with Arcane and the rogues gallery of beasties that usually populate Swamp Thing comics. And that's my whole point...THIS IS A MONSTER COMIC. MAKE IT ABOUT MONSTERS. SWAMP THING ISSUE 1 WRITING: B- ART: A+SWAMP THING ISSUE 2 WRITING: B- ART: A+This review sends me careening into the first two slickly produced issues of Bat Man, also written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Greg Capullo. Bat Man is what I would call a full course meal as opposed to some of the other disappointing titles that leave your stomach growling and wanting for more. Scott Snyder has warmed up for his fresh run on Bat Man by writing the excellent Detective Comics run before the relaunch and then the mini-series Gates of Gotham. Snyder is obsessed it would seem with Gotham City and is determined to create a mysterious yet potential laden mythos that will provide Bat readers with generations of new stories regarding Bat Man's home turf. As a fellow writer I must admit the book is eloquently written. Snyder immediately lets us know that Bat Man is a detective and this book comes across like an action packed, hard boiled crime novel that happens to be about a costumed vigilante. There are great scenes involving the Bat Cave and bat tech; Arkham is used in issue one sparingly but beautifully to remind us we're in the House of the Bat and everything is not well. I enjoyed the new character Lincoln March...although he looks a little bit too much like Bruce Wayne so it is difficult to distinguish between the two when they are in the same scene. I also got a kick out of all the "ROBINS" getting together for a benefit that Bruce is attending. It appears to me that Snyder knows all the cool toys he has to play with in this sandbox and he knows just where to set them up for maximum entertainment value. Issue 2 was not as entertaining to me as number one but still a good read. I had some real problems following the visual action scene Capullo draws of Bat Man taking on some thugs in a helicopter while he's riding his motorcycle on the overhead train tracks of Gotham. Normally I have no problem suspending disbelief but when Bat Man defies gravity and other known laws of science...it's distracting. At the end of issue 2 he falls from the top of Wayne Tower in his civilian clothes and lands on a gargoyle outcropping...saving him from becoming street pizza....but wouldn't he have probably also been killed by landing on this stone monument without any protective body armor or anything to cushion the impact? These are things that irritate me in my own stories so I sure as hell don't let other writers get away with it. Bat Man/ Bruce Wayne is flesh and blood. Write him as such. Other than the implausibility of some scenes...Capullo is handling his business with this book. Bat Man is fun to look at and watch. There's a sly animated swagger to Capullo's pencils that give Bat Man a sort of freedom he's not had since Mcfarlane was drawing him in the eighties. The other thing I like is that Bat Man is not some huge, lumbering, steroid pumped hulk like Frank Miller or Jim Lee are fond of drawing. He looks like an athletic dude with some muscle definition...and that's how it should be. I'm digging this book so far...but don't get too

serious about making Gotham its own entity...and let's see Bat Man act more like a superhero and fight villains suited to his style of crime-fighting. Also...Bat Man is just a human being dude...if he falls off a building with no batarangs or grappling hooks...he's ass out. Sorry.BATMAN ISSUE 1 WRITING: A ART: A+BATMAN ISSUE 2 WRITING: A- ART: A+

RAVENHAMMER HORROR LINE PREPARES TO LAUNCH PARANORMAL ACTIONER....RAVEN'S HOLLOW

2011-10-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

Since the inception of Ravenhammer Comics...two creations have been front and center for both myself and my co-creator Christian Colbert. One of them is obviously Lucius Hammer. The other one is a horror action title called Raven's Hollow and we are pretty certain that it's completely different than anything you have ever read. Here are some notes I created during the very early creative process of Raven's Hollow and some artwork. All of the concepts and ideas here are copyrighted and property of Ravenhammer Comics.Raven’s Hollow was a northern Ohio town that was known for being a vital checkpoint in the labyrinthine network of the Underground Railroad. In 1860, a violent faction of abolitionists engaged in a fiery conflagration with slave catchers in the heart of this rustic river town. The battle in the town would have been legendary but the current administration at the time (Lincoln and Co.) sent the military and special agents to put down the insurrection and smooth out the ripples this controversial struggle may cause. Basically they covered up the incident. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 had been violated more times than could be counted in this settlement. The slave catchers that came to Raven’s Hollow this particular time brought with them unconventional means of winning back their human chattel and destroying this major hub of the Underground Railroad. Unfortunately for those southern mercenaries, the natives of Raven’s Hollow had their own unconventional weapon that made their town special and damn near immune to violent raids and attacks. American Mythology comes into play here. My idea is, America is a pastiche of many different cultures that have brought along with them the varied legends and folklores birthed in their motherlands. What if during a power struggle for domination of a new country, the quest for freedom and forming a new government there was a mystical battle between the different cultures. A war that brought about new myths and legends, an American Mythology that was a potpourri of those commingled immigrants. The Europeans would be responsible for incorporating elements of Celtic/Teutonic Witchcraft…Freemasonry, Druids, Wiccans…etc,etc. The Africans have contributed the awesome and mysterious religion of Vodun and have basically used its magical properties to insulate them against the oppression of the slave catchers and the plantation system. The Native Americans are also involved in this struggle; the strange forces that they have set in motion are referred to as the Ghost Dance and have become a national phenomenon. So in essence we have a full scale war, a secret war, a magic war. This mystical battle comes to a head in the little town of Raven’s Hollow.Abraham Lincoln, easily our most controversial, creepy and spiritual president ever has commissioned a new department of agents nicknamed The Clergy. They are responsible for the investigation of all things paranormal that may represent a threat to the Union. This is a special concern of his, and the town of Raven’s Hollow is a hot topic in the Oval office.. Raven’s Hollow was determined to be a power spot by The Clergy. A power spot is a supernaturally charged tract of land or geography that causes interdimensional rifts and anomalous abilities in the inhabitants of that general area. After the Magic War came the Civil War and then the US government usurped the town of Raven’s Hollow for 5 years…conducting tests and examining past residents of the area. Mysteriously after the death of President Lincoln, every member of the Clergy disappeared and the closely guarded operation concerning Raven’s Hollow was eliminated. People were free to settle their once again and Lincoln’s program was regarded as self indulgent and esoteric.For more information about Raven's Hollow, stay tuned to this blog and our website...www.ravenhammercomics.com.

DC's NEW 52...Should I stay or should I go?

2011-10-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

Last week on this blog...I, the fearless writer and creator of Lucius Hammer...tried my hand at writing honest and hard hitting reviews of the new DC Comics re-launch. My reviews I thought were insightful, thought provoking and truthful...but I was very liberal and scathing with regards to the adjectives I used when a book was supremely disappointing to me and my partner and co-host here at Ravenhammer Headquarters, Christian Colbert, sent me a nice e-mail saying that I should pull the blog post out of respect to the creators that I ravaged. His point was..."You never know if we might have to deal with these people in the future. You'd be surprised how quick things get around on the web." Well...he was right. I pulled down my passionate yet acerbic rants because I also know what it feels like to be raked over the coals of a critic. But my internal argument to this point is that bad is bad. I will hopefully never release a comic book that is knowingly garbage in my lifetime, but if this were to happen...I would want someone to tell me so that mistake would never be made again. I decided to revisit some of those DC 52 books again this week with reduced vitriol but with the same opinion and something extra that I didn't include on the last go round...HOW I WOULD RE-LAUNCH THE DC 52 including what titles I would have chosen and omitted compared to the ones they are actually publishing....so....let's try this again.Action Comics # 1 in terms of its significance is most likely the most important book in this overhaul of the very established yet stodgy DC Comics Universe. We will discuss why DC Comics is "stodgy" a little later but I must admit that going into Action # 1, I was already a bit biased. Grant Morrison is the writer of this brand new take on everyone's favorite Kryptonian and if you know me.. you know that I was insanely satisfied by his modern masterpiece of superhero literature, ALL STAR SUPERMAN and that I consider it canonical SUPERMAN text. It explains SUPERMAN in a nutshell to the unwashed masses and restores the impossible wonder that often lies dormant in SUPERMAN comics written by lesser scribes. When I first read ALL STAR SUPERMAN...I was hooked from page one. ACTION COMICS # 1 has that same jaw dropping thrill surging through it. Rags Morales is the illustrator and he is extremely competent in depicting Metropolis as a classic city going through some growing pains. This is not the pristine Metropolis of old...this is a real city or being treated like one. We get our first glimpse of Superman as he is administering some tough love justice to a banker who is taking advantage of the common man in his capacity as a trusted public figure. Superman is not happy with this cat and he demonstrates his disappointment by dangling him over the side of skyscraper balcony. I have heard many complaints from fanboys and comic shop nerds that this not their daddy's Superman. Whatever...if you are a true and die-hard Supes fan then you know in the original first issue of Action Comics, Superman was a no holds barred, pimp slapping, door busting, brawling bruiser who would pull your card in a minute. In fact the notion of Superman being an overgrown boy scout doesn't really take hold until a handful of issues later. Morrison, once again in his efforts to reflect what is so amazing about these characters and their literary DNA, resurrects the notion of SUPERMAN the SOCIAL ACTIVIST/ENFORCER. This is exciting to me because it's a seldom explored nuance of Superman's character that separates him from the others in the DC Pantheon. You have this all powerful twenty something running around a big city with a blue t-shirt, a red cape and construction boots taking the law into his own hands...this sets the tone for DC's explanation of the first superhero...and I found it very compelling. Some complaints because in the end...it's not yet as good as ALL STAR SUPERMAN...the art was uneven in places. And sometimes the younger version of Clark Kent comes across as a variant of Peter Parker. In fact ...in a lot of ways, this whole re-vamp smells like the Marvelization of DC Comics. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. ACTION COMICS is full of action and it delivers.Story Grade; A-Art Grade- B+ Next up is Detective Comics # 1...which is, as we all know the showcase for Batman. I am a huge Batman fan. Isn't everybody? As a kid, I was probably a bigger Spiderman and Superman fan but as I got older...Batman crept up on me. I grew up reading Denny O'neill's atmospheric, pulpy and dark Batman adventures. Neal Adams and Jim Aparo helped paint the picture of what The Dark Knight should look like during the seventies. Then something happened when I graduated from high school...Frank Miller released his graphic novel magnum opus...The Dark Knight Returns. When this happened...Batman was incontrovertibly changed forever and thus giving birth to a whole slew of misguided, overly violent, nihilistic superhero comics that have culminated in what we have here with Detective # 1. Tony Daniel is the artist and the writer, and while I applaud his efforts as a fellow creator...I can't help but point out that this book is not Batman to me. This book is tonally more at home with Red Dragon or Kiss The Girls (you know...those serial killer novels)...Batman is his usual hellbent, shadowy sentinel of Gotham..."I am the night." is something he utters throughout the course of this book and I get it...he's a bad mo fo and all that jazz but it's getting kind of tiresome. And catch phrases like "I am the night." if not paired with the right scenario or accompanied by an awe inspiring piece of art can be so terribly cliched or "nineties". The artwork was not up to par for me...Batman seems to be out of proportion in some panels...and in other he looks decent...but nothing special or ominous which is how I like my Dark Knight. The Joker in his most recent incarnation is obviously about as crazy and violent as Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhees and Hannibal Lecter. Within the first two or three pages of the story we see him wielding a butcher knife that would make Michael Meyers blush with shame. Once again, I feel this portrayal is a bit off key and does a little bit of pandering to the recent takes on the Joker's multi-faceted persona. The Joker is a maniac; a homicidal one at that...but he is subtle and is an artisan of murder. He is not an over the top...blood soaked...corpse bludgeoning ghoul. This is how he is written in Detective # 1...a rabid, bloodthirsty beast who is wildly flailing about with a steak knife. If you like darkness and the whole grim and gritty scene just for the sake of grim and gritty...this may temporarily satisfy your appetite but as far as Batman goes...in my opinion this book is closer to Silence of the Lambs than the Caped Crusader.Story Grade; DArt Grade; D Now...the fun part! How would I have treated these same books had I been given the carte blanche to re-launch and redirect. ACTION COMICS was good but not great and I think it wasn't great because it was missing a few things. I think Rags Morales is a great pick as artist...even if he showed some really rough spots here and there in his panel work. I however might have been tempted to secure someone like Bryan Hitch...or Frank Quietly. Superman is an EPIC comic book and that epic atmosphere must permeate the art and writing. These guys hit home runs every time they step up to the plate. As far as plot changes...I believe I would have included at least one transition scene from Smallville to the Metropolis contrasting the two key locations in this hero's journey and play up the country mouse/ city mouse paradigm. I also would have waited to introduce Lex Luthor much later in the story...right now I feel like they are trying to shoe horn him in and it feels kind of awkward. To me, Lex Luthor has always been one of the greatest comic book villains right up there with The Joker and Dr. Doom. I would take the time in a re-launch and set him up as someone whom Superman despises...a guy who has no powers per se but always makes Superman lose his cool and act outside of his character which is what all good antagonists do. I didn't see much that excited me about Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen either. Both of these characters are kind of hit or miss for me...Olsen will eventually become Superman's "pal" and Lois Lane his girlfriend...I think there could be some interesting storylines within that little triangle. I also think that Jimmy's fascination with Superman is a rational explanation for him getting involved with different aspects of the superhero community as Jack Kirby suggested years ago when he was working for DC. But this book should be about country alien boy comes to the big city...city tries to eat boy...but boy becomes Superman. That's the formula...now in addition to Lex Luthor...there's Braniac...a classic and ingenious idea...sort of a HAL 9000 in humanoid form from Krypton. There's also prisoners of the Phantom Zone. Zod, Ursa and Non? I would definitely play up the whole lost survivors of Krypton thing with Supergirl, Kandor, and Mon-El. There's so much to play with in the Superman universe it's ridiculous.As for Detective Comics...I would definitely have used Ivan Reis or Eddy Barrows for the art chores. Ivan Reis is blowing it up on Aquaman and Eddy Barrows has Nightwing looking like a classic run in the making. Right now...I feel that Batman needs a facelift. His adventures are dark and dour...most of his exploits revolve around murderers and psychopaths, and while that can be fun in an escapist sense I believe Batman needs some light and maybe more adventure and intrigue than the grim and gritty. I would love to see a well illustrated run chronicling Batman's adventures with the League of Shadows and more definitive encounters with Ra's Al Ghul as the mastermind of some overarching year long plot. Clayface and Killer Croc would also be Rogue's Gallery members I would consider for possible revamps and incorporate in more stories. Cat Woman, to me, has lost her bite in terms of being a dangerous and engaging villain for Bats. I would nix their romantic connection and perhaps make their relationship more toxic. She would definitely become Bat-Man's fatale attraction. The Joker has been all over the map...but is my favorite super-villain of all time. I would definitely take cues from Chris Nolan and Heath Ledger's Joker and turn him into that chaotic terrorist who's motivation is to promote disorder. Arkham Asylum is a great fixture in Bat Man's universe...but I would make the Joker this mysterious, uncontrollable force of nature that continues to be a pain in the ass to Batman, and to be problematic to Bat Man he has to be on the loose. He has to be threatening to the point where Gotham is constantly worried about this dude and when he's going to rear his ugly head. Last but not least...Commissioner Gordon would become a major character through which we can see the dilemma of working with Bat Man, needing Bat Man, but also being leery of him because he is a vigilante. If it were up to me I would go for a mixture of Gary Oldman's cerebral, understated Jim Gordon and the righteous, two fisted Commish from Batman Year One. Another thing I would strive for above everything else is to make Bruce Wayne as interesting as Bat Man. I am captivated by Christian Bale's portrayal of Bruce Wayne. He's got this slow burn kind of obsession thing going on that you can see right below the indifferent rich guy facade that is fascinating. I think Bruce Wayne has to be interesting for us to dig Bat Man.Anyway...that's it for now. When I review the DC New 52 again...we'll take a look at Swamp Thing and Animal Man.

Guess who's coming to dinner? Can The New Ultimate Spider Man win the hearts and minds of comic book fans?

2011-09-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Marvel's latest gamble and ploy to snatch your hard earned dollars is to kill off Peter Parker/ The Amazing Spider Man and replace him with a bi-racial 13 year old named Miles Morales. News of this sweeping change in one of Marvel's most successful titles in recent years (Ultimate Spider Man...kind of an alternate universe for a younger generation of fans and newcomers to the Marvel Universe) caused quite a bit of upheaval in the comic world and the realm of pop culture. The obvious objections were bandied about by FOX NEWS jack balls and politically incorrect blow-hards who saw this as an opportunity to pull a race card...but I thought that the whole thing was interesting because of my current endeavors to establish a book about a black superhero in the marketplace. As a lifelong fan of Spider Man, I will freely admit that I have often entertained the thought of creating an African American version of old webhead (in fact I have done so in the latest edition of Lucius Hammer Issue 2...on sale Oct 1...check www.ravenhammercomics.com for details) just because I always felt that there are so many people of different ethnicity out there that might want to vicariously experience the thrill and pain of being Spider Man. On the reverse side of this issue...I love Peter Parker. There's really no way that anybody is ever going to replicate what Stan Lee did as a creator/writer with Spider Man. Spider Man is just as valid as any Greek Myth or Norse Poetry. He is a hero that represents all of us in terms of balancing his great powers with responsibility and the rigors of everyday life. I was very unsure if morphing this great pop icon into a poster child for racial diversity was a good move. I knew that it would incense white fans because Peter Parker is white and for that matter...so is Spider Man. But it could also insult Black/Hispanic fans as well if not done properly or treated in a stereotypical manner. After having mulled it over a few times, me not really being one to dabble in the Ultimate line of comics too much, I picked this inaugural issue of BLACK/LATINO Spider-Man up with a stack of NEW DC 52's and was more than pleasantly surprised. The first issue is a brilliant set-up to what could turn out to be a milestone in Marvel Comics publishing history. The story is written by Brian Michael Bendis, a writer that I have mixed feelings about but nonetheless have always considered him to be very competent and a cut above the rest. Bendis has written thousands of stories featuring Marvel characters for the past ten years (most notably Spider Man, Daredevil and The Avengers)...as an old school Marvel fan...sometimes I feel in his effort to try and update or hit the refresh button on these characters...they sometimes get lost in translation. His run on DAREDEVIL came across as more of a POLICE PROCEDURAL/COURTROOM drama which I found to be in direct conflict with the very nature of a SUPERHERO COMIC...but he knows how to craft a story using real world events and newspaper headlines. His characterization of black folks has also been something that has annoyed me in the past. Bendis is solely responsible for the current incarnation of possibly my favorite Marvel Comics Minority Super-Hero, Luke Cage. I detest his version of Luke Cage and have refused to purchase the Avengers comic for years because of his presence. He seems to get all of his knowledge of black folks from popular gangster hood movies and jumbled episodes of COPS and Law and Order. I went into reading his new Ultimate Spider Man with all of these thoughts in my head and was forced to dismiss them due to some really inspired writing. Kudos, Mr. Bendis...you got me. This story is current...the characters are well thought out and all of the amazing fantasy that was present in Spider Man's early adventures seems to be here as well. Stealing some inspiration from the recent docu-film Waiting For Superman, Bendis drops Miles Morales into the world of charter school lotteries where the precocious thirteen year old and his parents have cautious optimism over being picked to attend a quality school. There's also a mysterious but cool Uncle in the mix who is very influential to Miles but his presence is unwanted by Miles' parents. I will not spoil the source of Miles and his newly found super powers but it's cool and should appeal to thirteen year old boys all over the world. This book is damn good and I can't wait to see if Bendis can deliver the goods. The art is also hot...Sara Pichelli has a clean yet vibrant fluidity to her panel flow and visuals. It's just like watching a movie. Take my word...the change from Caucasian to African American/ Latino brings with it an interesting alternative storyline that may make Spidey even more accessible to millions of people who have never been exposed. And aint nothing wrong with that.

How Long Must We Wait?

2011-09-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

It's been 13 years since the release of the original Blade movie. You know...the one that blew your mind and taught superhero movies how to swagger? Wesley Snipes and Stephen Norrington along with Kris Kristofferson set the tone for X-MEN, Spider-Man and well...every movie involving superheroes that has been made in the past ten years. The first Blade was plain and simple...bad ass. I can remember buying tickets with my oldest son (at the time he was eight...shame on me!!!) and my younger brother...we all thought we were about to witness another pile of cow dung. Wesley Snipes, at the time, was good for some action/popcorn/bullshit...but Blade was note perfect. Blade was the catalyst for the modern superhero movie. So why in the hell have we not seen any new black superheroes on the silver screen since? The current wave of superhero flicks have been mildly satisfying to me as a lifelong comic book fan; I never thought I would live to see Thor, Spider Man or Green Lantern on the big screen so I should be sufficiently satisfied but I'm not. I am now waiting for Hollywood to scrape the bottom of the intellectual property barrel and begin filming the black superhero movies. Black Panther, Luke Cage...Black Lightning or The Falcon. It is going to be interesting to see what the excuse is for not making these movies...I mean if we can have a Ghost Rider, Scott Pilgrim and Sin City movie...then we can certainly have a Black Panther or Luke Cage movie...right? This subject continues to haunt me because of the obvious fact that I'm pushing my own intellectual property right now...Lucius Hammer...and I'm hoping for big things namely an animated series, perhaps a live action motion picture and of course a video game. But those notions get kind of hazy when I stop to consider there have been no American made Blade cartoons, platform based video games or even action figures. I have maintained several times in discussions with other fanboy radicals that Blade could be every bit the sensation that Wolverine is for Marvel... but

what keeps Marvel from giving Blade the all star treatment? It blows my mind. This is not going to be an incredibly long and rabid rant that you are used to getting from me...but merely a record of the fact that enough folks out here love and demand a Blade product...a Black Panther product...Luke Cage...even The Falcon. Some very excellent films might be crafted from these historic black characters that Marvel created. And as far as DC Comics is concerned...I could even pose the argument that Static Shock might make a good Spider-Man Blaxploitation super-hero knock off flick. Hardware would be interesting as well. But....that damn word...but...the bean counters probably will insist on telling you that a movie with a black superhero as the main draw is not an economically viable product. I say...bullshit. Wesley Snipes proved that theory wrong back in 1998. So can we please get a dope, Black superhero movie Hollywood? One with a big budget...a good director, a good script and great actors. Is it really that hard?

Harlem Shadow Novel...After Dark

2010-12-27T09:25:00.000-08:00

Preparing a Harlem Shadow Novel called After Dark. The feeling of After Dark will be that of the mystery/action pulps and maybe a Walter Moseley, Easy Rawlins mystery. I'm planning on writing about four stories for the first edition. This is the first story...it's a work in progress but I just wanted to post a preview. Enjoy and post comments.

THE HARLEM SHADOW

An Action Soul Mystery Mini Novel

After Dark

By Brian Williams

Part One

I don’t like hospitals. Never have. People are sick, contagious. And some people never make it out of these places alive. I avoid doctors and prescription medicine whenever I can. I figure they don’t call it “practicing” medicine without a good reason. But on a cold as hell night in October, a friend of mine gave me a call and said he needed a favor. That favor necessitated me entering a hospital.

The dude’s name was Noose...Isaiah Noose. He was a big, ham-fisted Negro with dark brown polished skin and beady white eyes. Noose was a private investigator that sometimes worked closely with NYPD…whenever he came to Harlem you could be certain there’d be a lot of gun smoke and body bags. Isaiah didn’t take no mess. The white cops at the PD didn’t like cavorting in the jungle or working with me…so they sent him to accomplish their dirty work. I didn’t have a problem with Noose. He’s what you might call…my type of guy.

The morgue was a dismal, antiseptic room on the 3rd floor that seemed to swallow all sounds of life…it was deadly quiet except for Noose’s abrasive voice.

He stood by the gurney like a dark magician, preparing to unveil his latest trick. He never smiled, but his face seemed to be contorted in a constant smirk. I know this must have made him very unpopular amongst the boys in blue. He lifted the sheet momentarily exposing the grotesque visage of a creature that was only vaguely human.

“Do you know what this is Shadow?” Noose said grinding a toothpick to shreds in the corner of his mouth.

“Of course I do. It’s a zuvembie.” I smiled slyly from behind the domino mask.

Noose took a puff of his cigar and shot me a quizzical glance. He removed his fedora exposing his tight rows of kinks and an ugly scar beneath his left eye. This boy had the face only a mother could love…but somehow he made it work.

“How the hell did you know that?” Noose demanded.

“I’m what you might call…an educated nigger, detective.” I smiled wide unable to contain myself.

Noose chuckled a bit, his white eyes widening and his cigar smoke curling around his head like a ghostly chain.

“That’s why I like you Shadow…I don’t have to tell you shit. So you probably have this case halfway solved then…am I right?” Noose teased me…but it was a challenge just the same.

I didn’t like everything about Noose. The one thing that bothered me in particular was his complete lack of fear when he was in my presence. He walked and talked to me as if we were equals; he even spoke of me as if many times I was his assistant instead of the other way around. I played his game because I needed him as an ally.

“No. I haven’t solved the mystery of the black zuvembies in Harlem. But it’s not too difficult to tell who’s trafficking them. It has to be Madame Zenobia. And that fat scum, Bossman. The zuvembies are being used as expendable hitmen. It’s really a pretty ingenious idea. What’s the big deal…I mean honestly…they’re already dead.” I feigned ignorance but I knew the real reason.

Zuvembies were roaming the streets of Harlem. Bossman had greased the palms of NYPD heavily to look the other way as he used these undead minions to muscle the neighborhood and protect his interests. What NYPD didn’t bank on is the overflow of zuvembies into places like Brooklyn and Manhattan. White folks were complaining.

“Come on Shadow…I thought you said you were educated? Bossman and Madame Zenobia co-own a plantation in Haiti. In their employ is a bokor or voodoo sorcerer who goes by the name of King Root. He’s the one who’s been creating all of these damn…zuvembies. NYPD ain’t havin it. And the big deal is some of these nappy headed spooks done crossed over into the white folks land of milk and honey. So all bets are off.” Noose winked at me as though he was hurting my feelings.

I had no problem cracking down on the illicit enterprises of that obese, sedentary ghetto mollusk known as Bossman. But I had been quietly exterminating zuvembies in the shadows of Harlem for a solid year now and was currently under investigation by the Commissioner as a possible murder suspect. I hated the backward swinging doors of justice and the City of New York’s absolute reluctance to acknowledge me and my activities in Harlem.

“So NYPD needs The Harlem Shadow to find and take down King Root? Is that the game then?” I said, my face becoming a stoic mask.

“Wow…you really are a smart nigger! Hahahahhhhaha!” Noose chortled uncontrollably, his teeth gleaming white behind that sinister smirk.

I thought about a strategy. It was apparent that some form of voodoo witchcraft was being used to create these zuvembies…something I had studied briefly while in my metaphysical training phase but not enough to truly comprehend it from a scientific standpoint. From what I could tell…the zuvembies varied in strength but they seemed to fall easy when shot with lead bullets. I also heard through the grapevine that the bokor was capable of astral projection and in many cases was actually controlling the body of the zuvembie but could only occupy one corpse at a time. The makings of a plan began to coalesce in my head but I would need to take a field trip to collect some knowledge and supplies. A field trip to Haiti.

“Tell the Commish, I’ll handle his King Root problems and dispense with the zuvembies if he calls the dogs off of me. Also, I need some traveling money…I’m going to charter a plane to Haiti…tonight.” I said in a deadly serious tone of voice.

Noose seemed to wince a little at both requests; no matter how hard he tried to play…he was still the black-faced hand puppet of the openly racist police commissioner. He was going to catch all types of “nigga hell” to get the items I requested, but you’ve got to pay to play.

“I can do that for you, Shadow. I like the way you think. Destroy the operation from within. They won’t see you coming. Who are you going to get to fly you out of here though this time of night?” Noose inquired.

I never discuss my liaisons with other adventurers or persons of intrigue. These associates are key to my primary operation of keeping Harlem safe and giving the impression that I could do anything I wanted to at any given moment. I knew a pilot, a French West African named Francois Bullard who owned an expensive penthouse in Manhattan that secretly contained a small air hangar for experimental air craft he created. For the right amount of money and excitement, Bullard would fly me around the world and back.

“Never you mind, who…that’s not your concern. Secure the things I’ve asked you for…have the money by midnight.” I said this as I climbed out the morgue window.

Noose watched me leap to the rooftop of an adjacent building with that damn smirk on his face.

“Do what you do, Mr. Shadow. I’ll get your money.”

As I looked back at his blockish silhouette in the window, I could still see the glint of his immaculate choppers and I wondered what tricks he had up his sleeve for me.

To be continued...

CONTINUITY: What does LUCIUS HAMMER have to do with THE HARLEM SHADOW?

2010-11-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

BANG. POW. Then BOO-YAHHH! That was what happened when the idea of Lucius Hammer first struck me as the comic book I had to write. What started out as a harmless homage to Luke Cage became a revelatory soul search for the black superhero by exploring the African American Experience. If you haven't yet read Lucius Hammer Issue One: I, HAMMER...Lucius was born in 1900. In his universe, black paranormals have a few key traits and one of those is an extended life span. Lucius ages normally until he reaches the age of twenty-three and then for decades...he remains his youthful self while those around him die and the history of the world unfurls before him. Lucius' plan to become an American hero goes horribly wrong when he returns home from WWII and observes that he is still considered unworthy of the title...hero. In a pivotal moment, quite like the one where Bruce Wayne watches the bat crash through his study window,Lucius is getting a shoeshine and reading a black newspaper called the Midnight Sun. The Midnight Sun has published a story about a dashing, black vigilante who calls himself The Harlem Shadow. Immediately Lucius is captivated by the fact that there is a "black superhero" and he reads with great interest the rest of the article which focuses on The Harlem Shadow's battle against a consortium of villainy called The Underbelly. The story about the Harlem Shadow is the catalyst for Lucius Hammer deciding he wants to be a superhero. He had never before thought to use his super-powers to be a "super-hero" because he had not seen a black man or woman in that capacity. But the elegant image of The Harlem Shadow in the newspapers was something that triggers Lucius' imagination...influencing him to be something more. Can you read one without reading the other? Certainly. But I would never consider eating good pasta without marinara. That's how well these two titles complement one another. The Harlem Shadow is actually going to have three distinct story arcs...the first being "Birth of the Cool"...and it will consist of five stories that bring you into the plush, urban wilds of Harlem during our hero's initial appearance. The next arc is entitled..."Secret Journey" and will go over in detail how Linden Somerset came to be the man known as the Harlem Shadow. "Bitch's Brew" will be the third arc and it will focus on The Harlem Shadow's paranormal exploits and his more exotic villains. There will also be a 50 page one shot graphic novel teaming Lucius Hammer and The Harlem Shadow together. This is not a sales gimmick...this is a natural, organic outworking of a story that's been waiting to be told for some time. Tune in for the epic tale of the "other" heroes history forgot to tell you about. Only from Ravenhammer.

And now...THE WHITE SUPERHEROES!!!!!

2010-11-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

Since I first started writing Lucius Hammer,the ultimate comic book starring a superhero who just happens to be black,I have been looking forward to introducing a group of white superheroes that exist within his universe known as "The Powers That Be". The following excerpt is from the Lucius Hammer story bible and roughly details each hero...

The Powers that Be

American way- Imagine a mixture of Superman, Captain America, John Wayne and Charlton Heston. He is a sometimes good natured yet old school hero/politician who has volunteered on many different fronts to represent America. The only problem is things are changing too fast and he has become an anachronism…one that has allied himself with a vast and shadowy underworld of captains and kings who are playing with the earth as though it were their personal checker board. American Way is about changing ideals and how America has changed. For better or worse.

The Authoritarian- Batman meets Nick Fury, meets Weapon X. Imagine if Bat Man were a black ops agent who was asked to go into cities’ and surreptitiously apprehend serial killers, quell riots, or foment gang wars and plant evidence so dangerous people could be brought to justice by any means necessary. This guy is dirty, intelligent, and unconscionable in terms of what he’s ready to do to maintain order. He is definitely the dark side of the American Way; he has come to terms with what this country is and who the evil people are that run it. Very scary dude. Imagine if Batman’s costume was combined with Darth Vader’s.

The Living Dynamo- Doctor Manhattan, Green Lantern and the Flash. The Living Dynamo is a man who was a scientist hellbent on discovering neighboring universes and alternate dimensions. He creates a machine that is essentially a teleportation device. During his initial testing of the mechanism, he succeeds with all of his test subjects. When he attempts to teleport himself, something goes wrong and he is sucked into another science-reality where he is literally re-made. He returns to earth, but now he is a being of pure energy and can only be flesh and blood intermittently with great concentration. He soon discovers that he has knowledge of alien races and hidden earth energy sources. He can move at the speed of thought; manipulate strange energies; and see strange beings that are outside of our comprehension. Every country on the planet is afraid of what he will do. The army creates a special containment suit for him and he becomes America’s first space age superhero. Glowing energy based hero.

Adam Venture- Adventurous, liberal, star-gazing hippy, millionaire heir who's only true superpower is his trust fund, his amazing intellect, and penchant for extreme experimentation with variables. He is a self trained Olympic athlete, a vegetarian, yogi, amateur archaeologist and inventor. The rumor is he has acquired super powers thru strange religious practices and drug experimentation. He is very much into what he describes as super-science and flies around the world in experimental jump jets, searches for Bigfoot, aliens and Jimmy Hoffa, and never met a skirt he didn’t like. He’s Reed Richards with balls. He has a downtown laboratory in a town called Miracle Falls where he has experimented with creating his own ray gun, a hover stick, and an ectoplasm viewer. Miracle Falls has a love/hate relationship with him. Imagine John Lennon with a goatee, in a reed Richards like laboratory and in a funky scientific costume.

These are the key white superheroes that exist during the time Lucius is Powerhouse.

They don’t have an official group…they meet at various clandestine locations and discuss how to manage the world…the press and the American public have taken to calling them the Powers that Be.

American Way is generally recognized as the most influential member of the alliance. The Superhero with a heart of gold.

The Living Dynamo is considered to be the most powerful and is thought of as a weapon of mass destruction. Alien…a stranger on his own planet.

The Authoritarian is the old Man in Black conspiracy dressed up as a paranormal police agent. Government Boogeyman.

Adam Venture is the rich, socially adjusted, and worldly crusader who uses his money to unlock the secrets of the planet. Playboy adventurer.

They are the most influential men on Earth.

They are The Powers that Be.

Now, as you can probably see, I'm toying with a lot of established characters. American Way is Charlton Heston as Superman. The Living Dynamo is Bill Gates with a Green Lantern ring. The Authoritarian is Bat Man and the CIA rolled into one. And Adam Venture is a little John Lennon and Tony Stark (Reed Richards as well). These four men are very different heroes but together they represent the absolute pinnacle of super-heroism and power in Lucius Hammer's world. I am introducing them to you now because there are a lot of Hammer readers who are saying they feel alienated because this book is about black superheroes.Not true. My main character is a black superhero. Within the framework of his general story he is detailing the history, rise and comeuppance of the black superhero. Since this globe is a melting pot of races and I'm writing about the very planet that we live on...there will be many other races depicted as heroes as well as villains. Including prominent white characters such as The American Way. I always thought it would be interesting to be a fly on the wall when Captain America and Falcon were actually shooting the gip about race problems in America or perhaps The Black Pride Movement.Or how about Superman and Batman trying to handle drug and gang activity in an inner city locale populated mostly by minorities who don't necessarily see them as heroes who are interested in their neighborhood? These are thought provoking and compelling stories that people started writing back in the late sixties and seventies (Denny Oneill, Gerry Conway, Stan Lee, etc,etc)but stopped as we entered the early eighties. To me, these were excellent reasons to further explore the psyche of a superhero. The American Way is obviously going to be a fun character to write but also controversial. Most people assume because he has been sent to stop Lucius Hammer's Dream Team at the end of issue 1 by President Nixon that he is a racist. Not true. The American Way is all about traditions, values and systems established here in our country...underneath a cape. He enforces the American Dream. But when interacting with the black heroes of Lucius Hammer, particularly Lucius, American Way becomes frustrated because he realizes The American Dream is really not one that's uniform to all people. The Living Dynamo will be fun to look at and also his powers will be quirky and wild like only the best Steve Ditko creations. But The Dynamo is almost like Godzilla or Mothra in the sense that everyone knows that his powers are beyond reason and if he were to ever become mentally unstable...those abilities could destroy a large city. The Authoritarian is my dream version of Bat Man. Imagine a Bat Man fully sanctioned by the U.S Government...given a license to kill in an effort to keep cities in control and maintain law and order by any means necessary.American Way and Authoritarian are seemingly opposite sides of a coin, like Superman and Batman, but in the pages of Lucius Hammer you will see where the two actually need to work hand in hand. Last but not least is Adam Venture who is the dreamer superhero fighting for a utopia he knows will never exist. Adam will be very sympathetic to Lucius Hammer's struggles throughout the series and will form a friendship with him that will last until Venture dies. Adam Venture is the idealistic superhero who really believes he can change the world despite what logic suggests.

I really wish Christian had drawn these heroes so everyone reading could get an idea of how these heroes look and move but you will soon enough. For now just be content in knowing that there are going to be many white superheroes represented in this book. Superhero fantasy should be an equal opportunity employer and I plan to take full advantage of that principle by telling the stories you have never heard before because all of these colorful heroes have never been in the same room together...until now!

ULTIMATE ECLIPSE...What if Marvel really cared about their Black Superheroes?

2010-10-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

All fanboys at some point or another have restless, wet dreams about writing or drawing their favorite comic book character and returning that particular character to glory. I am no different. For years I have told anyone who would listen...how I would revamp Blade, rejuvenate The Falcon, resuscitate Luke Cage, or revitalize Black Panther. Within these four characters are major franchises but Marvel has failed to act on their potential in any serious way. Yeah, Luke Cage is the leader of the New Avengers and everybody says this is a wildly popular choice made by Brian Michael Bendis...but it aint that popular or Luke would have his own book. The following writing samples are from a more simpler and naive time in my life (two years ago...lol) when I thought Marvel Comics might actually pull me in off the streets and give them a hand revamping some of their black superheroes.

ULTIMATE ECLIPSE

The premise behind Ultimate Eclipse is pretty straightforward…revamp all of Marvel’s African American characters in the so-called “Ultimized” style and let them run free in tales that will further flesh out their own individual character backgrounds and establish not only their relationships with one another but everyone else in the Marvel Universe.

If we look at Marvel’s limited pantheon of Black Superheroes we see that there are three of them that stand out in every fanboy’s mind: Black Panther, The Falcon and Luke Cage. This trio would be my center piece for the entire series because with all three personalities we can cover different sections and mentalities of the Marvel Universe in a realistic fashion that would remain consistent with the storytelling in most of the Ultimate books. For example, the gritty, underworld dealing, gun toting hero for hire that Luke Cage is would have very little reason to interact with characters like Captain America or Black Panther for that matter because they are total opposite ends of the spectrum. But because of his friendship with Sam Wilson aka Falcon we will see Luke get involved in some higher profile situations, and his involvement combined with his unique street smart perspective will be something that Marvel writers have only hinted at before.

In the Ultimate Eclipse storyline my update of Luke Cage will have the 70’s blaxploitation character coming across as John Shaft slash Superman. Luke Cage is an indestructible, scrappy, street hustling playa from the Himalayas…he’s not some jive talking moron with a yellow pterodactyl wing party shirt and spandex blue jeans…he’s a no-nonsense, guns blazing, braid having mother fucker with super powers with a huge chip on his shoulder. He’s the pre-dominantly white establishment’s worst nightmare because he is a non-compliant Negro, incorrigible, unpredictable, cunning and violent. His knowledge and love of the streets give him a sort of an urban, gritty/Tarrantino feel. His association with Iron Fist and the Sisters of the Dragon also gives me some room to pay homage to classic martial arts movies and KILL BILL volumes 1 and 2. He’s very intelligent and smooth…the slang he uses is a mélange of hip hop terminology and broken hood dialect but the brother is nickel slick and on top of game.

Sam “Snap” Wilson is the all-American brother. He’s a card carrying Shield Agent, he’s also a sporadic member of the Avengers. In addition, he’s also Captain America’s…sidekick. Sam is also divorced…the father of two…still in love with his ex-wife, a social climber who revels in hanging with the other super-wives but can’t stomach Sam’s wishy-washy career. Captain America is pressuring Sam to become a full-time Shield agent and travel the world fighting crime under Nick Fury. Meanwhile, back in Harlem…city officials, friends, and passerby on the streets wonder when one of the black superheroes will stand up for the communities that spawned them and give back. This thought weighs heavily on his mind as he decides to step up to the plate. Sam is an intelligent, athletic over-achiever who wants to use his power to help the world but he also wants to lead a normal life…his many different goals confuse him and leave him vulnerable to public criticism. What we witness in Sam is the comeuppance of a Superhero. The Falcon.

T’challa is the King of a technologically advanced kingdom in the heart of Africa. He is wealthy; he is a swashbuckling diplomat who ponders foreign policy while pouncing through the jungle in a skin-tight Panther costume. He is the ultimate adventurer, a man confident in the achievements of his nation and the tradition of his kingdom. He’s a African version of Indiana Jones/James Bond and Batman…he is the man who can have lunch with Reed Richards and kick it about mining for natural resources in the Negative Zone and then flip the script and bust some gangsta head in the backstreets of Brooklyn with his long time friend…Sam Wilson. As a vigilante, Black Panther faces a tremendous legal and political risk every time he engages in combat or undertakes a dangerous mission…but his duty is to go out and serve his kingdom. His world is the globe, and with an aggressive plan to promote peace while putting the smackdown on evil…Black Panther is the man who can make it happen. Panther approaches Falcon about joining forces under the name…Eclipse. A call to arms of paranormals of color. It sounds kind of far fetched until Falcon, Panther and Luke Cage find themselves battling side by side against a Hydra Sleeper Cell that was just activated in Brooklyn!!!

BLADE

YEAR ONE

Notes

First of all, this needs to be said first before anything…Blade has the enormous potential to be a top tier Marvel Comics character. He’s a brilliant anti-hero, cut from the same cloth as a Wolverine or Punisher, and in this day and age of Reality/Grim and Gritty/Reboot Continuity Blade appeals directly to what today’s readers are looking for.

My idea for Blade is to reboot the character using existing backstory from both movies and comics. I believe you must include Rachel Van Helsing, Taj and Quincy Harker…these key characters keep Blade connected to Marvel’s Epic Horror Saga, Tomb of Dracula and the original source material, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is important to keep Dracula at the center of the action…even if he is not actually in the present storyline. Why? Because this gives Blade his impetus, his driving character motivation…the death of Dracula becomes his quest and in this he becomes a greater hero due to the magnitude of this undertaking.

My idea is to take Blade back to his childhood. He leaves London after losing his mother to a mass suicide involving a cult she was mysteriously tied into. He moves to the states (Louisiana in particular) to live with his Aunt and Uncle and their children. This sounds very tame and maybe uninteresting initially but here we set the foundation for a balls out horror actioner that will rival the best of Hellboy. We need to make Blade an actual living breathing person…revisiting his childhood and his coming to terms with his supernatural heredity. Like the boy in the Sixth Sense, I imagine there was a time when Eric Brooks Aka Blade discovered his otherworldly nature…how did this happen, what were his sensations? Did anyone around him notice his differences and how did this affect the relationships he formed early in life? I created a sister for Blade’s mother named Grace who was more than willing to take Blade in after his mother’s death and an Uncle named Elijah who is a fire and brimstone preacher tuned into anything that smacks of evil. The most compelling question I can ask of myself as a writer is, “Who was the first vampire that Blade killed?”. My answer to that question is a missing High School girl named Dominique.

This first story will establish Blade as a 10 year old who grows up in a religious/ disciplinarian household, down south on the outskirts of New Orleans. Blade is a good kid with abnormal instincts and quirks. He seems to often have no appetite and can go without sleep for unusually long stretches of time. His sensory palette seems to be heightened in the fact that he can tell what his Aunt is cooking while being two miles away from the house; he hears conversations that people are having in other rooms behind closed doors; he seems to be physically stronger than his older cousin who is a high school football star. Mainly, these quirks just irritate his cousins, but his witch-hunting Uncle has a hunch that Blade is hellspawn because of his mother’s dealings and it has become his singular job to expose the evil that exists in his nephew. Years go by and Blade begins to explore his powers. When a local girl he knows from high school goes missing…Blade joins a search for her in the swamps with the police, students from the high school, and other people from the surrounding community. During the search, Blade can hear or senses the female named Dominique. But he then realizes she is buried under the swamp in a coffin of her own design…she is undead. He returns to the swamp later that night with a bag full of teakwood stakes, a driving hammer, holy water and garlic. Dominique has chosen to make her home in an abandoned fallout shelter. After a spectacularly violent clash with the female vampire…Blade kills her and returns home…feeling oddly satiated and complete for the first time in his life. He returns home only to find his Uncle and his Aunt waiting for him. This is the beginning of the end for their relationship.

End of Pitch

Of course these were written out of sheer love for my favorite characters. Others may read these pitches and say, "Man, dude is smoking crack...that's not how they should write Luke Cage or Blade...here's how they should do it..." But I bet you my bottom dollar that if Marvel grabbed their cojones and gave me top notch artists...I could produce a monthly title that would be a top seller. One that possibly, now and again, might outsell even the most popular of titles. Why? Because these characters have swag!!! You just gotta pull in the right dudes and give them the latitude to experiment, revolt, tear down and deviate from the norm. But that's why I decided to write this blog entry right after the last one. Marvel and DC are not concerned about the African American Heroes...they would never accept these pitches from me because it makes to much sense. They would rather let an idiot like Marc Guggenheim (t.v writer)and Howard "Hack" Chaykin (used to love this guy but his art took a huge steaming dump on Blade)desecrate Blade in his last monthly incarnation. They would rather turn Black Panther into a female (hahaha, who was the friggin genius that suggested this one? They should be fired because I know the book is not selling behind that dumbass storyline!)It's more than obvious that even in the world of fucking fictional creations...the "man" is trying to keep us down. WTF?!!!

Customer accuses Lucius Hammer Issue One of being Racist? Hunh?

2010-10-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

After participating at the wonderful Cincinnati Comic Expo on September 19. I received a slightly disturbing facebook message from a dissatisfied customer. Now my mother had told me a long time ago, "No matter how charming you are, there's always going to be someone who doesn't like you. Or agree with you...and that's just the way of the world." And I accept that fact. The pop terminology in the past 10 to 15 years used to describe this type of social precept is "Haterism". You know...he or she is a "hater" because they don't subscribe to my particular point of view, don't hate the player hate the game, don't hate congratulate is my favorite. But in this particular circumstance, I don't think that this person, who we will refer to as "dissatisfied customer",is being "hateful". I believe they were truly shocked and disoriented by the message embedded in my comic book. It provoked them to think about things that they don't normally have to think about. The following transcript is a blow by blow duplicate of our cyber discussion regarding Lucius Hammer Issue One...

Dissatisfied Customer:
I was at the cincy expo and purchased the Lucius Hammer. First off I have to say that there are ALOT of Black Superheroes maybe you just never took the time to actually read or follow any through the years. Second,the black superheroes I've grown to love and follow have never been racist or a subject to division among other heroes because of race. I find this story to be insulting to say the least in the few of many people. We are slowly overcoming the division of race and all people are truely becoming equal. The government releasing a white superhero to stop a black group of superheroes forming? Seriously?! Do you know who the president is now? Luke Cage, Falcon,Black Panther, Storm,Spawn,Blade,John Stewart,War Machine, War Machine becoming Iron Man!! Those are characters just off the top of my head! Its sad to see someone so in the dark. If this is the fan base you want..so be it. However if you base you character toward fans that see a division of people then I'm afraid your character will never take off. Thanks.

Brian Williams...writer of Lucius Hammer:
First of all...thank you for purchasing my book. Despite how you may feel about the nature of my writing or the attitudes of my characters...you are missing the point. Yes...black superheroes exist but none of them are extremely relevant other than the fact that they are black and that particular company can say "Hey...we have a black character." With regard to the comments about the American Way and his agenda to foil the efforts of a black superhero...are you seriously suggesting these scenarios never happened in history?...particularly during the civil rights movement with people like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, or the Black Panther? I am trying to chronicle an invisible period of time that does not exist in printed comics because the writers and artists that dominated the early eras of comics were white and not necessarily interested in promoting positive images of African Americans, this is unfortunate but a fact. Luke Cage was little more than a street wise tough who spoke in broken English and was an ex-con. I enjoyed his adventures but as a young black man growing up, I came to resent the fact that most of the black heroes I saw in comics were petty con men or less educated than the white characters (The Falcon was originally a street hustler named Snap Wilson) Black Panther is a king and Storm is now his queen but they are both Africans which if you really stop to think about it...there is a whole different dynamic experience going on when you compare Africans to African Americans and it's called slavery. Blade and Spawn are both monsters and John Stewart and War Machine are both flunkies for a main white hero. You probably don't see these things clearly because chances are you are Caucasian and these differences are not things that directly affect you. I am very sorry this has caused you to feel slighted. My wife is white and sometimes she has related to me that I am a bit heavy handed when it comes to writing about race relations, but if I am to truly write about a character that existed in a time of racial strife like Lucius Hammer did...then that strife and those tribulations have to be depicted. Of course you have never seen these things written about before in comics because most of the writers once again are white and the companies are owned by whites. But I am a black man choosing to write about the reality of a black man trying to be a superhero in a country that has gone through different periods of hostility towards blacks and other minority groups. I would like to personally refund you your money if that's okay with you...but I would at least like you to read issue two of Lucius Hammer before you pass complete judgment. I promise you that what I'm doing is top notch and sometimes it is hard to look back at history and accept what has truly transpired but...look at how Muhammad Ali was treated by the white press...look up COINTELPRO...look at some interviews with Malcolm X on Youtube. I am simply imagining what if there were African Paranormals existing during that time. It's no different than the XMEN...but in this case all the mutants are black. Give me your address and I will send you the five dollars back. I sincerely apologize if you were offended. But you are absolutely the first customer to say something.

Dissatisfied Customer:
I would like to thank you for responding and have come to the conclusion that we will agree to disagree. I could go back and forth saying how most heroes were "monsters" or freaks in some sort. You have your own opinion and I have mine. I purchased the comic on level of chance. I love to read new ideas and visions, some I have to discard such as this one. Since you are married to a white woman you should know that these days we are not divided and are humans, not races. We all bleed red and when the day comes that I see someone bleed another color I still will not judge them for their differences.
Thanks Again

Brian Williams, writer of Lucius Hammer:
I will not judge either but I won't lie or forget things that have happened. You can't just ignore history because it's painful. And you cant just decide to disagree with things that you don't like to admit or wish never happened. Another thing and I will let this go...just because the present man in the oval office is one of color doesn't mean we all can kick back and say "kumbayah". Unfortunately the world is divided and there are many other prejudices other than white/black...but through this adversity and struggle we can work together as human beings to build a better world for future generations. In future issues of my book this ethic will shine through. Thank you for at least voicing your concerns and I will remember them while writing future episodes of Lucius Hammer.

That was the extent of this conversation. I am not sure how old this person is or what their experience base is but they seem fairly naive. This person also seems like a great deal of normal comic book consumers out there that are under the false perception that there are numerous black characters that exist and they are treated with the same reverence and given the same opportunities to thrive as the Caucasian characters. The fact is, black comic book characters are few and far between. And the ones that do exist don't reflect the African American experience. This is a fact. I am grateful for the black heroes that have been created over the years...Blade is cool (he's a vampire but that's cool) I dig Black Panther (Although technically he's not African American), I also have a giant soft spot in my heart for Luke Cage (But anybody who knows his history understands that he is the Sambo of Black Superheroes). Something has to be done about this. I am going to do my best to change the identity of Black Superheroes...and I will not escape the criticism of folks like this dissatisfied customer who wants things to be kept on the low. This person didn't even realize the whole time they were talking about how things have changed and are getting better for race relations in the world...how they were still reluctant for comics to change. If only people would sometimes look at themselves in the mirror and be real. Lucius Hammer Issue One is a serious look at Black Superheroes and their American Genesis. If you understand our country's struggle with race, then you will understand there's no way I can tell a competent tale about these heroes of color without acknowledging their struggles.

Why Ravenhammer Comics is going to put heads out in 2011...

2010-10-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

Pimpin aint easy, and neither is self publishing your own comic book. The life of a self-publisher/writer is a lonesome, pride swallowing, and often self-degrading siege which can drive one to the brink of either insanity, epileptic fits, or just flat out acceptance of the regular 9 to 5, non-creative life. What writers and artists must some day completely understand is that like great athletes, we are despised by the common folk because they cannot do what we do...therefore we are either put on pedestals or disregarded as introverted freaks that were born to struggle, starve and be depressed because of our creative faculty. This is a non-creative world. Your company does not encourage creativity. They encourage fear of being destitute and absolute conformity to their Policy and Procedure manual. If you were to become too creative in your thinking, you might take over that company...and that would of course benefit you but not your overseers. Those of us who generate just enough escape velocity to wrench ourselves away from the gravity of modern slavery and economic bondage are then faced with the acceptance or non-acceptance of our artistic aspirations by family, friends and lovers. When I was nine years old, I boldly came out of the closet one day while sitting in the backseat of my father's creme colored 1976 Grand Prix and told him I wanted to be a comic book artist. He looked at me suspiciously in his rear view mirror with a sarcastic grin on his face and said simply, " Have you ever heard the term "starving artist"? And therein lies the dilemma of being born creative...no I don't want to starve! But nor do I want to be a worker drone for the rest of my life...toiling to achieve someone else's dream who could give less than a damn about me and my family. What about my dream? What about my legacy? A 401k? A couple of plaques that prove I was at work on time every day for 25 years? A retirement luncheon where 15 minutes after I've left the building, I will have ceased to matter in any way to that company? I have nothing against working for a big company...I have done it for most of my adult life. But very seldom have I encountered a benevolent corporation that really sought to be anything other than a meat grinder, mincing and mulching human lives into a bloody pulp for the sake of those dead presidents. Yeah, some of us make huge salaries...come home to a ridiculously huge house and own t.v's that could double for big screens down at the local multiplex...but at the end of the day...the price you pay for all that is your deferring your dreams for somebody else's. Brian Williams of Ravenhammer Comics has decided to stop putting his dreams off. 2010 was supposed to be the year in which my company...Ravenhammer Comics LLC...along with my artist and partner Christian Colbert, was supposed to come of age. Instead, Brian got kicked in the ass by life and suffered about as many disappointments as one could imagine. The reason why I am so sure about the success of Ravenhammer Comics in 2011 is because I am still standing. Like Tony Montana at the end of Scarface...machine gun in hand...ready to take on the world...Brian Williams is still standing. That means that if I can survive all the nonsense that life threw at me during this very unstable period of self-publishing my book...I can keep on surviving. Right now, we are having a great deal of trouble with the output of artwork at Ravenhammer. My blog is not a place for me to vent personal feelings about the work ethic of others...when you are trying to manage a job and produce an independent comic book...things get hectic. But having that "Tony Montana" sensibility about myself, I will say that at some point somebody's gotta draw the book. If it's not Christian Colbert, then it will be an artist that is equal to his caliber or better. But one monkey does not stop the show as my grandmother used to put it. Christian has had a series of dilemmas this year but that soon gets tiresome to people who are about something; people who are trying to create a new product have to dig that much deeper than the established competition. This should be a no-brainer but often-times you get a person who believes that they are the whole show...and if they don't feel compelled or motivated to get the work done...then the others have no other recourse. Not true in the case of Ravenhammer Comics. My dedication to making my dream and the dream of those around me happen is unparalleled. I have borrowed money, bought people computers, paid for artwork, hotel rooms and convention tables for the past two years. I have promised my investors returns and success for my fledgling comic venture and despite the less than spirited output of my collaborator(s)...I will make this happen. Losing is not an option. Not delivering an issue two or three...or four and five for that matter is not an option. It is the solemn vow of Ravenhammer Comics to go out of 2010 screaming like a bat out of hell. For the next two months, me and the boys plan to make plenty of noise...not pin-ups...not concept posters. BOOKS...STORIES...ISSUES. The website is going to be reconstructed and even though I like it right now...it has to be better, so fans of Ravenhammer can constantly know what products are available and what they can depend on getting from us every month. Now an introspective reader of my blog might read between the lines and say, "You sound like one of those unfeeling corporations you were railing against earlier..." Its true. Maybe that's why those big companies are like that. Maybe there are those of us who were born to be leaders and those of us meant to follow. Through my uncanny ordeals this summer I have finally learned that it's time for me to accept the fact that I am a leader. And if I behave like anything less then the world is going to let me know about it. So as the leader of Ravenhammer Comics thus far...I promise to you faithful Hammerheads, facebook fans, customers, friends and family that issue 2 of Lucius Hammer will be in your hands by the end of December. Issue three will be completed by the end of February. Issues Four, Five and Six will all be released by the end of next summer completing an arc that will then be collected in a beautiful trade edition. Christian and I have both discussed these deadlines and barring any serious matters of death in the families or serious injury...you are going to get your comics from Ravenhammer. It's time for us to get serious about what we say we love to do. As for the Harlem Shadow, my regular artist, Rodolfo Buscaglia is on board for the long haul and we shall also be seeing another five to six issues of the Birth of the Cool story arc. So keep it locked...RAVENHAMMER is for real and doing big things. Trust and believe!

The Birth of Harlem Noir/Steamfunk

2010-09-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

The prospect of creating a relevant black superhero caused me as a writer to really stretch my imagination. Being that I am an African American male who has grown up in a society where people of my color have been largely excluded from sci-fi and fantasy staples...you must understand that it takes a great deal of vision to imagine something you have never seen or have been told could never be. In trying to rationally piece together my secret history of black superheroes for my Lucius Hammer graphic novel...I traveled back to the Harlem Renaissance and discovered The first official black superhero (at least that's what I'm calling him in my literary universe)...The Harlem Shadow. Now I decided to write this piece because I know there are a lot of you out there who are checking out the facebook posts and the website looking for info on Lucius Hammer but keep seeing things about the Harlem Shadow and are wondering who the hell is The Harlem Shadow? Well, if you bought issue one of Lucius Hammer (get to the website and get a copy...I'm making history here and you will be truly sorry if you overlook it) The Harlem Shadow makes his first appearance as Lucius recounts the reasons why he wanted to become a superhero in the first place. The Harlem Shadow was a figure of mystery and action during the great black flowering known as The Harlem Renaissance. In this particular issue of Lucius Hammer, the Harlem Shadow only appears in one panel and is really a plot device to move the story along...of course I had ideas to flesh out his story a bit more down the line but people started making inquiries about this masked man from Harlem. People who bought the ashcan sketch edition of Lucius Hammer at the 2009 Wizard World Comic-Con wanted to know when was I going to explore the realm of 1920's Harlem and reveal the origin of the first Black Superhero...The Harlem Shadow. I was caught off guard by this interest in a peripheral character, but intrigued suddenly by the diamond in the rough I had unwittingly discovered. I had been a fan of Will Eisner's The Spirit as some of you may know from earlier blogs, I was also a fan of Dick Tracy and The Shadow written by Walter Gibson and the influence for Bob Kane's iconic Batman. Hard boiled crime pulps are also a source of great enjoyment for me...and when I was dreaming up the Harlem Shadow I was reminded of my interest in Chester Himes and his Harlem Crime Cycle books. Most notably, Cotton Comes to Harlem and A Rage in Harlem, were two gritty, nasty, down-home collard green eating action, hard boiled mysteries starring two rough ass negroes named Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. If you like pulp fiction and hard boiled detective flavor...read both of these books and you will get your money's worth of both. I started thinking to myself...first of all, there are no Golden Age Black Comic book heroes. To my knowledge there are no black pulp adventurers. I can create an entire new genre with this character...and what better setting than Harlem during the age of rebirth. African Americans during this pivotal social and economic wellspring were coming into their own. Literature, art, music and ethnic style was given a chance to breathe and proliferate. Black life and it's instinctive swagger became en vogue and something of a novelty to the white liberals who ventured into Harlem for good food and music. Of course this pulse of life and excitement attracted money...and money attracted people from all walks of life who wanted to cash in on the NEW NEGRO EXPERIENCE. Harlem was not only an incubator for a new era African american consciousness but for vice and criminal activity. The mob, seeing the sudden influx of money being generated by the numbers game being played in the predominantly black realm of Harlem...invaded the neighborhood and tried to usurp the operation. The Black underworld that existed was aggravated simply because on one hand white society would not allow them to have decent jobs to make a living legally but now were also taking away their illegal means of living the so-called American Dream. What better setting could I have picked to introduce the first African American vigilante/superhero? You've got the end of World War I/ the mob/ corrupt police/ jazz musicians/poets and writers/African and West Indian immigrants/flappers/ Voodoo and Santeria/ and emerging scientific discoveries. Blacks were also coming forward as doctors, lawyers, bankers and scientists. I am a huge Alan Moore fan and have collected his entire run of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which is representative of a body of fiction storytelling referred to as steampunk. For those of you who are not familiar with the genre of steampunk...let me give you a brief description: Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s.^[1] The term denotes fictional works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used, usually the 19th century and oftenVictorian era Britain. It has prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy; and it often features anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them. Based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc., this technology may include such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne or real technological developments like the computer. Now keeping all that in mind, I said to myself, what if in addition to the HARLEM NOIR setting that I'm creating...what if I add an element of steampunk to the Harlem Shadow's adventures. I mean...all the heroes like Doc Savage, The Original Shadow, The Avenger, The Spider and any number of other pulp heroes had at their disposal an arsenal of highly speculative technologies...magic rings...computers....short wave radios...auto gyros etc etc. How cool would it be to meld the worlds of hardboiled detectives and superheroes with a steampunk element? Very cool. So then I fashioned the term Harlem-Noir Steamfunk to describe the universe I'm creating. Harlem Noir meaning a very specific time...1925 through 1950...steamfunk meaning a period of time where black folks are delving into the same mysteries of science and mechanical innovations that Europeans are and coming up with weird yet plausible gadgetry to aid them in their exploits in this brave new world. So there it is...the innards of my imagination revealed to you....the birthing process of The Harlem Shadow. The first of many characters to emerge from this Harlem Noir/ Steamfunk universe I am building. Now that I have hipped you to my wonderful tale...go to www.ravenhammercomics.com and pick up Lucius Hammer # 1 "I, Hammer" and Harlem Shadow # 1 "Birth of the Cool". I am about to change the way you look at comic book heroes! Trust and believe.

The Summer that was 2010...

2010-09-01T06:57:00.001-07:00

If you are a regular subscriber to this blog, then you know that I have been thoroughly submerged in the business of creating comics (intellectual properties for those who don't like the term "comics") and trying to launch a lifelong dream. But like the popular insurance commercial that you see while watching football on Sunday afternoons in the Fall...life happens fast. I alluded to the events that were about to happen in an earlier blog post and they have come to a brutal, and bloody fruition. The normal components of my once seemingly normal life have been torn asunder and I have been left reeling in the wake of the wrecking ball of fate. No need to really mention details other than the foundations of my life and those around me that matter have been uprooted and challenged. You might think that this is the end of my endeavors but it most certainly is not. I have been a dreamer for most of my life, recently I had gotten into the habit of imagining terrible things...calamities and nightmare scenarios because I was holding on to tightly to things that I thought were mine...material items, titles, people, etc...I had been infected by the rat race. The rat race impeded my ability to dream. It made me cranky, dreamers don't want to worry...they want to create...they want to love, be passionate, share and absorb the creativity that exists around them. Within the words of this blog you see the raw, unfettered thews of my prodigious imagination. I am not a braggart but I know what God has blessed me with and I speak about it today because too many of us have talents and abilities that are obscured by the labyrinth we've let the world put us in. It appears to the naked eye that my life is in shambles. Everything that I have fought so hard to keep, protect, covet is now lost in the sauce of everyday American life. But I still have this incredible ability to dream. To create. To tell stories and to quicken one's heart rate as I get into the flow about this character or that one. As I look at the events of the summer of 2010, my personal life could have gone a lot smoother. But being stripped down to my bare essence, I have been forced to look at what it is that I really am. What it is that I should really be pursuing. No more putting off dreams until I hit these sales numbers or hit the lottery. The dream must be pursued now. If it isn't and God truly intends for you to achieve this dream then you best believe you will be pushed down under the water until you see your proper path. This summer has been one of intense pain for me, but it has also been one of immense personal growth. I hate adversity, if I had my way I would shoot through life care free with zero problems and everything that I ever wanted at my fingertips. But I wonder would those things that I had truly be as worth much to me as they will be now having gone through the fire. This was a fairly boring blog for those of you who want to know more juicy details about Lucius Hammer and The Harlem Shadow so I will share some highlights about those topics briefly. Lucius Hammer and The Harlem Shadow appeared at The Onyxcon down in Atlanta on August 13 and 14. The Onyxcon is a black run comic book convention that is building a name for itself and was truly a beautiful experience. Not to knock any other cons but you aint been to a comic book convention until you've been to a black comic con. People of all colors, congregating, laughing, dj's on turntables, African artwork and images of black heroes you never could see in a regular store...I mean it when I say it was an experience. I had the great fortune of meeting a rather well connected person in the entertainment industry who was very interested in The Harlem Shadow and even as I am typing this blog entry things are going down to create an animated feature out of that particular idea. So all is not lost, in fact this is most likely a rebirth of a dreamer who died trying to be something he wasn't. Hopefully as I crawl from the wreckage and learn how to walk again, I can once again reunite myself with the people and things that matter in a more harmonious manner. But I must remind myself to never stop dreaming about good things and be true to who I was put here to be. No pain, no gain. Never has there been a truer statement. Stay tuned for some upbeat news and details in a couple of weeks. Peace and love to all of you...and keep your heads to the sky!!!!

The Impossible Hype of Issue Two; and how long will it take for it to actually be produced?

2010-07-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

My name is Brian Williams and I am the author and creator of Lucius Hammer. For a long time I have been heralding the coming of Lucius Hammer's second issue on all of the internet venues and in responses to critiques. It was my way of saying, " You aint really seen nuthin yet so stop yer gripin." I wrote this issue 2 a year ago and the fact that it has not been yet illustrated by my painfully complicated yet immensely talented illustrator and co-creator, Christian Colbert, is an amazing topic and one that has led me to a big self discovery. When I first dreamed up Lucius Hammer I had visions of quitting my job and heading out to Hollywood to sign some ridiculous deal that would have myself and my family sitting pretty for the rest of our days and creating similar properties from now until I check out. But when you are just the writer and you have a million dollar idea like Lucius Hammer, you gotta find a stud of an illustrator. Someone who is distinctive yet accessible... an artist who understands what people like to see, the beauty of the line and it's subtle synchronicity that makes a story flow so smoothly that the reader is not distracted but transported. I found "that" guy and his name is Christian Colbert. Initially I was lobbying for a few other artists to be the main visual illustrators of Lucius Hammer (Billy Dallas Patton and Greg Titus) but Christian knocked me out cold with a rendition of Lucius that he put together one lazy afternoon that captured everything I dreamed the character would be. It would have been an extreme mistake of me to choose another artist after having seen Christian's complete mastery of a fictional character I had only described to him as a mixture of Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, with the voice of Ving Rhames. I was so inspired and excited by this spot-on rendition that I went out seeking investors to help us acquire a MAC for Christian and sponsor the publication of our first issue. Things were exciting last summer as we rolled into Chicago with an extra-hip ash can sporting what I think was the best cover and interior art (not to mention my story!) present at The Wizard World CON 2009. On October 24, 2009 we followed the ash can up with a full color Issue One that was breathtaking in terms of Christian's color work in photo-shop...it wasn't any longer than the ash can, but the colors added the depth and dimension to Lucius' world that was reminiscent of one the old Disney films or those original Fleischer Superman shorts. I still look at that book and think to myself, " Wow. We kinda bottled a little magic here." But when all the fuss was over, the thought of Issue 2 loomed ominously over Christian and of course the spotlight was now on him because I had written 6 issue at this point. Months passed. No apparent sign of any work getting done but fortunately in May we were able to produce some trading cards and a Lucius Hammer character index that included some of the main characters that will be appearing in the comic book. These character sketches although just mere pin-ups in the end were brilliant representations of the heroes I had envisioned when I originally formulated the plot. Sometimes I wonder how he is doing it?How he can see so clearly what it is I am seeing and then reproduce it on paper? I was of course disappointed that Issue 2 wasn't completed in April in time to be printed for ECBACC 2010 Con in Philadelphia but the character sketches and his arresting cover for my spin-off character's debut, The Harlem Shadow, caused literally everyone's head to turn at the convention and take notice. Unbeknownst to a lot of people out there, I am an ambitious prick. I have been dreaming of turning my comic book stories and characters into movies since I was eight years of age. Christian's inability to churn out this amazing work he was doing at a more accelerated speed was frustrating me, pissing off investors, and making us look like every other independent publisher out there...slow, unreliable and possibly never to be seen again. But in my reflections on what has come to pass...I have decided to look at the glass half full. Christian Colbert is a hell of an artist. In fact, it befuddles greatly that the Marvels, The DC's and The Images of the world have overlooked him. He is just as good if not better than most of the people they employ. He is a perfectionist to a fault, but damn you have to respect that when you see his final product because it is awe inspiring what he does. I have bitched, moaned and cried about Issue 2. I have lost sleep and battled depression during the making of Issue 2. At one point Christian even offered to send back the MAC because he didn't want to hear any more complaining about the rate of speed with which the book was being produced. Of course we hashed all that out and everybody's cool...cause the show must go on. We've come to far...and our project is too special for us to let it go out like that. I say all this to say that Issue Two is coming. And it's going to be something that will be an enormous accomplishment for both writer and artist. You have to understand that neither of us are independently wealthy; we both have daytime gigs, I have a wife and three kids, and there's no money tree in either of our backyards. We are doing this whole thing based on our passion and love for comics. It doesn't matter if we get optioned today by Cartoon Network or picked up by Image or Dark Horse...what matters is that we finish Issue Two and that it looks like it's supposed to look. I am satisfied and humbled by Christian's natural artistic fluency in a world birthed by my imagination...and right now I'm just very happy that someone with this type of ability believes in my ability. Issue 2 will come...and it will be grandiose. And we will be euphoric and hopefully so will all the folks who have started to get a hankering for Lucius Hammer. But then the completion of Issue 2 brings up another topic that I'm not going to start worrying about just yet....ISSUE THREE.

Self Praise for the writer of Lucius Hammer!

2010-03-12T14:38:00.001-08:00

About 8 months have passed since I have unleashed Lucius Hammer to the masses. I have been so busy trying to score cartoon deals, video game licenses, and other creative compromises that I have begun to lose track of what the hell I was doing any of this for in the first place. It's the book, man. The "Book" or "Comic Book" is the thing! If we don't have the book then we have nothing. It is also true that people have had a chance to react to my book over the past few months and the reviews have been mixed but encouraging. Very few people really get what I am creating at this juncture but as I build momentum it will be obvious and that's when it's all going to get out of hand. A lot of folks have compared Lucius to Superman (he is like Superman to a degree but he can't be that much like him because he's black!) and some folks think that this is a spoofy riff on seventies blaxploitation heroes like Black Dynamite (Not at all, Black Dynamite is more like Austin Powers in black face, Lucius Hammer is a black superhero.) Anyway, I thought it would be interesting for you readers and myself, the writer, to look back and review my own issue. The book starts out just like I imagined it would. John Henry to me is that seminal African American literary figure that is emblazoned in my childhood memory of trips to the school library on Wednesdays. My first page bursts out proudly with a triumphant shot of John Henry, hammer in hand on some mountaintop, and the narration of course provided by Lucius proclaims that the famous steel drivin' man is his biological father. I instinctively did this because of my love for this tall tale American Myth and also because I want Lucius to have some mystery and romance tied to his origin. I think it gives his whole background kind of this mytho-historical lean it needs to capture the imagination of readers and my own interest. I want to write about this character because I know there is so much there to work with and explore. Also it will give me an excuse to do a John Henry comic book some time down the road. After this we roll into what I refer to as my miniature legend pages. Here is where I took a lot of influence from the first Superman and Batman Comic books...I wanted Lucius to have a simple, yet grand origin story that had some elbow room for interpretation. In fact I would say this first story is a mélange of tall tale, autobiography and standard superheroic origin. I also felt that not many black superheroes had been treated to a fancy dancy origin like this one before so I went for the full on Smallville kind of story and dove headlong into man of many adventures storyline. We could have illustrated his strengths as a youngster better, in fact I have a revised script where I show him tussling with bears and diving to the bottom of lakes to grab catfish that I hope Christian will consider doing for the deluxe graphic trade…but I still love the flow of the first issue. The funeral and death of his mother is visually moving and poignant I think from a standpoint that most black characters in comics don’t have parents that play such a significant role as Lucius’ does in his life. His adventures out west evoke images of Buffalo Soldiers and black cowboys. His involvement in prohibition definitely will warrant a story or two about the numbers game which was called policy and South Side Chicago. Still another period I am fascinated with in history is the time of the Negro Baseball leagues and I wanted to plug Lucius into that era so that I could tell a superhero as an athlete story. Then the World War 2 stuff is going to be a blast. I kept picturing a young Jim Brown playing Lucius Hammer in a Dirty Dozen style army flick. Some folks have claimed that they thought Lucius Hammer was going to be something else. Maybe a parody, a comedic take on seventies heroes, more of a blaxploitation thing played strictly for laughs and afro jokes. No…some of that will be there. The sixties and seventies are the period in which Lucius makes a global impact as a superhero so a lot of images will be of him with the black power fro kickin but this is the study of a superhero in time…a black one. There are many things to consider and talk about with regard to black superheroes and Lucius is the nucleus of this secret history of “black masks”. I had written a fairly cool series of action panels showing Lucius in a ticker tape parade, coming home from the WWII, in his dress uniform. I also planned for you to see a complete page displaying the Harlem Knights, a group of organized but illegal black capes, who seemed to appear around the end of the Harlem Renaissance. But things happen…Christian and I are both working full time gigs during the day, of course we wanted to give you the ultimate comic book experience but there are just so many hours in a day. Christian made some changes that initially I didn’t like. Looking back now, I see his brilliance and his economy of images; the exact placement of word bubbles and captions boxes…the subtle silhouettes that speak volumes in one panel. The training page where Lucius decides to develop himself as a superhero after witnessing the Harlem Shadow is an example of powerful, basic panels that suggest a major character arc over the span of four panels. This is definitely the kind of book I read as a kid and the kind I’m eager to recapture for so many people out there who have been bitten by the grim and gritty bug. This comic book is fun. It’s not rocket science. It ain’t Shakespeare or Dark Knight. But it’s fun and that’s what I set out to do. Mission accomplished.

Nothing New Under the Sun?

2010-03-07T05:56:00.000-08:00

Whenever I am approached about writing by folks who are fascinated by the fact I can string two sentences together successfully, I inevitably say at some point in that conversation, " there is nothing new under the sun." I'm not sure if William Shakespeare first said it but I wouldn't doubt it. Who would know better than he? I say this because all of us creators...us writers and artists are plagiarists to some degree. Influenced and shaped in some form or fashion by the billions of words and images that we have seen since springing violently from the womb into this loud, raucous world of ideas. It's like a tapestry or pyramid scheme, we keep building on what has already gone before in this world of art. There are of course times when someone ventures boldly outside the established borderlines of what is considered contemporary or current to create that "new strain" which is repulsive to the masses but avant-garde to an elite minority and so in time becomes the new norm...but for the most part we are all copy cats. My Lucius Hammer saga is an interesting example of generational stimuli provoking me to step forward and weave my portion of this literary tapestry. As I have said previously, I became enthralled at an early age with the notion of superheroes, loved Greek Mythology, Richard Roundtree and Isaac Hayes were regular names in my household, and Bruce Lee was Elvis on my block. All of these influences have come full circle in my literary psyche to spawn Lucius Hammer. The idea of a pantheon of Black Superheroes was always the impossible dream and then one day...I figured out how I could make it work. Using my varied archive of influences, Lucius Hammer emerged...a wholly original and creative invention in itself because he had never existed before in the public domain but there because of the musings of a little black boy who really was affected by the blaxploitation films and Spiderman comics of his youth. The collected effects of pop culture throughout my lifespan have given birth to Lucius Hammer. Now what I find fascinating about all this psychobabble I am spewing is that as I am trying to release Lucius Hammer and build a franchise out of thin air with which to support my constant craving to write and create; to fend for my family financially; and to achieve the success each of us human beings strive for to some degree in our brief existence...I find that there are other projects out there that are suspiciously similar or could be considered of the same vein as my precious endeavor. Afrodisiac is an independently published comic book that I have yet to buy but want desperately for my personal collection because I am a sucker for black superheroes. Jim Rugg is the artist and I am not sure of his age but he clearly was impacted by the seventies and all of it's counter culture trappings, especially the myth of the Afro-American Stud. This is the same mythology that is the stuff of Quentin Tarrantino's wet dreams (no offense Q.T, I have the same wet dream!), the story of the physically imposing, impossibly talented, handsome negro private eye, outlaw, samurai or whatever who doesn't take orders from the "man"; lives his life on his own terms, beats the hell out of anyone who gets in his way and sleeps with all the chicks (all colors of course but white ones are the most alarming in a literary perspective because they have been put on a pedestal). Afrodisiac encompasses these elements as does the recent Black Dynamite movie and Afro Samurai. The fact that these types of movies or books are arriving again are not a surprise to me being a citizen in a country that has a black president. Feelings of race pride are stirring; confidence is building in a black community that quite frankly had become accustomed to working for the company but never in a million years dreaming of being the CEO. These are the same feelings that produced the spate of movies that some call blaxploitation and others call black power cinema. Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Jim Kelly are the holy trinity of black power cinema...Richard Roundtree and Ron Oneal are the pope and archbishop of black manhood and mystery in the seventies. There is a weird super-hero wish fulfillment going on when you watch Shaft...and this is a universal wish fulfillment obviously as evidenced by the three projects I just referenced (Afrodisiac I believe is produced by a white creator, Black Dynamite by black creators, and Afro Samurai by a Japanese artist!) So I say all of this to demonstrate that all of these ideas or notions of the Uber-Buck have been transmitted down through the agents of cinema and publishing and are culminating in a cultural boiling pot of frustration that is our present society. Writers like myself who were born in the late sixties, early seventies who just caught the edge of the Black Male Power Fantasy (however taboo it may have been at the time, "it" did exist and still does) have channeled the residue of that exposure into a renaissance of the black hero. George Lucas has said many times that he was influenced by Flash Gordon and Joseph S. Campbell to create Star Wars. I bought the book "Hero with a thousand Faces" and had a hell of a time understanding any of it. But one concept struck me hard in the dome that I think is a brilliant assessment of human beings and our storytelling culture: A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.^[2].

This idea that our stories of heroes follow paradigms deeply embedded in our human psyche is apparent in everything we read and aspire to be but in terms of black literature, there seems to be very little investigation into the nature of the black hero, male or female. So this blog is the start of that investigation. Whereas I was first discouraged by the appearance of something that seemed to "steal" my thunder so to speak in theme and presentation, I now have come to realize there is room in our human experience for more than one myth; more than one hero or heroine. It's all in how you tell the story...because there ain't nothin new under the sun.

Is Lucius Hammer the Black Superman?

2010-02-05T16:31:00.000-08:00

I recently sent a book out to a paying customer who in turn sent me a semi-negative review. I have learned to take these amateur reviews with a grain of salt. But something this guy said recently struck me as odd and contradictory, for a comic book fan. The first thing he said was that "the reason why a lot of people hate Superman is because he is to pure." This made me laugh as a true comic book aficionado and a student of the superhero. Superman is the mold from which all have been cast. And while I realize over the years people have chosen to hide behind this favorite weakness of comics' greatest character..."He's too powerful...he's too virtuous...he should be grittier, more human...like a Marvel hero! I can't relate to Superman...he's not like me. He's not supposed to be like you dummy. That's the point. He's a standard. The bar. He's the best and he's meant to be more than even the greatest of us. That's part of Superman's appeal. The reason I'm breaking down the dynamics of Superman theory is because this fan said that Lucius came off as a Black Superman. He also implied that Lucius wasn't as interesting as he could have been because he had good morals and a very hefty cache of superpowers. See this fan is looking for angst and nuance; a character with weaknesses...maybe a troubled love life...family issues...acne...etc...you know...the Marvel Formula created and patented by the Godfather of Comics, Stan Lee. I can certainly dig the Marvel Hero "Angst". It's the stuff of my childhood. I love Stan Lee and his many creations...but my job as a writer is to go beyond what has already been done and try my luck and imagination at creating that new "funk". Lucius Hammer is certainly that new "funk" but I was flattered at the Superman comparison because Superman is the character every comic book hero has to answer to upon entering the literary pantheon of the superheroic. Lucius Hammer is not going to be a "dark" character. I grew up in the seventies and eighties and read comics in both decades voraciously. I devoured Roy Thomas' Avengers Skrull Invasion Masterpiece, I thrilled to the reprints of Origins Of Marvel Comics and Son of Origins, I was floored by Crisis on Infinite Earths and Watchmen, and Dark Knight kicked me in the brain just as I was entering into my freshman year in college. I know why comics went down the dark path and now I am going to do my part...at least with this book, to bring back the fun. Lucius Hammer is going to be a book that can be read by an eight year old or a thirty-eight year old. He's a good dude with good intentions. Now of course he's going to face obstacles, but like Superman, what are those obstacles and how do they propose to stop a man who is damn near invincible? What cracks me up about the whole "Superman is too powerful" shtick is that these same people love Batman in his recent incarnation and somehow writers of recent vintage have turned him into this invincible being who can go toe to toe in a fist fight with Darkseid! Really? Superman is that dude we all wanted to be at some point in our childhood ( ladies.. the same is true for Wonder Woman) because he doesn't lie...he doesn't give in to temptation..he stays the course no matter what happens and he's true to a planet that's not even his native world. He's a hero...and to me love him or hate him...he is psychologically the the hero all the others are trying to be. Lucius Hammer is very different from Superman in terms of how he is received by the public and some of the choices he makes as a superhero but he's got the same moral code. We all have become fascinated with "dark heroes"...time for some light!

Black Comic Book Fans...Do they Exist?

2010-01-15T04:08:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the unexplored country. Black Superheroes. My chosen quest. The impossible dream. If you have been reading my blog you will soon come to understand that this is an obsession of mine. I will not rest until this conundrum is resolved, at least in my mind. I've spoken already at great length about the paucity of minority heroes and the non-existence of an ongoing initiative to further integrate comics. My logical conclusion is that most of the companies I rely on for my comic book fix are predominantly (I should overwhelmingly) run by Caucasians. And I have no problem whatsoever with that. I love Caucasians. I am married to one. I love white superheroes. I don't go to the comic book store and say..."Dude...I can't buy this book any more. Spider-Man is white!" My biggest issue forever has been simply that I would also like to see or fantasize that there are also black superheroes. Because hey...I'm black. An interesting parallel as I'm making my case here is Marshall Mathers or the stunning white rapper from Eight Mile otherwise known as Eminem. Before Slim Shady erupted into the almost exclusively black world of hip hop music, I am sure white fans enjoyed rap music well enough. But when Eminem snatched the mic and ripped the industry with what can only be recognized by true heads and casual observers as a lyrical second coming (Preceded by the dearly departed Christopher Wallace and Tupac Shakur...RIP bruthas!!!) this had a profound effect on a new generation of white consumers who felt they now actually had a stake in the rap game. They were now represented by someone who looked like them yet could do all the things that the most exalted of black hip hop technicians and lyricists were capable of doing. This is huge for the same reason professional sports and all merchandising connected to it makes trillions of dollars every year. People want to be represented. People want to see themselves or be connected to something that is exciting; successful...attractive. Now, as a black man...I can definitely say that I was a big supporter and admirer of President Bill Clinton. I can even remember telling someone that Bill Clinton was the first black President because he so effortlessly identified with the black community. But listen to me when I say this...there ain't nothing in the world that trumps the feeling of having Barrack Obama in the White House. Why you say? Because of the primal sense of connectivity. President Obama in some genetic/visual/spiritual way represents something that was uploaded into my psyche the minute I was born black and that allows me to relate to him and simultaneously feel great pride and satisfaction because of his accomplishments. This kinship, this race pride is not prejudicial...it's just an incredible sense of connection and a vicarious emotional lift when you walk out the door every morning and the world attempts to tear you down. It's why we root for certain teams. It's why we read certain authors and go to the same restaurant or bar...we feel that link...that comfort zone...that pride. Included in this observation is also the notion of entertainment. Living the harsh lives that we do, the human soul seeks relief from the constant uncertainty of the material sphere we inhabit. Entertainment provides release. After much psychobabble I can finally begin to make my point. The reason I am so determined to see Black Superheroes flourish is because of that need to feel a kinship...to have a team or individual I feel that in some way is connected to me. Now there is a business side to this emotion. If I feel this way, I am 100% positive that there is a huge consumer segment of folks out there who are having the same thoughts and feelings. Going back to the example of hip hop. This is an art form that emerged from the collective, ragged psyche of the American Slave in the humid, torturous cotton fields of the South...it evolved into negro spirituals, morphed into the blues, split in half to create jazz and rock n roll...and it's latest incarnation...Hip Hop. I make this point to demonstrate the emotions, the genetic memory, and the historic gyrations of a culture, a thought pattern that has changed the face of the world and our global culture. Black people incorporate all of this into their arts. I would hate to think where we would be in entertainment, music, dance, sports, science, writing and any number of components that define civilization without the contributions of my race. So I must ask the question of my peers...why aren't we creating quality, black comic books for ourselves and others outside of our race? And why on the rare occasion that someone does provide a product that you have been clamoring for...something that represents you and where you come from.. don't you support it with your dollar? I am forced to ponder the question...Do black comic book fans really exist? And if so...what do they want? The Black Comic Book Renaissance should have happened years ago, but for some reason in this particular industry...artists, writers, publishers are curiously mute when it comes to making a black character with staying power. To all you black comic professionals out there...I just let the cat out of the bag. This is something that we must address if we want to be a part of the comic book industry and make some real change.

Before I self destruct and Tiger Woods

2009-12-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

Hey Hey...gotcha! This blog is about ideas, comic books, pop culture and my superhero...Lucius Hammer. This particular edition is going to be a little bit different, this time around I am going to play the part of culture critic. I am going to spit on some subjects that have just captured my imagination and that of the media's this past week. The first thing that I want to get off my chest is that Fifty Cent, the garrulous, lisping gangsta rap heir apparent from NYC, has returned to fighting form and has released a cd worthy of your money. Before I Self Destruct is not only a great title for his latest studio effort, but it comes packed to gills with satisfactory, hard core gangster beats and nimble lyrics that will cause any self respecting b-boy's blood pressure to rise. Simply put, if you don't like Fiddy's latest cd...you don't have an appreciation for hip hop's most precious and basic element...the art of bragging and boasting. Now don't get me wrong, Fifty carries on endlessly about his inexhaustible sexual prowess, his skill with a firearm and his tendency to not get along with most of the people in his so-called...G-unit, but if we take it for what it is...an album filled with clever wordplay and tantalizing beats...it satisfied that hankering I had for a solid dose of gangster rap. Nowadays when you cut on the radio all you hear is Lil Wayne, Jay Z or Kanye. Not hating on any of those dudes...but none of them are as convincing to me in that gangster role as Fifty. I can only imagine why he entitled the album Before I Self Destruct. My thoughts are that as a self made millionaire and black man, Fifty knows that his breakdown...his dramatic fall from grace (ala Ja Rule) is right around the corner. Hopefully he is smarter than that...but I believe when Henry Kissinger once said, "Power is the greatest aphrodisiac." he wasn't playing. Now Tiger Woods would appear to be the opposite side of Fifty Cent's coin (that was a little clever wordplay on my part!), he doesn't curse...he doesn't claim to shoot people...and he certainly doesn't sell drugs. Tiger is the model black man. Oh yes, I know technically he's mixed but if he had retaliated last week when he was supposedly attacked by his bikini model wife he would have been called all types of niggas! I found this ironic that Fifty released this album coinciding with Tiger's impromptu media circus because either way you look at it...this is Tiger Woods self destructing. Fame and power has given Tiger the carte blanche to go out and get him some strange. I believe that he probably resisted this call to arms many different times in his ascent to global stardom but the power is intoxicating. Once you realize that you can swing a metal club, hit a white ball, and get paid goo gobs of money you start to "smell yourself" as we like to say in the black community. In other words you begin to think your ca ca doesn't stink, and of course we know that is not the case. But some folks have become so vain that they let their abilities and social status confuse them. I believe Tiger suffered from Michael Jackson Syndrome. His parents said "take these clubs and practice till the cows come home"...you don't need to party, you don't need to play any other sports, quit looking at them little girls cause all they want is one thing, etc etc. Tiger then went to college with this killer mind set that he was going to conquer the world and be the greatest bi-racial golf pro of all time. He was a nerd. And then he conquered the world. And now all of a sudden...he's the man. This is not an excuse...this is just the truth. If somebody tells you "you're the man" on constant loop you start to believe it. On Fifty's new album he waxes poetic about a girl he used to know who didn't appreciate him until he was paid...the name of the track is "I got Swag". Swagger obviously is a word to describe a man's confident gait, and it is a ghetto buzzword. Pretty soon you will hear Jay Leno talking about he's got swag...but it just struck me this week that the things I see black men go through in the spotlight is what my comic book Lucius Hammer is about. Lucius is an icon in my story and he has a long history that affords his admirers and critics alike a wealth of material to draw from when making a case for or against him. He has done many good things in his life; but he has also made irresponsible comments, had improper relations with women and been involved with odd social movements that have made folks question his intentions as an American. I hope to give Lucius a realistic feel in this regard as a near impossible to kill black man with an attitude and superpowers in a country that's scared half to death of him. Hopefully when all is said and done I can formulate a cogent statement about the precarious position of the African American Male and have it make some sense to myself and others. The question is do black men have a self destruct mechanism or is it the society we live in. Probably a combination of both but that's a much deeper conversation for another time.

Rough Script for Harlem Shadow

2009-11-26T18:31:00.000-08:00

The harlem shadow

Oh Harlem.

Sweet and scintillating, black pearl in the white city.

Our refuge from the terrors of the deep,dark south…

I have become taken with you.

Mystified. Infatuated. Seduced.

To you, I swear eternal love.

And I vow to protect you and your citizens from injustice

And the evil that men do…for I am your shadow.

When night falls, I will be there to watch over you and guide your way.

Action * Soul * Mystery

Two love birds make there way home from a speakeasy.

Their clothing, although trendy and fashionable, is tainted with sweat and alcohol.

The dame has got the looks a guy would kill for. This fella is in seventh heaven for sure.

Her name is Sirena and she’s a gun moll. He’s a reporter for the Sentinel…forgot his name. It’s not relevant at this juncture.

I am the Harlem Shadow, and as I watch my city squirm and writhe throughout the night…these two catch my eye.

This guy is out of his league. She’s spoken for…see? Most underworld figures know that Sirena is Boss Man’s main squeeze.

Who’s Boss Man, you say? Don’t worry about it. He’s a story for another time. Let’s just say he would not appreciate all the public affection his paramour is showing for this square writer from the local rag.

I wait perched in the shadows like a human sized raven…they pass beneath not ever realizing I’m there. This is good. I don’t want to be seen until the last possible moment.

What’s Sirena’s angle? Does the reporter know that she’s nothing but trouble or is he intoxicated and just not care?

“ Nigel…kiss me!” Sirena moans.

“You don’t have to ask me twice, sweetheart.” Nigel pulls her aggressively towards him and plants a rough yet passionate kiss on her full, crimson lips.

Harlem Shadow continues to listen, his tie blowing soundlessly in the wind.

Sirena pulls away for breath…but she still looks delighted like a kid in an amusement park. Feeding the mark’s ego. Fattening him up for the kill.

“What do you say we take this back to my place?” Nigel says with reckless abandon.

Sirena licks her lips slowly…enticingly. Hiking her skirt ever so subtly.

Sirena: No. I can’t wait for that. I want you now.

And then…Nigel allows himself to be lead into a narrow alleyway…by the hand like a child…hypnotized by the sight of a little leg. Plenty of fire escapes though…that will work to my advantage.

Nigel: Sweet Mary mother of Jesus.

Sirena raises her skirt again flashing some dainty camisole that would make most men buckle…but I see for the first time a small gun holster on her saffron thigh. Her intent is clear.

Nigel clumsily allows himself to be wooed by the promise of her mystery and sex appeal. He’s a writer for Harlem’s top newspaper, he knows the deal with this broad…or he should. But like all men, once he starts thinking with the wrong head…he’s caught with his pants down.

Sirena concludes her act by revealing her effeminate yet deadly 38 caliber.

Sirena: Slow down, big boy. You are kind of cute and I don’t want to have to spill your good brains all over the street…it’s been a lot of fun tonight…you and me. But I’ve got business to attend to. Who’s your informant for the stories you’ve been writing about the Harlem Underworld?

Nigel goes limp in more ways than one. He’s been had. He can finally see through the haze. I pull both of my rapid fire revolvers, three meatheads are circling the building headed for the alley. They’ve got rods too. This could get bloody.

Nigel: Awwww. You bitch? I know you’re not that stupid. You kill me and this town goes up in flames. And you and Mister Boss Man…up the river for at least twenty. So pull the trigger…I dare ya? Harlem needs some excitement anyway and if I gotta go I’d rather go out with a bang. But there’s no way in hell I’m giving up my informant.

Sirena smiles and puts the cold steel against the stalwart reporter’s forehead, he loses some of his bravado when he glimpses the twinkle of insanity in her eyes.

Sirena: I’ve put better men in their graves and won’t hesitate after I ask you the second time. Who’s been giving you the dish, Nigel?!

I begin my descent. My suit coat flapping and billowing, I feel powerful and primal…a night creature in pursuit of the oblivious prey. The trio of thugs have arrived in the alley…Nigel still at gunpoint.

Nigel: Squeeze off, ya lousy dame or let me go. Time is wasting. You’re boring me.

One of the three guys is an oversized lummox. His fists are the size of a Christmas Ham but his brain is probably pea sized. I alight quietly on a fire escape ladder just above the fray.

Sirena: Very well then. Let me introduce you to your pall bearers then. The big guy is named Muscle. He’s going to smash your face into hamburger and then break your legs. The handsome one in the middle is Pretty Boy…he’s a doctor of sorts…the kind that specializes in torture. Last but not least…the quiet one, Gravedigger. He’ll be handling your final arrangements. We coulda been friends, Nigel. It’s a shame. I actually liked you.

Sirena fixes her hair and conceals her weapon. A wolf dressed in an angel’s clothing.

She walks off into the night, leaving Nigel with his pants down and in the company of the three hoodlums.

Sirena: Take it from here fellas. I gotta go freshen up for Boss Man.

Muscle smirks, his humor being that of maybe a ten year old, the thought of beating a man in his underwear to a bloody pulp probably amuses him.

Muscle: So you think you’re a tough guy…is that it?

I speak.

HS: Gentlemen. Back away from the square with his pants down and you’ll have no trouble with me…but if any of you so much as lay a hand on him there will be severe repercussions.

The Muscle looks up at me…I can see fear and anger in his beady eyes.

Muscle: Who is this guy? Hey…what are you doing here? Can’t you see we’re conducting business? Pretty Boy…light him up…no witnesses.

The so-called Pretty Boy swings around in my direction with a tommy gun and the rata-tat-tat sound punctuates the night. I leap towards him, taking on a shower of bullets, some of them missing, others shredding my fine suit, but none of them hitting their mark.

When I land, I use a combination of American Boxing Techniques and Judo. I kick Pretty Boy with such force in his chest that he drops his smoking gun and gasps for breath on top of a fetid heap of garbage.

I pounce on him, reverting to street fighting style, my gloved fists are a blur as I deliver a flurry of solid punches to his face and stomach. He’s done for the night.

I turn and Gravedigger has not moved an inch…he stands just out of the reach of the street light…inert…waiting to complete his task. Muscle has Nigel in a chokehold, but he’s terrified. I can smell his fear. His indecision.

Muscle: Wha…What are you? We didn’t do anything to you!

I stand triumphantly over the wilted body of Pretty Boy…I pull my guns out again. One pointed at Gravedigger the other at Muscle.

HS: I am justice dressed in black. You can call me a Prince of Shadows. The patron saint of negroes. I’ll be the bane of the underworld. I will not sleep until Harlem sleeps. You got that? Now let Nigel go. Run and tell your boss the night belongs to me!

Muscle’s childlike face quivers, he pushes Nigel forward, with his rod drawn…pointed at me in a purely defensive manner. He begins to run from the alley but not before he says… “This is war, Mr. Harlem Shadow. Boss Man aint scared of you…he ain’t scared of anybody.”

I look back to see if Gravedigger has anything to say but he’s mysteriously vanished.

It’s just me and the reporter named Nigel.

HS: What’s your last name?

Nigel: Pierce. Its Nigel Pierce. Lead reporter for the Harlem Sentinel. That was amazing. I…thank you. I thought I was a dead man.

I looked deeply into his eyes. My instincts tell me he’s got what it takes. I decide at that moment he will be my partner.

HS: You are a dead man if you continue to let people like this run Harlem. That’s why I’m here. I’m going to take down the Underworld. Make this a safe neighborhood for honest Americans. I need your help. Pull up your pants.

Nigel hastily reaches for his pants…he’s in a state of shock.

Nigel: Why sure…I’ll help in anyway possible.

HS: I need you to continue writing the stories about the crime lords of Harlem. I also need you to report about me. I want you to paint a picture of me that’s frightening, intimidating…I want people to be unsure as to whether I am the hero or the villain.

Nigel wrinkles his brow at this statement. Our first argument.

Nigel: I can do that. But are you sure that’s what you want? What do you have some kinda death wish or something? Harlem needs a hero. Black folks need a hero. You never see those fancy white capes fly through our neighborhoods…and why should they if we’re not ambitious enough to have our own masked vigilantes. I say it’s about time and I say let everyone know you’re a good guy!

HS: Listen to me. I’ve thought this out many times before putting on these duds tonight…trust me. Do what I ask you to do. In return I will protect you from harm and give you the exclusive stories for the paper regarding my exploits and investigations. Do we have a deal?

We shook hands. It was 1930. The next two years would be the wildest years of our lives. Nigel and I would become great friends and men of distinction in the history of Harlem. That night was when the magic began.

I ran off into the shadows…leaping, swinging, climbing up towards the rooftops.

I looked back down and Nigel was still standing there like a bewildered kid.

Nigel: What about this guy?

HS: Let him sleep it off. You never know…tomorrow he may be a changed man.

Nigel: What should I call you…I mean…in the paper? You got a name?

I looked back down at him…for the first time smiling…letting him know that I did have a sense of humor. I was human after all.

HS: You’re the writer…come up with something clever.

He stood there for a few more seconds…but I had to go…I had to work the next day and it was already 3am. In my hasty flight I thought I heard him say… “ The Harlem Shadow.”

Perfect.

I FOUND THE SPIRIT!

2009-11-17T20:10:00.000-08:00

In my quest to design a cohesive, common sense, fictional universe of black superheroes, I decided to begin with the Golden Age. I thought this would be very interesting and innovative seeing as how very few black heroes were originated during this time period. The first character that I think of when I recall this era would be the Shadow. The Shadow is one of the baddest, grim and gritty pulp heroes ever invented. I was introduced to him as a young chap by my grandfather who had located the old radio shows on some obscure jazz station late on Saturday nights. These radio broadcasts were entertaining, action packed and terrifying! The Shadow was instantly emblazoned into my imagination and gave me a greater appreciation of the pulp dna that birthed our beloved superheroes. Once I learned that the Shadow's creation had predated Batman, I knew there was an inspiration there. Interestingly enough, the same grandfather I spoke of before purchased me a book called The Great Comic Book Heroes and it serves as my holy tome of comic book artifacts. This was the book that introduced me to the origins of each one of the classic DC Heroes like Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern and so on. But the book also included another pulp-noirish character called the Spirit and today in this blog...I want to talk about the Spirit. When I was younger, The Spirit, I must admit...did not appeal to me. I liked his cool white zoot suit, his slanted brim, and of course the domino mask, but his adventures weren't as outlandish as the other books I was into. He didn't fight some far away galactic menace, didn't battle villains in some special exo-skeleton, or utter any magic words so I decided he was not for me and proceeded to ignore him for 36 years. My insistence on building a universe from the ground up involved looking at the existing templates for characters that have been around for years and using them to fashion something new. I communicated to Christian (my artiste) that I would like to introduce a character in the Lucius Hammer book who called himself, The Harlem Shadow, and he would be the first official black superhero/vigilante in my fledgling world I was creating. When describing the feel of this character, I specifically said I wanted him to infuse the Harlem Shadow with a Will "Eisneresque" swagger. Essentially take The Shadow and The Spirit and create an amalgam. Drop that amalgam in the dead center of the Harlem Renaissance with a bunch of jazz musicians, torch light singers, gangsters, Irish Police and militant writers/poets and we got something. I , being the thorough researcher, felt compelled to dig into my Great Comic Book Superheroes edition, and finally read that boring Spirit story that was in the back of the book that I never had any real interest in. The only thing that ever moved me about the Spirit was his style and Will Eisner's obvious flair for visual storytelling. Well. I read the story. It took place in an exotic locale, was beautifully illustrated and even the words were positioned with visual aplomb. Cinematic. Robust. Slightly adult and filled with eye-wink innuendo. I found myself entertained. Could it be that for years I had ignored The Spirit because I had to grow up to appreciate the art of the graphic novella aka the comic book? Yes...I believe so and a wonderful awakening it has been for me to discover the genius of Will Eisner at this age of 42. Never mind the recent debacle that was the Spirit movie that Frank Miller refracted through his Sin City lens (although in my mad rush to consume everything having to do with the Spirit, I have to say that it wasn't that bad. Samuel L Jackson was slightly annoying though.), The Spirit is instantly one of my favorite comics and I will tell you why. The Spirit is entertaining. Never have I been so captivated by small, but rich stories that pull you into the Spirit's main stomping grounds...his precious Central City. Characters abound and the same goes for atmosphere...when you read these stories you will feel as if you are a denizen of the urban jungle that The Spirit calls his home. You become interested in the dozens of fascinating character portraits and story arcs that he seamlessly stitches together in between the heroic exploits of our masked protagonist. The artwork is a magnificent 2D canvas which is so wonderfully imagined it triumphantly comes across as a tangible 3D construct thrilling you with vibrant colors and inks, powerful anatomy and a slick animated/illustrated style. I really like these comics! Not because some hip comic shop owner told me that Eisner rocks or because Frank Miller impaled himself in front of millions on Christmas Day to see this character on the big screen. I like it for the most important reason there is...because it's good. I will undoubtedly be a better writer because of Eisner and his efforts. Anybody out there who considers themselves a comic fan or an aspiring writer or artist in the medium needs to get their hands on The Spirit and study it. Don't copy it...get inspired by it.

Black Superhero Day

2009-11-06T10:28:00.001-08:00

I recently read somewhere that Joe Quesada, head honcho of Marvel Comics, believes that Blade works as a movie but not necessarily as a comic book. This has prompted me to start a grass roots movement called Black Superhero Day. The truth is that I think Quesada and others like him are competent keepers of the flame, but in the end, they don't have a clue on how they should market their black superheroes. The statement about Blade is absolutely ridiculous, but it suggests that there's more to the failure of black superheroes in the mainstream marketplace than meets the eye. The notion that Blade is more entertaining on the big screen than on Eon board is problematic for me on many levels. I won't go over those levels in this forum because that's counterproductive and this is about solutions. My plan is to coordinate a day of recognition for Black Superheroes in which companies big and small will utilize their best talent to pay homage to their most popular and obscure characters of color. Now in order for this to work across the board, all companies must enlist their very biggest guns to add to the seriousness of the event. For instance, how cool would it be if Alex Ross did a group poster depicting all of Marvel's black superheroes? Or if Joe Madureira agreed to draw a giant size Black Panther written by Christopher Priest or Geoff Johns. These are the kinds of ideas that will attract consumers to the racks and cause them to purchase black superhero content. Having a black superhero day would obviously tie in well with Black History Month, so for the larger companies it would demonstrate your efforts to diversify your product even though it would really be for just that month. The take away from Black Superhero Day is 1) you will have an event that ties in with a national initiative 2) existing fans will get an opportunity to see top notch talent writing and illustrating these iconic characters who have never had the luxury of an A list artist or writer 3) you also run the risk of discovering a breakout success for a character who was previously considered wood for the fire. It is in my opinion that Black Superhero Day be established in 2010 and serve as a testing ground for titles like Blade or indie black superhero efforts that may go unnoticed. Comic book shops owners are also a necessary part of this equation. The shops are often the point of dissemenation of pop culture information that keeps the nerd universe a cohesive amalgam, if the shop owners support this effort much like Free Comic Book Day in May then it has a great chance of surviving and making an impact. Being the writer and creator of my own black superhero, I obviously have a stake in this. I want my book to sell and get as much exposure as possible. But my other agenda is to wake some of these companies up who aren't putting the proper effort into some of their properties. I want them to know if they are not willing to give the consumer the stories and art we've been looking for then we'll have to resort to other outlets. If those outlets don't exist then they will be created. When they are finally available to the masses, someone in marketing is going to notice and then finally you're going to get the picture. Don't wait for this to happen! Utilize your vast archive of black characters and respect them. There are many fans chomping at the bit to see characters of color, satisfy the market and provide the product. So it's official, Black Superhero Day is 2/1/10. Joe Quesada, if you have any questions about how to make Blade a successful comic book franchise, hit me up at Ravenhammercomics.com. For all the rest of you, get your best stories and art together for Black Superhero Day and let's get ready to make a difference!
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The Cincinnati Comic and Anime Convention

2009-11-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

For all you comic book fans in Cincinnati and the surrounding tri-state area, come see Ravenhammer Comics @ the Cincinnati Comic and Anime Convention on November 7th and the 8th at the Radisson Hotel on the Cincinnati Riverfront. 668 W Fifth St Covington KY 41011 Exit 192 Off I-75/71. Admission is only 5.00. Come purchase the new color edition of Lucius Hammer and the black and white sketch volume! Also come hang out with Lucius Hammer creator BRIAN WILLIAMS and get the scoop on where Ravenhammer Comics are headed! Get LUCIUS HAMMER ISSUE ONE FULL COLOR!
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First Issue Release Party Highlights

2009-11-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

The party went down better than anticipated. Lucius Hammer got the proper launch he deserves and folks had fun! The new book or the colored version is stupendous! Between my man Travis Reitman's super tight and slick inks and then Christian's adept skills at photoshop you get almost a 3D trip into Lucius' world! There are still some things that Christian, as my artist, omitted from the script because of the tight deadline that I am uncomfortable with. I had written an entire 2 pg sequence that would have shown Lucius' super powered exploits as a child in rustic Possum Bend, but due to time and my artist's regular job, this was scrapped. There was also a very important scene that rebuilds the history of the black superhero by introducing the different characters from The Harlem Knights, a distinguished group of colored capes from the thirties and forties. This too was tossed on the cutting room floor by my artist, once again in the interest of time. It might sound like I'm throwing my partner under the bus, but I'm not. I'm just sharing with you readers the depth of the world I'm creating so that when someone else comes along who has the time to draw these different things I've described, you will know that I wrote it first we just didn't have the time to include it. Now I understand why George Lucas remakes his Star Wars movies like every ten years. Getting back to the wonderful evening that was October 24 th 2009, Everett Cork was the MC of the event and to a captivated audience of about seventy people, he asked basic questions about Lucius Hammer and introduced myself and Christian to the public at large. Let me not forget to mention the fortuitous placement of myself on a local radio station morning show, WLW with Jim Scott, who also interviewed me the day before the book signing and that was arranged at the last minute by a new friend of Ravenhammer Comics named Shelly Conley. The Old Saloon is a comfy little watering hole that my friends and I have frequented for the last three or four years but you would have thought it was the location of a friggin Hollywood premiere; I had two seven foot banners...one with the Lucius Hammer comic book cover and the other one with our badass Ravenhammer logo. I could tell from the looks on the faces of everyone in the crowd that they were sufficiently blown away with this spectacle. At one point my grandmother comes walking into the bar with a fur coat on and a hush fell over the crowd, that's when I started to feel like a serious rock star. The Old Saloon specializes in beer, liquor, and bar food. It's not a 5 star dining experience but they serve these delicious grilled wings, five dollar pizzas, and a sandwich called the Lefty's Special( ham on top of a steak hoagie, mmm good!)...it's safe to say everybody ate and drank well. We sold a healthy amount of comic books and everybody seemed to be crazy about Lucius. We also debuted the official Lucius Hammer soundtrack composed by Tony Kelsey and Jeff Popplewell. The first track to this sonic tribute to Lucius is a lush rhythm and blues anthem evoking the seventies while simutaneously capturing the modern thrust of our main character's present story arc. The night of friends, family,and fans came to an end at about 3am...we were kindly told that we didn't have to go home but we had to get the hell up out of there. All in all I am a proud father, Lucius Hammer is a strong, masculine child who has tremendous potential, but like with any responsible parent it is up to me to make the right decisions about his future so he grows up to be a productive intellectual property. Stay tuned, my next post will be more of an exercise in prose writing concerning the secret life of black superheroes.
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Imagination Envy (Or my man crush on Jack Kirby)

2009-10-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

I must say...I have a pretty good imagination. My idea generator is sleek, it's fast and all the ladies love it. My mind is coursing with comic book concepts, feature film pitches and best sellers. There are only a few people that make me say...damn, why didn't I think of that. One of course is Alan Moore. After reading works like Watchmen...his alarming reboot of Swamp Thing and the amazingly surreal and comedic Top Ten...I found myself thinking, " Wow! I never thought of comics like this before!". For me, Alan Moore has expanded the medium of comics because he is an artist; a thinker who uses the platform of scripts and panels as a portal into his world of ideas. And he's never afraid to adapt those sophmoric superheroes or those mythological snippets from his childhood into engaging stories that celebrate the adult and child in all of us. Then there's Grant Morrison. His recent take on Superman is perhaps the best representation of my favorite comic book ever. If you haven't read All Star Superman then go out to your local comic shop and demand your copy. It truly does not get any better than this. Grant Morrison is good at thinking outside the box when it comes to reinventing classic concepts but he also knows how to drill down on that special ingredient or nuance that made the character special in the first place. Last but not least, there's Warren Ellis who purges his imagination and thoughts on a monthly basis through about 7 or 8 different titles that I never miss picking up. He is a violent, twisted, intelligent mess of a man who must have some very deep, dark issues he's dealing with, but his internal conflict makes for brilliant social commentary, ridiculously entertaining comics that will be mined for ideas later by filmmakers and other comic writers alike, and his brain seems to be packed with peculiar notions. Read No Hero, Ignition City, Gravel and Black Summer. These three men give me nightmares as a writer; they are the idols that I aspire to be like. They make me think. They make me say "wow". But there was another creator before they all came along and he had more to do with the type of writers they are and the kind I am becoming...he was the king. He was Kirby.

Jack Kirby is my favorite comic artist of all time. He was also the most dynamic idea man that ever existed. His mind was prolific and creative simultaneously. He helped midwife comicdom's greatest patriotic hero into existence; He almost singlehandedly created the Marvel Universe and then migrated to DC Comics and was the architect of the funkiest, most cosmically grand space opera of heroes and heroines known to real comic book fans as Kirby's Fourth World. And that was just his work in comics. But I'm not writing this blog to give you a retrospective on the career of a comic titan fanboys righteously hail "The King". I'm writing this to express why I love Jack Kirby. I love Jack Kirby because I love comics. Because he loved comics. There was nothing greater than my Dad bringing home a bag full of colorful comics and finding that Kirby had illustrated some of them. The Fantastic Four, Thor, Captain America, Nick Fury. You name it. He drew them all and they damn near exploded out of the comic book into your face. He held nothing back when he drew those characters. Jack Kirby was the equivalent of Saturday morning to me. What I mean by that is, every time my eyes had the opportunity to behold his masterful pencils, I got that giddy feeling you used to get when you were a kid...everyone is asleep in the house and it's early Saturday morning...you wake up in your pajamas and sprint to the t.v to watch six or seven wonderful shows that will shape and mold your childhood. That's what Kirby art was like for me. His characters screamed and roared. They traveled through space and time in mind bending apparatuses such as The Boom Tube or The Fantasticar. He reinterpreted Norse mythology for the comics and created a cosmic saga that could convince any kid to go nuts over ancient Norwegian legends. The cherry on top was the fact that he always tried to incorporate black characters. He created the Black Panther, to me one of the coolest and most tragically underused and misunderstood characters of all time. In his offbeat and somewhat uneven, but absolutely stunning nonetheless, New Gods saga...he introduced DC Comics first black character...The Black Racer. He was acutely aware of the changing shape and dimension of our country and world. He knew heroes came in all colors and he was not afraid to venture into the unknown and let his imagination build new worlds. Worlds that make us feel like that little kid sitting on the couch with the remote...watching cartoons. I want to dream like Jack Kirby did. So Hail to King Kirby. We can only hope he's watching and guiding our hands.

Why I love (hate) Luke Cage...

2009-09-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

This is a very difficult essay to write because it involves one of the most pivotal literary characters in my evolution as a writer. For those of you who are new to the comic book fold, Luke Cage aka Power Man was one of Marvel Comics' first African American heroes and has been a long standing inspiration for me. Google him, read the black and white Marvel Essentials that you should be able to procure at any decent comic book store and you may begin to understand my affection for the character. As I previously stated in the letter column of Lucius Hammer Rough Cut #0, when I was about eight years old and I first laid eyes on Luke Cage, I was mesmerized. I did not think it was physically possible for a black superhero to exist. Too many years being conditioned to look at the white American, square jawed males as the hero in pulp serials, Superman Comics and Popeye cartoons I guess. But it was just something I never considered. Then something crazy happened. The Seventies. Black is Beautiful. Sly and The Family Stone. Gordon Parks and Gordon Parks Jr. Shaft and Superfly. Of course I was but a child at the time but what happened was companies began to recognize the economic potential of creating products for a burgeoning national black community who were benefiting from the passing of the Civil Rights legislation. Black folks had money to spend and were looking for products that catered to their needs and reflected their culture. This kicked off a whole new era in film and books called blaxploitation. Now without getting to deep into the origins and effects of blaxploitation, I will just say that somebody at Marvel Comics said...look, Shaft and Superfly are making a ton of money at the Movie Theatres...let's create a superhero with the same kind of swagger and see what we come up with. It must have been as simple as that. At the time Marvel was banging out an entire line of horror comics because of the extreme popularity of monster movies at that time and it would only make sense that they continue following trends and try and replicate the success of black action films with their comics. They did the same thing with karate and kung fu oriented books. Luke Cage, though, was a pretty deep character. On the surface, he's very simple and pays homage to all the worst stereotypes of a black man that could possibly be used; he's a street thug,he's incarcerated, he's not illiterate but spews a mangled patois of English and Seventies street style Ebonics, and instead of a superhero costume...he sports a ghetto fabulous yellow, fly away collar blouse, tight blue pants, with a link chain as a belt. Now there is so much symbolism there that we could literally debate for days, but my point is, at the tender age of eight I was not armed with an intellect or life experience that was strong enough to help me process this complicated image of a black man that was being delivered to me via a comic book. Cage was a hot tempered, often irrational, walking time bomb who peddled his super talents to the highest bidder. Money was the sole focus of his heroic efforts and therefore he was a little less noble than the Bat Mans and Spidermans who did what they did because of their strong morals and sense of justice. Even though these are some downright deplorable attributes for someone who is supposed to be a superhero, old Luke still wound up being an interesting character. In most stories he struggled with accepting money for "doing the right thing" with his super powers and turned down payment in some instances because of this inner conflict. When Blaxploitation movies and culture had run it's course in America, Luke Cage was paired with a martial arts character named Iron Fist and the book was entertaining for awhile in the way grindhouse movies were...it was like the ultimate double feature...jive talking, indestructible black man teams up with philosophical, karate kicking white man in an endless string of seventies style police action dramas. It was cute for awhile and then Luke Cage disappeared into obscurity for a few years. Blaxploitation returned in the form of rap music and Spike Lee movies. America once again becomes hypnotized by black people and our refusal to maintain status quo with anything regarding the arts, fashion or pop culture. Marvel decides to revive Luke Cage by giving him some hip hop luster. This is truly the lowest and silliest incarnation of Cage and the series did not last more than twelve issues...I think, I really don't know because I became quite disenchanted by the second issue. It was whacktacular in the way some of those black comics in the nineties were...you know the ones I'm talking about. The comics that tried to ape all of the styles that hip hop was spawning and stealing punchlines from the latest episode of In Living Color so the dialogue was funky fly fresh. The stuff didn't sell, and if it did the success was short lived because like anything in the black entertainment community, it should continuously evolve and change shape. Black comics simply came to a screeching halt because they were whack...plain and simple. They spoke to no one. There was no clear focus save to give a black dude or chick super powers then watch them dance. Bringing us into the present era which I have dubbed the Menace to Society Age. During this current phase of black superheroes...African Americans are depicted as ultra-violent, low life, street adventurers who turn their guns in all types of unorthodox positions so they might look cool while shooting a super-villain or perhaps paralyzing an innocent bystander for life. If anyone reading my vitriolic tirade doubts me, pick up the series entitled Cage written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Richard Corben. This is an outlandish, perverse, and the most visceral treatment I have ever seen of Luke Cage and it made me physically ill. The comic book itself actually made you feel the disgust and filth that drowns the inhabitants of the inner city; you can smell the urine in the alleyways...you can see the garbage overflowing on the sidewalks and the plumes of cannabis smoke wafting out of a neighborhood bar. This would be great if I was watching Law and Order or CSI...but damn...I'm trying to read a comic book about a superhero!! To further add to my disappointment...Cage is now scripted as a young ghetto enforcer who walks around Harlem, breaking up crackhead basketball games and rousting mush mouth junkies for information and tips. His superhero costume consists of; skull cap, wife beater undershirt, sunglasses, headphones/cd walkman, sagging jeans, and fresh white sneakers. Of course his lips are typically swollen and glossy and his language is a confused jumble of Fifty Cent and Jay-Z rhymes. Imagine the die-hard Luke Cage fan that I am...waiting for respectable writers and artists to bring this much maligned but worthy character screaming into the new millenium only to see that their vision of him was way worse than his original incarnation! What this new vision of Luke Cage inevitably led to was a stint with the Avengers which now has him as their leader. Hey Brian Michael Bendis, good looking out...all the brothers and sisters really dig Luke Cage being the leader of the Avengers and all but next time...give the brother his own costume!!! You got Captain America running around with a shield made out of vibranium...Tony Stark has the most sophisticated suit of armor ever created and Thor wields a mystic hammer...and you mean to tell me the best you can do for Luke Cage is a skully and a wife beater? Sweet Christmas, man. Sweet Christmas.

Setbacks in Lucius Hammerville...

2009-09-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

Last week I campaigned furiously to spread the word about the Lucius Hammer First Issue Release Party. I told everyone. My family, my friends, clients even the horde of facebook friends that see my every move in cyberspace. Things looked even better after I got in touch with an old friend who agreed to be the MC of the event. But the funny thing about setting out on this type of artistic endeavor is that the forces of failure are constantly in pursuit of you. Failure's fetid breath is always present whether in the form of an inexplicable stroke of bad luck or a sudden glitch that destroys the best laid plans. Well...if you've already guessed what I'm trying to say...I'll just come out and say it. The First Issue Release Party on September 11 is cancelled. Not because there won't be a book but because the time frame to get the book finished was too tight for my collaborator, Christian Colbert, to get the book done and really put his best work into it. Perhaps I was a bit too ambitious. After producing the rough cut back in late July, I began engineering this huge party that would serve as the jumping off point for what I consider to be a groundbreaking comic book. But I didn't stop to consider that my artist...my co-creator, puts a lot of work into the pages. Christian not only draws the images you see but he inks them, colors them and then he even makes the book look better with his super slick design sense. This book we're creating is the real thing. This ain't no fly by night operation. In my haste to introduce Lucius Hammer to the world, maybe I got a little ahead of myself. Of course we could have pressed on with September 11 shindig and sold more of the previously solicited rough cuts...but I'm in this thing to entertain people and make an honest dollar doing so. If I don't put my best foot forward every time I try and sell somebody on Lucius Hammer, I am asking to fail and that simply is not going to happen. So as I stuff a nice fat piece of humble pie into my mouth...I will admit that I made much ado about nothing last week. But it's only because I'm dedicated to this character, this story and the crew that's helping me produce the book. By the way, we still intend to have the first issue release party but that date is undetermined as of now. I'll keep you posted. Peace in the Middle East.

Another Review for Brother Lucius....

2009-08-30T03:13:00.000-07:00

What I find most satisfying about this entire process of creating characters and stories that never existed before is the fact that I know what's coming and the readers don't. I get a huge kick out of trying my damnedest every issue to incorporate something that makes the reader slowly utter the word...."wow." In addition to this, I also like the conversation my book is already stimulating amongst readers and reviewers. As I have said before in this blog and will undoubtedly say so again...I believe all creative works should spur us into some form of dialogue. This is a review from another independent critic and I remember my interaction with him quite vividly when he came to my table at Chicago Comic-Con just a few short weeks ago. Apparently he was fond of Luke Cage just as I was back in the day and he sensed the spiritual connection between my character and the Marvel Comics Icon immediately. He asked a lot of detailed questions before buying the book, but eventually his curiosity and hopefully hunger for new characters/new mythologies pulled him in and he made the purchase. Here is what he thought of my first effort :http://bradbellmore.wordpress.com/ I just can't wait to put issue two in this guy's hands, or in the mitts of the other reviewer for that matter. Because they seriously have no idea where I'm headed with this story. And I am fairly certain that they both will be pleasantly surprised. And at the end of the day...that's why I do this.

Lucius Hammer First Issue Release Party

2009-08-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

To all readers of this blog who reside in Cincinnati, Oh or somewhere nearby...on September 11, 2009 I will be celebrating the release of the first full color issue of Lucius Hammer with friends, family and comic fans from the Queen City. I invite all of you who have an interest in Lucius, it should be a pretty cool event. Cold Beers. Hot Wings. Comic Books (in plastic bags so they don't get messed up). What else could you possibly want?!!! Come out on the 11th and...get Hammered.

See below for event details...

Warren Peace Sings the Blues: Wizard Chicago 2009: Stuff what I done bought

2009-08-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Warren Peace Sings the Blues: Wizard Chicago 2009: Stuff what I done bought

This is interesting. Of course I don't expect everyone to dig my book. We all know that's not going to happen, particularly a book that aspires to deliver a commercially successful black comic book superhero. But here's an initial review from a guy that I like and respect. I think his review is a fine example of what black characters are up against. His main reason for not liking my book entirely is the fact that my main character, Lucius Hammer, seems to be to perfect. In one particular passage he asserts that Lucius is super-competent and highly intelligent. Now as the writer and creator of this imaginative character, I am happy that Lucius comes across as being this way but there was nothing specific in my writings that suggested his intellect or his accomplishments`were outside the realm of human possibility given the character's obvious paranormal lifespan. There are a few panels within the book where I hint at Lucius mastering the martial arts, studying different religions and physical disciplines in India, and obtaining a bachelor's degree...but in a medium which has such notable geniuses like Bruce Wayne, Reed Richards and Tony Stark...it shouldn't be too hard to accept the fact that Lucius Hammer is capable of the same lofty accomplishments in his fictional universe. Is it boring that Lucius is so well endowed, not only physically speaking but mentally as well? I don't know. I can't speak for all of you out there but it seems to me there are very few black superheroes who are known for their I.Q scores in the respected, commercial universes such as DC and Marvel. To me, just mentioning the fact that Lucius has a college degree is pretty exciting from a standpoint that it's a subject that usually is avoided with most mainstream superheroes. Does anyone know where Superman got his degree from or Captain America for that matter? In an industry where most of the black heroes are ex-cons or foreign dignitaries that exist outside The Black American Experience...I thought it would be revolutionary for all to see Lucius Hammer successfully using his mind to obtain a degree. Nuff said about that.

Another criticism levied against my twelve page rough cut of the eventual graphic novel, I Hammer, was the fact that Lucius was a pristine character possessing perfect moral judgment.
Once again, I intend for my character to be cut in the classic mold I think all superheroes should be cut from; The boy scout, the seeker of truth, justice, equality, a virtuous, modest yet courageous and confident standard bearer of America's truest and purest qualities. But that doesn't mean he won't have setbacks. Within the first three pages of Lucius' story we find him being incarcerated for his involvement in numbers rackets in Prohibition-Era Illinois. This is clearly a character flaw meant to demonstrate his early poor decision making but the reviewer seemed to miss this. His focus seemed to be trained on the good qualities of Lucius which proved to be either to overwhelmingly pure or just flat out unbelievable. I believe that we all have become victims of what we have read before. Even myself. It has taken me 15 years to write this comic book. I had been brainwashed by almost every comic I have ever read, not to mention the various forms of media I have absorbed since birth, to look at my race a certain way. Growing up as a child in the seventies...there were no black heroes. History books could scarcely recall anything we had done of note save coming here in slave ships and then excelling in sports. Now as a man of 41 years of age...I know that black people have accomplished all sorts of things and instead of worrying about why these things were omitted from my second grade teaching plan back in 1976, I must move on and do something constructive with this knowledge. Now I can believe in a black superhero that has traveled the world like Bruce Wayne and has obtained the advanced degrees like Reed Richards. I can also fantasize about what this black superhero would be like throughout the ages being that he is extremely long lived and the exploits he gets into with other black heroes...the likes we have never seen before in modern, silver or golden age comics. The reviewer made the comment that he thought the well of ideas would run dry pretty quickly with Lucius Hammer and he is certainly entitled to his opinion. I even sent him an e-mail thanking him for the review because as my thirteen year old son had to remind me...any press is good press. But to anyone out there who reads this book, I challenge you to look beyond the "Matrix"...you will be surprised at what you see. Also to those out there who are unsure of introducing to the public or mainstream your Black superhero, your Female superhero, your Mormon superhero...realize that it's an uphill battle but the fight must begin somewhere. It's time to create new heroes, and if you don't create them... Who will?

Action Figures

2009-08-19T18:31:00.000-07:00

I have an action figure currently being molded by a local sculptor. I am tickled pink by this fact and can hardly contain my childlike glee as I think of the possibilities for an actual toyline based on a superhero I created. After having received jpegs from my sculptor of the proposed action figure, I immediately began to take inventory of my favorite black action figures that I got the opportunity to play with as a child. At one time I was the proud owner of Mego's Marvel Comics Falcon, and I have to say that I really enjoyed that toy. In fact, playing with that toy and of course teaming him up with Captain America, reminds me that Marvel was always quick to include some black folks in their comics and I guess that's why I have always been partial to Marvel. Captain America and The Falcon were Lethal Weapon before Danny Glover and Mel Gibson. Falcon's origin was garbage though, and his name initially was Snap Wilson or some such hooey...so when I was playing with him I modified his origin. Another cool black action figure was the African American GI Joe. And I'm not talking about the smaller line of GI Joes from the eighties, I'm talking about the big ones who had what seemed to be real hair and dog tags that you could pull and they would utter some command or battle cry. I remember taking him to show and tell in the first grade and another black kid named Tracy asked me if he could take him home to play with it. I never saw that GI Joe again. Upon finding out what I had done my father whipped my ass good and then told me I was too old to be playing with dolls anyway. I was highly upset because I knew that the chances of me finding another black action figure were slim to none. For some reason when I went to the department stores with my parents, I could never find the African American dolls. Looking back on this incident, I don't blame Tracy. My parents went out of the way to find toys that carried some ethnic significance so that I would have healthy self-esteem. Tracy's parents may not have been as proactive as mine in trying to find these kinds of products for him so he jacked mine. These two action figures represent the fine collection of African American based action figures that I owned during the course of my childhood. I intend to change things with my Lucius Hammer Action Figure. I hope that I influence a ton of people out there to get the action figures that they've been dreaming of for years out there on the market for themselves and the kids. Kids act out their own little adventures with these things and they are important. They are particularly effective when the kid that's playing with them can see a little glimmer of himself in that toy. Also...to Tracy, wherever you're at right now...keep my black GI Joe but be sure to buy your kids a Lucius Hammer figure when they hit the stores.

Lucius Hammer jumps off at Wizard Comicon 09!!!

2009-08-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time coming. For years I have literally bitched and moaned. Ranted and raved. My disgust with the scarcity of black superheroes and the quality of the existing ones is an old, jagged, broken record. My family, my friends, my comic shop owner all know my misery and can repeat verbatim why I have such a beef with mainstream comics and their lack of ingenuity when it comes to characters of color. The proverbial shit hit the fan when I was subjected to Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin's suck fest called Blade. I will actually post the letter that I sent to Marvel at a later date that captures my true anger at how this Black Marvel icon was treated, but for now I will just say...it moved me to do something. I began furiously scribbling notes down ala Rain Man juxtaposed with Good Will Hunting...there was some enlightened equation buried in the depths of my imagination that was pushing forth...waiting to be birthed and that elusive theorem that had been sought after by many but discovered and then used only sparingly by a few was...how to write an entertaining comic book about a black superhero. How hard can it really be? For years, I have suffered. I have walked through popular retail bookstores and out of the way comic book shops looking for products that feature black superheroes and these products simply don't exist. What is it that prevents Marvel and DC from taking their best talent and breathing life into their black superhero properties? Why is it that the Images and Dark Horses...The IDW's and The BOOM's (who don't have any trouble printing any number of other mundane half thought out ideas) have not yet done the ultimate thing that would christen them a true competitor to the big guns... create a commercially viable black superhero!!! It boggles the mind. There are dozens of threads out there about why black superheroes don't sell, are they bankable? is anyone interested and so on...to me these conversations are pointless. Of course a black superhero will sell!!! Look at Michael Jordan. Look at Blade. Look at Afro Samurai. Look at Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. Look at friggin Lil Wayne!!! This country has a love/hate relationship with black men. Those of you who aren't black are probably glad you're not from a class and economic standpoint...but there sure are a lot of young folks out there who like to fantasize about being black. This need to vicariously be black through gateway products such as hip hop, video games, and fashion to me makes it apparent that comic books can be the same way. But...just as we jump on stage and swagger past the tv cameras with our Jesus pieces on and our caps turned to the back...we need to do the same thing with comics. No offense to any writers of any color out there or artists...but when hip hop first entered into the public domain...it was raw, undistilled...brilliant. Now it's a multi-million dollar industry that has everyone and there granmama thinkin they can rock white-t's and free style. There were detractors and naysayers aplenty but that's what happens when you have the stones to step outside the box. But I digress...the true intent of this blog is to discuss primarily the creation of black comics. Whether that be black writers and black artists creating comics about black superheroes; white writers and white artists creating comics about black superheroes or any permutation of the examples I have just given you including writers and artists of other nationalities. I would also make a plea to see heroes of different colors besides black but I gotta fight one battle at a time...so I have thrown down the gauntlet and I'm ready to get in this. I have created a black superhero called Lucius Hammer. I introduced him at the Wizard Chicago Comic-Con 2009. And now...there's no turning back. Tune in next week...same black time....same black channel.