White Scripts And Black Supermen

Black Masculinities in Comic Books

A valuable and colorful examination of 40 years of changing representations of Black masculinity in a significant area of popular culture -- comic books.

Twenty years ago, Marlon Riggs produced an essential documentary critique of the images of African Americans in US television in his award-winning Color Adjustment. Now, comes a documentary on representations of Black masculinity in comic books; a popular culture genre which existed before television and whose reach extends into other areas of cultural production such as movies and animated TV series. In a serious, lively and humorous manner, White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books analyzes the subject for the first time and looks at it over a 40 year period.

"Provides a wonderful point of entry, invariably prompting wonderful conversations inside the classroom and beyond. The film pushes us beyond simply recounting this undocumented history but simultaneously complicating the many issues that define this history." - David J. Leonard, Washington State University