OUR Story

NINE Nappy Productions SM

Our Story

All artwork used is copyright of legal rights holder. Used for educational purposes only

Why Is This Needed?

The first answer is that we need to catalogue and document the lives and accomplishments of those who came before. In this reality, nothing is new--it gets recycled for a new generation; for example, the originator of the first black/African American comic book, "All-Negro Comics" (June 1947), Mr. Orrin C. Evans of All Negro Comics, Inc. definitely needs to be remembered to show, illustrate, and discuss the publishing aspects of not only in 1947 and thereafter, but to compare it to today's options of publishing. As the same should be of Bertram A. Fitzgerald of the Golden Legacy series of historical biographical comic books (which began in 1966). Both of these men, and the various writers, artists, etc. who helped them execute their stories and books also needs to be remembered.

In other books concerning the comic book industry, you will find listed the most popular characters and creators. The little known--many independent types are left out either intentionally or by those who are writing it, simply not caring. For example, in Patrick Rosenkranz's tome, Rebel Visions, he mentions underground/independent artist Richard "grass" Green in a section mentioning an issue of a book that he contributed to and nothing else. I reading the book in its entirety, it seems that the author went to only the most popular and prominently well-known creators/artists of the time. Please, do not mistake this mention as negative, it is overall a good book about the history of the underground comix movement--but I felt that there should have been something on "grass" Green and on Mr. Larry Fuller as well. A paragraph or two would have been nice. Well within these pages on this website, I hope that I have corrected that faux pau and hopefully many others as well.

This is the main reason for this addition (and many more like it) to my website are desperately needed--since this current generation of young artists and creators are continuing the legacy started by grandfather Orrin and are unfortunately are influence by the Japanese manga style, they may never know of the various artistic style of African American artists. I hope these pages gives them a door to enter a room--no a museum full of our story! This is our story, showing us our successes and mistakes as well as the lessons (hopefully) learned. My plan is to eventually put all of this together in an encyclopedia or book series so it can be used in educational facilities as well as be on library shelves across this country and in the Afrikan Diaspora. It makes sense, since there are now college courses in comic book and cartooning as well as schools which specifically teach it (the Kubert school, for example).

This series is just a first step. There are many more to take after this is completed. To the next person(s) who take up the task of documenting the future creators and characters, I wish you much success, happiness, and satisfaction in the final delivery.

Adalberto McFarlane, Owner/CEO, NINE Nappy Productions

Introduction

To the person who visited this website, looking at the various images and text, I hope that you have purchased something before you leave. If you are a comic book reader/collector/fan, or even a newspaper comic strip reader/fan, some of the names and characters my be familiar to you already. A whole lot of creators, characters, and companies will not be; in reality, it doesn't matter since there won't be a test afterward. This is a reference, putting another brick into the wall of the African American story in this country. If you have any idea, we have a very large talent pool in the areas of comic books, illustration, newspaper strips, sculpture, dance, music...the list goes on and on! Its a shame that most of us only learn about our people during February--Black History Month [created by the late historian, Carter G. Woodson]; our story(ies) needs to be read, studied and discussed 24 hours a day/7 days a week/365 days every year! My hope and objective is to ignite that spark of creativity and keep them on their artistic path.

In these pages, you will meet a wide and varied group of people, places, and events. Unfortunately, a lot of them have joined the ancestors, so we do not have any means of personal memories, anecdotes, or advice for up and coming creators. I have hoped to achieved at least part of that with this endeavor. You will read about our past, present, and future. You will read about people like Orrin C. Evans, Richard "grass" Green, Jackie Ormes, and Matt Baker too. You dear reader, may be surprised at the sheer number of creators and characters out there.

So on that final note, find a comfortable chair, pour some red kool-aid, and get ready for some great stories and eye candy.

Enjoy,

Adalberto McFarlane, Owner/CEO, NINE Nappy Productions

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