8 black comic book creators and icons you need to check out

Reginald Hudlin

Before Ta-Nehishi Coates started writing Black Panther, Reginald Hudlin helped make the King of Wakanda the popular icon that he is. He created a book that was centered around Wakanda and black superheroes, teaming T’Challa up with characters like Brother Voodoo, Blade, and Luke Cage.

This writer’s introduction to it was during the road to Storm and T’Challa’s wedding. It forced me to go back and read Who is the Black Panther. This story showcased the Black Panthers as early as the 5th century, letting readers know that the Wakandans were more technologically advanced than anyone on Earth.

Hudlin also did a phenomenal job with Shuri. First, he showed that she could have been the Black Panther before her brother. Hudlin was the one who made her the Black Panther in Black Panther: The Deadliest of the Species – something many of us hope to see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe one day.

Dr. Eve Ewing

Admittedly, this writer didn’t know a lot about Dr. Eve Ewing prior to writing this article. However, as soon as he came across her name, what was found made him smile. She’s not just a writer of books and poetry; Dr. Eve Ewing is a sociologist. Finding out that she’s writing Riri Williams was nothing short of amazing.

Riri Williams – both as a character and as Ironheart – is vitally important, especially to young black kids. For years, much of the black women in comic books weren’t both tough and smart. Now, we have someone who’s a combination of the two. Dr. Ewing can write about Riri in a way others can’t. She understands what it’s like to be a smart young woman who grew up in Chicago.

Recently, her comic book Outlawed dropped. A story about teenage superheroes becoming illegal. A concept similar to Marvel Civil War, but with more meaning than people may realize. During an interview with comicbook.com, she delves into some of the deeper meanings behind that story.

"“The point is actually acknowledging that our teen characters are not just stand-ins for generic teamdom. What does it mean to be a dreamer, versus somebody who has documented status here in the U.S.? What does it mean to be a person of color versus a white person? One of the loopholes of the law is that they’re allowed to keep super-heroing if they have a government-approved mentor. So, what does it mean to be a hero who has more ties to the adult superhero community, versus one who’s on the fringe?”"