Blackman #1
Written by Tom Floyd, penciled by Eric O’Kelley and inked by Danny Loggins
Synopsis
In the Blackman series, Steve Thomas becomes Blackman, a superhero who champions poor Black Americans.
Notes
Research sucks. But research is very important when it comes to Black Comic Book collecting. Take Blackman #1 for instance. As is common place, there are tons of conflicting accounts about this book but with the help of my fellow Black collectors I’ve been able ascertain three key facts:
1. Blackman was created by comic book illustrator Tom Floyd in 1971. Floyd is best known for his collection of syndicated cartoons, “Integration is a Bitch”.
2.The “Collector’s Edition” pictured above was published in 1981 by Leader Comics Group. The “prototype” Floyd holds in this news clipping is from 1971 under Blackman Productions. A Black collector claims to own the only prototype in existence but this is unverified.
3. Floyd claims he pitched the idea of Blackman to Marvel Comics and they passed on the idea (Publisher’s Weekly). Soon after, Luke Cage was introduced with a design similar to Floyd’s Blackman.
Although never confirmed the similarities between Floyd’s 71 design and Cage’s 72 design are undeniable. The most notable similarity being the chains.
Going head to head with the likes of Marvel Comics may be why Floyd did not publish subsequent issues of Blackman stating, “Getting into the superhero business, I found… certain obstacles and monopolistic entities.” (Indiana Illustrators Blog)
