Blokhedz Brings Hip-Hop to World of Comics

comicscontinuum.com

Blokhedz, a comic book dedicated to creating a 'hood hero for comic enthusiasts who love hip-hop, is infiltrating the white-dominated world of comic entertainment.

The comic�s main character, Blak, is a young man from the street whose hand was slashed by a cursed knife during a gang attack. After the incident, Blak gains an array of powers, including the ability to rhyme, and begins his journey as a hip-hop superhero battling forces of good and evil in the streets and within himself.

The second cover of Blokhedz illustrates this theme by featuring Blak holding a gun in one hand and a microphone in the other. The hand holding the gun represents the infectious evil and the hand holding the mic represents the good.

Blokhedz "mixes inner-city struggle with fantasy and spirituality,� Mark Davis, one of the creators of the comic, said to the Reuters news agency. �It�s the kind of struggle we all deal with daily.�

The comic made its shelf debut in December, circulating 8,000 copies each of its first and second issues. With numerous references to pop culture, each edition comes with a slang glossary to explain words as they are used in a particular context.

Twins Mark and Mike Davis created the comic. Although their work deals with such subject matter as gang violence and drugs, the Davis twins said they aim to �create a story that will touch everyone by adhering to universal themes of friendship, love and the fight against evil.�

The Davises teamed with Michael and Brandon Shultz and Nicole Duncan-Smith, who all attended colleges in Atlanta, to create Street Legend Ink, a Los Angeles-based, urban comic company. It continues a tradition that, according to Reuters, began when the late Philadelphia journalist Orrin C. Evans founded All-Negro Comics, the first black comic production entity, in 1947.

�Comics is an area that I plan on getting into,� said David Ferguson, a senior art major and illustrator for The Meter at Tennessee State University. �There aren�t many popular black comic books.�

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons is contributing his marketing and promotional support to the Blokhedz comic, which is marketing through Simmons� Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, the Reuters article said.

�I think the hip-hop aspect of (Blokhedz) is something that younger kids will be interested in,� Ferguson said. �But, black people don�t always have to be labeled hip-hop.�

Blokhedz joins such others in black comic world as Static Shock, which is featured on the WB network�s Saturday morning cartoon lineup. The third issue of Blokhedz is scheduled for release in January.

�I would like to see something that black people would feel,� Ferguson said. �But, if other races read it, they could feel it too.�

Meridith M. Miller, a student at Tennessee State University, is community news editor of The Meter.

Posted June 1, 2004