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Preview Black #2, In Stores Tomorrow From Black Mask

Published Tue, 08 Nov 2016 19:00:16 -0600

Black is a comic book created by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3, and it's one of many recent successes from Black Mask, my second favorite publisher, behind, of course, the great Avatar Press. This entertaining and relevant new series doesn't pull any punches, kicking off its first scene with protagonist Kareem Jenkins being shot and "killed" by police officers in a case of racial profiling. Jenkins wakes up in an ambulance and quickly learns he seems to have become invulnerable. Hunted by forces that want to experiment on and exploit him, Jenkins joins up with a secret organization whose mission is to protect people like him – that is, roughly .5% of Black people, and only Black people, who possess subatomic particles called Hexaquarks which apparently imbue them with incredible powers. With the origin done, I'm personally excited to see where the story goes in Black #2.

The book was successfully funded on Kickstarter for three times its goal, and Black Mask's 22,000 copy first print run of Black #1 sold out. A second printing of Black #1 is in stores now, and, even better, Black #2 is set to hit stores tomorrow. Seems like a perfect time to pick up both, assuming the entire United States hasn't degenerated into a post-apocalyptic wasteland thanks to today's election – though, Black might just be worth hacking your way through hordes of ravenous zombies to get anyway, provided your local comic shop stays open in the event of post-election apocalyptic meltdowns.

You know what, I feel like I've gotten off message here.

Black is written by Kwanza Osajyefo and designed by Tim Smith 3, with art by Jamal Igle and covers by Khary Randolph. Issue #2 hits stores tomorrow. Here's a preview: