Season 5, Episode 09—Black Superheroes

Black Superheroes have been around for a very long time. Troy and David welcome Wayne Brown, and they discuss some of the great and not-so-great black superheroes.

This is Wayne’s first appearance on the show, and as with all new guests, Troy and David ask Wayne about his first experiences in the speculative genre, and what was his first genre love.

Wayne is also asked about his all-time faves, which includes his favourite novel, shorter work, author, and also his favourite movie, TV series, and TV episode.

Some of the Black Superheroes mentioned in this episode include
(please click on the Wikipedia links, for more info):

Black Lightning, 1997 -, DC Comics.
Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane, Issue #106 (Nov 1970)
= Lois becomes black for a day!

Blade (comics) Name = Eric Cross Brooks.
Blade (New Line franchise character) Name = Eric Brooks.
Blade (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
John Shaft (from the 1971 film, Shaft)
= you don’t have to have super powers to be a superhero)
Luke Cage (character)
Luke Cage (TV Series)

Valerie the Librarian…
Link to an article about “Valerie the Librarian” by Nicholas Hunter, from Screen Rant, Jan 29, 2022:
“Marvel’s Forgotten Original Spider-Woman Was A Black Librarian“

All Negro Comics. Published in 1947.
Lothar, Mandrake the Magician‘s best friend and crime fighting companion. Lothar is often referred to as the strongest man in the world. He was Prince of the Seven Nations, a federation of Tribes.
Black Panther, film starring Chadwick Boseman.
Falcon (comics). First appeared in comics in 1969.
John Stewart as Green Lantern (1971) he was the first African-American superhero to appear in DC Comics.
Green Lantern: Mosaic (1992-1993) was published by DC Comics.
Hardware (Curtis “Curt” Metcalf) began in 1993, DC Comics.
Icon, 1993-1997, DC Comics
Blood Syndicate, 1993 – 1997, DC Comics.
Milestone Media (creator of Milestone Comics, published and distributed by DC Comics)
Martian Manhunter (voiced by Carl Lumbly) and other versions.
M.A.N.T.I.S. (first black superhero on TV)
Static Shock, 2000 – 2004 – “It was the first time that an African-American superhero was the titular character of their own broadcast animation series.” – from Wikipedia.
Tom Swift, 2022, a new series, where Tom Swift is black.
Catwoman.
Hancock, 2008 film starring Will Smith.
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, not David Hasselhoff)
Amanda Waller (in Peacemaker, and Suicide Squad)

Wayne Brown is a twin, but he’s not the evil one.

He started reading SF books when he was gifted a copy of Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine and Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint.

He started reading comics early on.  There was a newsstand down the street from his Grandmother’s apartment. He thinks it must have been somewhere around 1968.

In 1979 he went to his first convention.  It was the Chicago Comicon.  He had just gotten his driver’s license and decided after work that he would drive from Rochester to Chicago. He was young. A 12-hour drive was nothing.  He got hooked from then on. He got back and started the Rochester Fantasy Fans.

That’s been his life since then.

Wayne Brown is the chair of the NASFIC convention in Buffalo, New York, in 2024. He has run the Astronomicon SF/F/H convention in Rochester, New York, for many years.
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