Comics As Inspiration

Inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009, Baker is one of the first known African American artists to find success in the comic industry, he drew heroines like Phantom Lady & romance comics.

Billie Holiday won four Grammy Awards, all of them posthumously, for Best Historical Album. She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. She was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Stoner was one of the first African American comic book artists and believed to have created the iconic Mr. Peanut mascot. His work has been published by Golden Age Comic companies, most notably by National Comics Publications, which later became DC Comics.

Maxie Cleveland Robinson Jr., or "Max" was an American broadcast journalist, most notably serving as the co-anchor on ABC World News Tonight alongside Frank Reynolds and Peter Jennings.  Robinson is noted as the first African American network news anchor in the United States and founder of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Orrin was a pioneering African American journalist and comic book publisher. Considered the "first Black writer to cover general assignments for a mainstream White newspaper in the United States," he also published All-Negro Comics, the first known comics magazine written and drawn solely by African American writers and artists.

A nod to all the African American artists featured in the series. Featuring The Austin Gold Dollar, one the first Black newspapers west of the Mississippi and one of the 48 commercial Black newspapers published in Texas between 1870-1900. Also a special feature of Cap Metro for providing the opportunity.

Published in All Negro Comics, Ace Harlem was the first Black Detective to be featured in a comic book. He was highly observant, skilled, and respected throughout his community, expertly solving crimes within his unmatched deductive reasoning. 

Comic featuring modern text to encourage children to follow their values with the intention of inspiring them to research the famed Black detective that came before and helped pave the way. Black history is American history and it's my hope every American is just as proud of these artists as I am. No matter your race.

Jay Paul was an African American artist who spent many years working for the Chicago Defender, in addition to working as an illustrator for science fiction magazines such as Amazing Stories and Fantastic Adventures.

Honoring the style of Jay Paul, he produced an incredible amount of comics and illustrations during the 1940's, while integrating the relevant message of Fredrick Douglass, a former enslaved man and champion of civil rights. Fredrick's work is represented today in our fight for representation. 

War comics is a genre of comics that gained popularity in English speaking countries following World War II.

The Tuskegee Airmen flew more than 15,000 sorties between May 1943 and June 1945. Bomber crews often requested to be escorted by these "Red Tails," a nicknamed acquired from the distinctly brightly colored red painted tails of these Tuskegee fighter planes.