Newspaper humor pages seem anachronistic these days, in a world where so much news content has come out of the newsprint and into TV or online platforms. But for many decades, the comics section has been a small window into the soul of its distribution community, all brought together by the gold standard of nationally syndicated comics. Like most forms of media, the subjects of comic books and their creators were overwhelmingly white. That’s what made Barbara Brandon CroftIt is Where I come from – the first nationally circulated comic book by and about black women – such a groundbreaking achievement. A new release of the same name from Drawn and Quarterly Press compiles highlights of the strip between 1991 and 2005 (the years of its national syndication), along with feature articles including the artist’s cover letters to major publications and essays on the work’s significance.
“In the 1980s, the Detroit Free Press began to seriously examine why there was such a disconnect between the traditional newspaper and the diverse community we wanted to serve,” wrote Marty Claus, then editor for articles and business when the Brandon-Croft submission made the scene. “Barbara gave the Free press something we didn’t have… Her daughters said some things that only a black woman could say with authority, and other things that were universally true, about work, relationships, and race.
The Brandon-Croft band got their start in the Detroit Free Press in 1989 in the Lifestyles section and features a rotating cast of nine characters – a group of friends in literal talking head-style discussions about a variety of contemporary issues facing black women. Fans of the comic have found solidarity in one, some, or all of the characters: say-it-like-it-is Cheryl, “fly girl” Nicole, the romantic Jackie and her constant relationship with the invisible Victor, the single mother Lydia and her daughter Aretha, the insightful Judy, the faith-filled and faith-filled Alisha, the outspoken activist Lekesia, the fair-skinned, hazel-eyed Monica, and Sonya, your man. Between them, in endless combinations, these women debate the issues of their time, each bringing nuanced and often conflicting perspectives on issues so often flattened by shrewd and well-meaning observers.
“I was able to stick to what I believed,” Brandon-Croft wrote in his 1992 essay for Draftsman Profiles to become the first black woman to achieve national syndication. “No, I wasn’t going to put bodies on my characters. I’m sick of women being summed up by their body parts. I want to give my women a little more dignity. Look us in the eye and listen to what we say, please!
Brandon-Croft inherited his legacy honestly, following in the footsteps of his father, Brumsic Brandon Jr., an illustrator and animator who got his start Luther (named after MLK) in the Long Island-based newspaper press day in 1968. The comic, set in a fictional downtown elementary school on Alabaster Avenue, was a place where the elder Brandon infused incisive commentary on social justice through the perspective of Luther, his classmates, and teacher Miss Backlash. Luther reached national syndication in 1970.
At its peak, Where I come from has been published in about 60 newspapers throughout the country and in several international publications. While comics and graphic novels have bumped up the numbers for black creatorsnewspaper comic strips remained an incredibly niche occupation, and Brandon-Croft’s success was a crucial pioneer for strips like The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder, which debuted in 1999 and became an animated show on adult swimming in 2005. Like many newspaper strips (we’re looking at you, family circus) the conversations between Brandon-Croft’s characters aren’t always particularly funny, but thanks to his particular perspective, they’re always real.
Where I come from by Barbara Brandon-Croft (2023) is published by Drawn & Quarterly and is available online and in bookstores.
