deerstalker

https://blacknerdproblems.com/getting-dizzy-4-review/

Writer: Shea Fontana / Artist: Celia Moscote / Boom! Studios

Getting Dizzy #4 is the final issue in the series and what a strong final issue it was. Dizzy’s friends rally around her after the Negatrixes threatened to overwhelm her, and we get to partake in a time-honored tradition of watching the power of friendship defeat the forces of evil. That part isn’t really a spoiler, that’s just how the genre works. The exact specifics are though, so I’ll leave those for you to witness firsthand.

All that said, Fontana does an excellent job wrapping up all of the narrative threads. We’re still very much anchored in Dizzy’s point of view, and we get a lot of wonderful sequences from her perspective about all of the important people in her life. This results in a very strong close to the series. The exposition is efficient and effective, and there is a clear love for the characters and what they represent. There are some flashbacks, some quirky action sequences, and all-in-all, some great narrative beats that warm the heart.

Moscote’s illustration in Getting Dizzy #4 help embody that same warm, and the opening pages are just an emotional tour de force that show the characters at their finest. They also benefit greatly from the wonderful colors from Gloria Martinelli and expressive lettering from Jim Campbell. The slightly larger than average comic is filled to the brim with all of the tropes that make these types of stories sing, and the conclusion left me with a smirk on my face.

While the series still has some wobbles here and there, the complete collection makes for a great read, and the story and themes will be appreciated by the target audience in full. This is the perfect story to get teenage readers into comics and also general nerdy things by association. It has that exact type of bubblegum pop energy that puts a smile on your face when you’re done, and it’s worth checking out. I hope that Fontana and Moscote get to spend more time in the universe in the future.

9.2 “Roller Blades” out of 10

Enjoying Getting Dizzy? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.

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The post Getting Dizzy #4 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

http://www.afronerd.com/2022/02/bhm-ends-are-blackexcellence.html

Afronerd Radio can now be heard LIVE courtesy of Apple Music/Itunes

Greetings to all of our supporters and longstanding Afronerd Radio followers.  It's that time AGAIN, so buckle up per usual for our Sunday Grindhouse broadcast; a sonic trek through the "Blerd Multiverse" airing tonight at 6 p.m. eastern on the BTalk 100 internet radio network.  Listen to your "gamma-irradiated" AFROnerdist hosts as they unravel this week's topics a la Mike Tyson Mysteries:  more historical anecdotes and thoughts about Black History Month as it comes to a close this final weekend; a recent Forbes piece posits that hashtag slogans like #BlackGirlMagic and #BlackExcellence might be doing more harm than good by preaching "Black exceptionalism" to the AA community;  a White Columbia University professor is suspended from his position as head of the school's psychiatry department over a peculiar (and racist) tweet commenting about model, Nyakim Gatwech's dark-skinned complexion;       

Our thoughts concerning the recent and deadly Russian-Ukrainian conflict and how media, ethnic differences, and dueling political ideologies might be leading the globe toward WWIII;  And what about Afro-Ukrainians who are trying to exit the country and are experiencing discrimination at the Poland/Ukraine border?

More details are coming out about the rebooting of animated franchise classics, Futurama and The King of The Hill; Lastly, Dburt came across a Marketplace.org article that highlights the growing business opportunities that are becoming more evident in the Blerd/Black nerd niche hobby space:   

One thing that Dburt is doing (finally) is investing in cryptocurrency, courtesy of Roundlyx. We would implore our followers to investigate, discern and then explore by using our referral code: afro-87A4BF

https://blackgirlnerds.com/black-separatism-and-the-wonderfully-strange-but-true-origin-story-of-dcs-black-manta/

2018’s Aquaman introduced a villain that probably isn’t well-known to the DCEU audience, yet the connoisseurs of comic books recognized the black suit and bug-eyed helmet almost instantly. Of course, we’re talking about Black Manta, Aquaman’s greatest and most menacing foe, portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Still, even those who immediately recognized one of the best and most iconic super-villains don’t know his true origin story and the Black separatism that goes along with it.

It’s hard to tell which Black Manta origin story is true since DC Comics retconned his origin several times over the years. The character first appeared in Aquaman #35 issued in 1967 and quickly established himself as Aquaman’s archnemesis, capable of inflicting great harm upon the superhero. Though very little was known about the character and his background, apart from the fact that he wants to defeat Aquaman and gain power for himself through the conquest of Atlantis, DC Comics regularly used Black Manta to paint a stark picture between Aquaman’s heroics and the antics of a true villain. The two have clashed ever since.

However, during one of their clashes, in the Adventure Comics #452 issued in 1977, ten years after introducing the character, Black Manta removes his bug-eyed helmet revealing why he named himself Black Manta — he’s Black. Black Manta’s ethnicity isn’t all that surprising since there are numerous African American/Black superheroes and villains within the worlds of comics. But his mission, as stated by Black Manta himself, is to conquer Atlantis and have Black people dominate the ocean after being oppressed for centuries on dry land. Coincidentally, his mission also coincides with one of his origin stories.

Black Manta’s initial origin story was introduced in issue #6 of 1993’s Aquaman comic book series, in which the character reveals his origin through a series of flashbacks. Manta was a young African American boy kidnapped by sailors while playing at the docks. He was forced to work on the ship for an unspecified amount of time, often starved and physically abused — so it’s pretty obvious that his life suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse.

One day, he saw Aquaman swimming with dolphins while cleaning the deck and tried calling the King of Atlantis for help. But, unfortunately, as his cries for help went unheard, the boy plunged into hatred towards the sea and Aquaman as its representative. Left with no one but himself to rely on and forced into self-defense, the boy killed his tormentors with a knife, becoming determined to become the master of the sea, which brought him nothing but misery, pain, and suffering.

Another origin story was introduced years later, in issue #8 of the 2003 Aquaman comic book series, in which Black Manta was an autistic orphan named David, placed in Gotham’s Arkham Asylum. This version isn’t any less grim than the previous, as even the touch of cotton sheets in Arkham felt excruciatingly painful to the boy, and they continuously experimented on him. However, as opposed to the torments of being restrained to the cotton-sheeted bed and smothered with a pillow until he passed out every night, David only felt comfortable while submerged in the freezing cold water.

One of the experimental treatments he was subjected to cleared the boy’s head, enhancing his strength and reflexes while also making him incredibly violent as a result. Fueled by violent rage and endowed with newfound strength David killed the very scientist who administered the treatment and escaped Arkham. In this version, the young Black Manta was fascinated by Aquaman after seeing him on television during his stay at the asylum.  

The third origin story introduced in May 2012’s Aquaman Vol. 7 #7, in which Black Manta, named David Hyde, is a descendant of the Deserters, the lost tribe of Atlantis. His father raised him on the family fishing boat named Black Manta, from which he operated as a diver and a treasure hunter. While acting as a mercenary, David injured Thomas Curry (Aquaman’s father), who later succumbed to his injuries. Seeking revenge, Aquaman stormed the Black Manta ship and, in the rain and darkness, murdered Hyde’s father, under the assumption that he was the killer. So, David crafted weapons and armor and became the Black Manta.

It’s not unusual for comic book characters to have many different backstories over the years, especially when introduced more than 55 years ago. However, one thing persisted through his origin stories, in nearly all iterations, either directly or indirectly — his desire to take over the oceans for Black people to rule. In fact, Black Manta stated his intentions in the same issue in which he revealed his face before revealing his first origin story in the 1993’s comic book. Canonically speaking, this instance of black separatism is still tied to his original origin story.

However, there’s also some underlying character development between origin stories, and Manta’s intention to win the oceans for Black people might’ve vaned over the years. His third origin story ties him to his Atlantean ancestry, a story which is further explored in the most recent release of Black Manta comic book, Vol 1 #3, released in January 2022. In it, Black Manta is granted a vision of Atlantis before the Great Deluge. In his vision, he witnesses a tribe of his Black Atlantean ancestors abandon Atlantis and flee to Africa just before Atlan sank the city.

In the meantime, a new villain called Devil Ray (obviously a Black Manta fanboy) coordinated a series of terrorist attacks around the globe, announcing his intentions to take over the oceans for Black people, as Manta once claimed he wanted to do. Later on, the new villain told Manta that he idolized him as a child and even modeled his life after him, but had become disillusioned after realizing that Manta only ever helped himself, rather than their people.

In conclusion, Black Manta is one of the greatest comic book villains ever, right there in the same category as his better-known colleagues, such as the Joker, Lex Luthor, or Reverse-Flash. Unfortunately, outside of several animated DC series and films, and a live-action Aquaman, one of the best villains DCEU has to offer, hasn’t received much screen time. However, that’s likely to change judging by the Aquaman post-credit scene, in which Black Manta is rescued from the ocean by marine biologists. Who knows, he might even get a spin-off.  

https://blacknerdproblems.com/step-by-bloody-step-1-review/

Story: Si Spurrier / Artist: Matais Bergara / Image

Every so often, I have to make subtle adjustments to the creator attribution at the topic of the comic. Sometimes, it’s because the writer and the artist are one and the same. Sometimes, it’s because the narrative was the result of one person and the actual script was from another. Today’s case, it’s because to call Simon Spurrier the “writer” of Step by Bloody Step would be factually incorrect because there are no words in the comic. At all. There’s barely any lettering at all. It’s one of the most surreal comic book experiences I’ve had in a while, and I loved every second of it.

The premise of Step by Bloody Step is staggeringly simple. There is a little girl with a large, armored guardian. They have no language, no names, and seemingly no memories. All they have a singular purpose to traverse the harsh landscape, and that’s it. That’s all there is. It is a simple high concept fantasy work, and it’s the exact type of thing that Spurrier would excel in. Even though we don’t have any of Spurrier’s signature banter, we still have the makings of his wildly fantastical vision of a strange world, brought to life painstakingly by Bergara.

Without any discernible dialog, Bergara has the incredibly gargantuan tasks of converting whatever script was handed to him into a full double-sized comic. And as a result, we the readers are treated to forty pages of magnificent characters and set pieces. This is a world that stands alongside other established properties with ease. The sheer sense of scale and environmental diversity makes for favorable parallels to Shadow of the Colossus and Pacific Rim. The Guardian has a real heft and weigh with the illustrations. Lopes’s colors draw out unique details of the different biomes traversed. It’s an incredibly ambitious feat of storytelling and while the narrative is simple, the execution is wonderfully haunting.

We know as much about the world as the protagonists and witnessing the start of their odyssey was a true pleasure. I have loved Spurrier’s stories in the past and while a textless comic is a hard sell, I think the entire creative team rose to the occasion and this is a must buy.

9.4 “Footprints” out of 10

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The post ‘Step by Bloody Step #1’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.