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A review by bookishrealm
The Other History of the DC Universe #1 by Andrea Cucchi, Marco Mastrazzo, John Ridley, Jose Villarrubia, Alex Dos Diaz, Giuseppe Camuncoli
5.0
Comics are extremely white. I don't feel like you have to even be an avid comic book reader to understand that. And when I say comics are white, I don't just mean in terms of the writers and artists, but I also mean that in terms of characters. I mean that in terms of how the stories of those characters focused on the imaginative fears of white communities and didn't really consider the things facing other marginalized communities.
Ridley does a heck of a job visiting those themes through this book that is a part of DC's Black Label. I don't think that I realized how much I needed this story as a Black comic reader until I actually sat down and read it. In this first book he takes the opportunity to lay out the origin story of Black Lightning and some of DC's other first Black characters. Probably one of the most pivotal moments of this story was definitely related to Black Lightning's interaction with Superman. Superman attempts to tell Black Lightning how to be a superhero and Lightning proceeds to tell him that he has no business coming to a Black neighborhood telling him what he can and can't do considering that the Justice League can't even be so bothered to help with the issues that the community deals with on a daily basis. I found that to be very true. The Justice League can fight every single bad event in the cosmos, but they are so blind to the social and economic issue happening in their very own backyards. And that, my friends, is the privilege that Black Lightning tries to get Superman to own up to.
There are so many great historical moments in this book. So many interesting aspects of the DC Universe that people often forget. Heck, there was a lot of information in here that I didn't even know existed in the DC Universe. I think that this is one that everyone should pick up. It's not just a commentary on the comic book industry, but also a commentary on the world in which we live. How some individuals have the luxury of ignoring real global issues, but still are held up on a pedestal as superheroes.
I loved the artwork. I loved Ridley's storytelling skills. I just loved everything about it and I can't wait to get to book 2.
Ridley does a heck of a job visiting those themes through this book that is a part of DC's Black Label. I don't think that I realized how much I needed this story as a Black comic reader until I actually sat down and read it. In this first book he takes the opportunity to lay out the origin story of Black Lightning and some of DC's other first Black characters. Probably one of the most pivotal moments of this story was definitely related to Black Lightning's interaction with Superman. Superman attempts to tell Black Lightning how to be a superhero and Lightning proceeds to tell him that he has no business coming to a Black neighborhood telling him what he can and can't do considering that the Justice League can't even be so bothered to help with the issues that the community deals with on a daily basis. I found that to be very true. The Justice League can fight every single bad event in the cosmos, but they are so blind to the social and economic issue happening in their very own backyards. And that, my friends, is the privilege that Black Lightning tries to get Superman to own up to.
There are so many great historical moments in this book. So many interesting aspects of the DC Universe that people often forget. Heck, there was a lot of information in here that I didn't even know existed in the DC Universe. I think that this is one that everyone should pick up. It's not just a commentary on the comic book industry, but also a commentary on the world in which we live. How some individuals have the luxury of ignoring real global issues, but still are held up on a pedestal as superheroes.
I loved the artwork. I loved Ridley's storytelling skills. I just loved everything about it and I can't wait to get to book 2.