Previously…
Some time ago, I came across Raven Hammer Comics in my
search for indie black books. Created by writer Brian Williams, Raven Hammer
published three original comics, and the most appealing of the trio was the
Harlem Shadow. I bought the first issue to see if it was as cool on the inside
as it was on outside, and when issue two came out I had no choice but to buy
that too.
Situation
This issue features two short stories. The first sees our eponymous hero paying a
visit to a local dive, where he has a fist to face or belt to ass conversation
with Willie Bourbon. Willie is the abusive husband of Giselle, who happens to
be a friend of the Harlem Shadow’s. He (Willie) is also an employee of ‘Bossman’
who seems to run most of Harlem’s criminal underworld, setting the stage for a
larger story. The second tale goes inside reporter Nigel Shaw’s attempt to
build the Shadow’s publicity, and sell his boss Walter Rhodes on the idea. They
plan to use the Midnight Sun, the paper Rhodes owns, to target the various
organized crime figures in Harlem. All the while letting the world know that
black people now have a superhero of their own, to fight their battles, as the
first knight in the kingdom of Harlem.
Story
This issue shows that Williams has
a command of both storytelling and mythos building. The story feels like a
classic pulp novel but with modern-day comic book trappings, giving the sense
that something big is building. The Harlem Shadow continues to epitomize the
cool that was the Harlem Renaissance, dispensing justice with style and an
unmistakably black flare. How he deals with Willie Bourbon is especially fun to
watch considering the man's crimes. We're also introduced to villains like Sweet
Tooth, a homicidal pimp, and Maggot Brain an undead gangster bring to mind the
rouges gallery of another dark knight. If a hero is only as good as his villains, I've got a
feeling that HS will be one bad ass mutha.
Pictures
The inks and lines of Rodolfo Buscaglia perfectly encapsulate the noir cool of the
book. From action scene to conversation, I feel like I am in 1920's Harlem. His
strong art style brings definition and not only captures the pulp genre but the
renaissance itself. Usually I would prefer a book to be in color, however, anything but black and white would
have compromised the feel of this work, so I'm glad Williams and Buscaglia went with it.
The Real
The Harlem Shadow is one of the few black comics I've read
that does African-American vigilante well. There isn't a hint of stereotype in
this book, and while that could be due to the time period, I think it may also
lie in Williams' ability to tell a story without cliché. Whatever the reason
Raven Hammer is doing a great job of building a world, and with a cartoon for
HS in the works I hope we'll be seeing more soon. You can buy the Harlem Shadow
on:
Amazon.com or
Raven Hammer Comics
Rating 5/5
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