We're gonna bring you the power
This week, Comic Art Friday is coming down the line so that you can see, through the courtesy of The Electric Company.
Our featured artwork arrived this week from the phenomenally gifted Darryl Banks, an artist best known for his lengthy tenure as the regular penciler on Green Lantern in the '90s. This is the third commissioned piece Darryl has done for me, and as my friend DO has observed more than once, every superhero(ine) looks amazing when rendered in Darryl's unique, bold style.
As do, by way of example, Elektra and Black Lightning, seen here.
Even if you don't read comics, you probably know Elektra, the character played by Jennifer (Alias) Garner in Daredevil as well as her eponymous sequel. (I was lukewarm about the former film, and haven't yet gotten around to seeing the latter.) Elektra was introduced into the Daredevil mythos in the early 1980s by writer-artist Frank Miller, and was a key facet of Miller's push of DD into an increasingly darker and more violent vein. I've never been a fan of the whole "grim and gritty" direction of comics that Miller (also known for his psychologically dense take on Batman) helped pioneer, but I do think Elektra is a brilliantly conceived character. Too often, female comics characters rely on vaguely mystical or psychic powers that absolve them from hand-to-hand combat, but Elektra can tussle with the best of them.
Black Lightning was DC Comics' first African-American superhero, created by writer Tony Isabella in 1977. Like the Boston Red Sox in baseball, DC came late to the "heroes of color" party — archrival Marvel had brought forth the Black Panther, the first black hero in mainstream comics, nearly a decade before, and had already published four titles featuring black stars: Jungle Action (which for most of its '70s run featured the Panther), Luke Cage, Hero for Hire (later changed to Power Man), Captain America and the Falcon (Cap's partner was a Harlem-based social worker when he wasn't out kicking butt with the Star-Spangled Avenger), and Black Goliath.
(Observant readers will note how frequently characters of African ancestry were tagged as "Black," as though comics buyers wouldn't figure out the hero's ethnicity from the pictures. Conversely, no one ever found it necessary to name a Caucasian character, say, "White Thor." There was a superheroine called the Wasp, but that was more an insect thing, really.)
Unfortunately for Black Lightning fans, the electrically powered hero has never been able to leap past second-tier status in the DC Universe. BL's primary champion has always been creator Isabella, and when he and DC had a falling out some years back, Black Lightning was more or less forgotten. That's too bad, because it's a strong concept (the original character was designed by the amazing Trevor Von Eeden) with a good deal of interesting potential.
It would be nice to see publisher and writer mend fences someday, and get Tony Isabella back working on a regular Black Lightning feature. And if they hired Darryl Banks to draw the book, I'd be one happy hombre. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy this latest addition to my "Common Elements" gallery.
Our featured artwork arrived this week from the phenomenally gifted Darryl Banks, an artist best known for his lengthy tenure as the regular penciler on Green Lantern in the '90s. This is the third commissioned piece Darryl has done for me, and as my friend DO has observed more than once, every superhero(ine) looks amazing when rendered in Darryl's unique, bold style.
As do, by way of example, Elektra and Black Lightning, seen here.
Even if you don't read comics, you probably know Elektra, the character played by Jennifer (Alias) Garner in Daredevil as well as her eponymous sequel. (I was lukewarm about the former film, and haven't yet gotten around to seeing the latter.) Elektra was introduced into the Daredevil mythos in the early 1980s by writer-artist Frank Miller, and was a key facet of Miller's push of DD into an increasingly darker and more violent vein. I've never been a fan of the whole "grim and gritty" direction of comics that Miller (also known for his psychologically dense take on Batman) helped pioneer, but I do think Elektra is a brilliantly conceived character. Too often, female comics characters rely on vaguely mystical or psychic powers that absolve them from hand-to-hand combat, but Elektra can tussle with the best of them.
Black Lightning was DC Comics' first African-American superhero, created by writer Tony Isabella in 1977. Like the Boston Red Sox in baseball, DC came late to the "heroes of color" party — archrival Marvel had brought forth the Black Panther, the first black hero in mainstream comics, nearly a decade before, and had already published four titles featuring black stars: Jungle Action (which for most of its '70s run featured the Panther), Luke Cage, Hero for Hire (later changed to Power Man), Captain America and the Falcon (Cap's partner was a Harlem-based social worker when he wasn't out kicking butt with the Star-Spangled Avenger), and Black Goliath.
(Observant readers will note how frequently characters of African ancestry were tagged as "Black," as though comics buyers wouldn't figure out the hero's ethnicity from the pictures. Conversely, no one ever found it necessary to name a Caucasian character, say, "White Thor." There was a superheroine called the Wasp, but that was more an insect thing, really.)
Unfortunately for Black Lightning fans, the electrically powered hero has never been able to leap past second-tier status in the DC Universe. BL's primary champion has always been creator Isabella, and when he and DC had a falling out some years back, Black Lightning was more or less forgotten. That's too bad, because it's a strong concept (the original character was designed by the amazing Trevor Von Eeden) with a good deal of interesting potential.
It would be nice to see publisher and writer mend fences someday, and get Tony Isabella back working on a regular Black Lightning feature. And if they hired Darryl Banks to draw the book, I'd be one happy hombre. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy this latest addition to my "Common Elements" gallery.
SwanShadow was randomly pounding the keyboard at 6:51 PM
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