Black Women in Sequence: Re-inking Comics, Graphic Novels, and Anime

by Deborah Elizabeth Whaley

Black Women in Sequence takes readers on a search for women of African descent in comics subculture. From the 1971 appearance of the Skywald Publications character "the Butterfly" - the first Black female superheroine in a comic book - to contemporary comic books, graphic novels, film, manga, and video gaming, a growing number of Black women are becoming producers, viewers, and subjects of sequential art.

As the first detailed investigation of Black women's participation in comic art, Black Women in Sequence examines the representation, production, and transnational circulation of women of African descent in the sequential art world. In this groundbreaking study, which includes interviews with artists and writers, Deborah Whaley suggests that the treatment of the Black female subject in sequential art says much about the place of people of African descent in national ideology in the United States and abroad.

For more information visit the author's

Genres: Nonfiction, Comics, Graphic Novels, Race, History, Graphic Novels Comics, Activism

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 20, 2015

Reviews

[Prima Seadiva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The subject of Black women in the arts, including comics and other graphic formats is most interesting and timely. The author takes a number of artists and genres and discusses both the positive role models they provide as well as the negative racist (and sexist) and invisibility implications. Sequence refers to the various art forms generally having an on going or sequential storyline.
I found the author's writing style a real barrier for me. It seems as if written for doctorate thesis or purely an academic audience rather than general readers like myself. If you can plow through it without feeling like the talk is over your head half the time then I think you will enjoy the book more than I did.

There are some illustrations. I wish there had been more though I realize that adds to the cost of a book. The author spent time describing lengthy scenes that I would have liked to also be able to see. It does help if you have some previous familiarity with the artists and characters.

I was familiar with some of the works in the book-mostly the earlier such as Torchy Brown, Patti Jo and Ginger by Jackie Ormes, Catwoman as played by Eartha Kitt on the 60's t.v. Batman and also with the contemporary comic strip by Barbara Brandon-Croft "Where I'm Still Coming From". The author's analysis was therefore much easier to follow.
I was very much less familiar with the superhero comics and the anime-manga genres as they are not genres I have read or viewed in general.
Overall, she presents an important viewpoint. I just wish the writing had been more down to earth.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Em várias das resenhas de livros que eu faço aqui eu digo "esse é um livro necessário". Bem, cada um tem as suas razões específicas para serem necessários. Mas invariavelmente quando eu acabo dizendo que um livro tal é necessário é porque existem alguns assuntos que ou não são abordados, ou são abordados de maneira obtusa. Black Women in Sequence é um desses livros necessários. Porque temos um zilhão de livros sobre mulheres nos quadrinhos, mais meio zilhão de livros sobre negros nos quadrinhos. Mas sobre mulheres negras nos quadrinhos temos poucos. E, se temos, eles costumam abordar somente super-heroínas. Não que o livro de Whaley não as aborde, mas de outras perspectivas. Como por exemplo ao analisar as Mulheres-Gato negras de Eartha Kitt e de Halle Berry em face à toda história da personagem. Ou ainda pensar as representações de mulheres negras nos quadrinhos a partir de mulheres negras que faziam quadrinho, no começo do século e em jornais de sindicatos e cooperativas. Ela também enxerga a produção atual de quadrinhos por mulheres negras que preferem fazer quadrinhos de autor do que se dobrar às exigências de uma Marvel ou de uma DC Comics. Whaley também analisa caracterizações exageradas das mulheres negras no anime Nadia, por exemplo. Black Women in Sequence é um livro necessário, porque ele traz novas visões sobre a representação e a representatividade das mulheres negras nas artes sequenciais e, com isso, acaba trazendo novos contextos e paradigmas para o próprio leitor.

[Thistle & Verse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative. There's so much history I didn't know. I like how Whaley combines her analysis of the art with history with surveys of fans.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book five stars for academic approach to the subject matter, but admit I skimmed a lot of the text, not out of disinterest, because there was a lot of interest and Googling, but more that I felt it was written a bit beyond my reach. ‘My reach’ not meaning my acceptance or allowance of life ideas, but rather my ability to immediately understand and solidly know what another is communicating. Five stars for challenging my perception and giving me new eyes.

Edited to add: would take this class if I had opportunity - I love essays on pop culture but it’s sometimes difficult to visualize art given only a written description. My limited knowledge of comics doesn’t allow for easy recall of characters or scenes. Setting out to read every comic mentioned in this book would be an adventure but am pretty sure I would complete the task having no memory of why I started:)

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

there is no inking, or re-inking here. the text is made by people who have a very shallow knowledge of comic books, but have a lot of experience with the academia. the volume is mostly mediocre philosophy and almost no drawn art. the text itself is mostly crap: like quoting the full cast of the batman 1966 tv series. and yea, the tv series is made by black women. and tv used to be the usual way to distribute comic books back in the 20th century before the large media trusts found out they could make comics into books.

[Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read for the introduction and chapter 4. Whaley’s ideas were a reminder of how far we’ve came and how far we’ve yet to go. Representation in media isnt simply just a Black girl or woman on screen, its so much more and when creators use Black people(fictive or real) in their media, they need to make sure theyre not simply replicating present harmful constructs.

[Bradley Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen to my discussion about this book at the Of Books & Booze podcast!

[Tracey Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating history.

[Mills College Library]

741.5973 W5525b 2016

[Roderick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the subject matter, but the overly-academic language is off-putting. I appreciate being introduced to the animated Japanese series "Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water" (starring a cute brown-skinned female protagonist, instead of a typically pale-skinned boy, in a historical science fiction story: something that Americans would never consider) as a result of reading this book.