Before they were movies, comics were making history.
In no particular order, here is a partial list of some of our favorite black superheroes — and links to where you can buy and read the comics that feature them.
Most links are inexpensive reprint collections from Amazon, and tablet users should check out digital comics supplier Comixology and Marvel's Netflix-style Marvel Unlimited service, but we encourage you to use FindAComicsShop.com to locate the local comic book store nearest to you. They can help you find inexpensive back issues (sometimes as low as $1 each) about any character or genre you're curious about.
Comics look great on your coffee table when people come over. Or bring them to your niece or nephew so they can tell the other kids who Black Panther is before he's in a movie. Just a thought.
Gabriel Jones
Not technically a superhero, but Gabe Jones is one of the first black characters to appear in mainstream comics, and probably the oldest one still being written today.
Debuting in 1963 as a private in Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos, Gabe followed the career path of Nick Fury (a white guy in the comics before being thoroughly redefined by Samuel L. Jackson) going from World War II soldier, to Cold War super-spy, to the big screen where he was portrayed by Derek Luke in Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger. He also had a job in the 1970s fighting Godzilla, but who didn't?
Essential Reading: The Gabe-focused Howling Commandos #56 (pictured above) unfortunately doesn't appear to be collected anywhere, but the first 23 issues of Howling Commandos are collected in Marvel's affordable, black-and-white Essentials reprint series.
Marvel Entertainment
Black Panther
The history of comics is messy, but Black Panther is widely considered to be mainstream comics' first black superhero. T'Challa, son of T'Chaka, is the head of state and ceremonial protector of a secluded fictional nation known as Wakanda — dodgy, but at least they bothered to acknowledge Africa contains individual countries, which is not at all a sure bet in comic books.
Think Atlantis in the desert — Wakanda is civilization of highly advance technology thanks to their mountain of ultra-rare "Vibranium" (the stuff Captain America's shield is made of). This also allows Black Panther to casually mention that he's the richest man on Earth, while single-handedly besting them in combat in order to see if they're worthy of hanging out with him. The first and most tenured black Avenger, he's an Iron Man-level genius, with uncompromising Batman values — and did we mention he's a literal king?
Essential Reading:
Who Is The Black Panther?
Black Panther: The Client
Fantastic Four #52-53 (First appearance)
Essential Black Panther Vol. 1 (For classic Black Panther adventures)
Marvel Entertainment
Storm
Did you know Storm is the star of her own ongoing solo series right now? She is! Unfortunately low sales of female-led books are keeping Storm's title perpetually on the chopping block (we barely knew you, She-Hulk). The #SaveStorm hashtag is keeping the idea alive, but if you're curious about what one of your favorite childhood characters is up to in 2015 (dating Wolverine??!) head to your local shop and #SaveStorm while you still can.
Okay, that being said. Storm is the first African-American member of the X-Men and their frequent leader since her induction in 1975. Born in Harlem to a Kenyan mother and an American father, Storm was orphaned shortly after her family moved to Cairo, surviving as a street thief before manifesting her powers and being discovered by a tribe that worshipped her as a white-haired weather goddess. That's Storm's character in a nutshell — giving up being worshipped as a goddess to protect the same people who hate her.
Essential Reading:
Storm Vol 1: Make It Rain
Essential X-Men Vol. 4 (many of Storm's defining experiences with the X-Men)
Astonishing X-Men: Storm
Marvel Entertainment
