Lakewood Comic Shop Showcases Comics With Black Superheroes
LAKEWOOD, Ohio – Comics have the power to make people laugh, feel empowered, or can be used to start difficult conversations like politics, race, or activism.
In recent years, comic book stories featuring black superheroes have come to the fore in movies and TV shows, however, the comics still lag behind.
“It was kind of limited to just one type of voice for a long time,” Super Script co-owner Elliot Frank said. “And over time, like in the 20th century, we’ve seen different voices, more marginalized groups find that space and can, for example, execute ideas within it.”
Frank owns Super Script in Lakewood with his wife Christine and Nick Kratsas. All three feature comics in their store, which this month feature black superheroes, artists and authors in honor of Black History Month.
“Comics are like a lot of things, it’s always an art form where there are certain groups whose voices are marginalized,” Kratsas said. “So we wanted to highlight some of these books and creators to elevate them and put them in the spotlight. A little more.”
Christine said it’s important to note that these books can be found on their shelves year-round, but it’s important for their customers to see them as we celebrate the achievements and history of African Americans. She said seeing these books in the foreground shows that performance matters.
“It gives confidence. It gives you, you know, the security and the confidence to go out into the world and say, I can have my voice heard too, “she said.” I am a valued member of society and people. can see me and my story is represented and I can tell my story to hear it. ”
Comics with black superheroes are dear to the heart of Dawn Arrington. In 2018, she launched “Comics at the Corner”. An imitation of reading where she distributes comics in all popular neighborhoods to fight against the high rates of illiteracy. And she uses stories with black characters to start a conversation.
“I really just wanted to give the comics to whoever picked up one in the neighborhood,” Arrington said. “Just because you can’t read or just because you live below the poverty line. It doesn’t mean you don’t deserve entertainment. It doesn’t mean you don’t deserve fantasy. It doesn’t mean you don’t deserve entertainment. doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a whole person’s attention. ”
Since launching her program, she has distributed thousands of comics. But, recently, she just received a grant of $ 5,000 to continue her mission. Already, Arrington said, she’s invested half the money in purchasing new comics to distribute.
“2021 is about to be exciting.
You can join Arrington’s conversation by joining his Facebook group: Comics at the Corner Discussion Group.
