Philadelphia journalist Orrin C. Evans made history in 1947 when he published “All-Negro Comics.” It wasn’t just the first comic book anthology featuring original Black characters written and drawn by Black artists. It also featured the first known Black superhero: Lion Man.
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Lion Man was an American scientist dispatched to Africa to guard the uranium deposit hidden in “Magic Mountain.” His story ended with a single issue, as Evans never published his promised follow-up. (He couldn’t find a wholesaler willing to supply him the newsprint.) But the University of Pennsylvania is seeking to continue it through “The Black Hero’s Journey,” open now through May 13 in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center. The free exhibit places characters like Lion Man, Black Panther, Storm, the Falcon and Luke Cage in the wider context of comic book history, demonstrating how they broke through decades of exclusion and racist stereotypes in popular culture.
These characters existed in some form long before comics. The exhibit reveals how Black superheroes built on the legends of folk heroes like John Henry and real stories of valor relayed in William Still’s “The Underground Railroad” through a selection of rare books. Some of the earliest examples of Black comic book heroes are on display, like “All-Negro Comics,” “Fantastic Four #52,” which introduced the Black Panther, and “Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1,” the first issue featuring the Nick Fury. But the exhibit isn’t a simple timeline. Organized thematically, “The Black Hero’s Journey” digs into the difference between marginal inclusion and more nuanced representation. The “X-Men” allegory for the civil rights movement gets its own section, and several Black comic creators receive their own spotlights.
One of them is Eric Battle, a West Philly illustrator who’s worked for Marvel Comics and D.C. Comics. A co-curator on the exhibit, he created original artwork depicting real city figures like Sadie Alexander and Paul Robeson as comic heroes. He also loaned pieces from his personal collection for display, as did co-curator Charles Lattimore Howard, the university chaplain.
While the 800-square-foot space mostly contains books and pop art captions, Penn staffers also fashioned a replica 1940s-era newsstand displaying vintage ads and comic issues for sale. The work of independent and underground publishers is stocked just behind the facade.
“Newstands were really important places,” said Brittany Merriam, director of exhibits for Penn Libraries. “That’s where you were obviously getting your news, maybe getting your train ticket, where you were accessing ideas, maybe different political ideas, depending on the array of items. These are really important cornerstones in the Black community, especially in city centers.”
Visitors will also see seismic issues like “Superman vs. Muhammad Ali” and “Lois Lane No. 106,” in which Superman’s girlfriend experiences life as a Black woman. The exhibit ends on a forward-looking note with a section on the Afrofuturism running through Black Panther stories and newer franchises like D.C.’s Naomi and Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
“The interest in the show stems from a love of comic books,” Merriam said. “But also this is a conversation we’re trying to have about how the Black hero is really reflecting the journey, the resiliency, the struggle and success of the American Black person and how those are connected.”
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