Black Captain America vs. Black Jesus

July 21, 2014July 23, 2014 David F. Walker

Originally posted at BadAzz MoFo

Once again, I find myself on the slippery slope of pop culture commentary, in a position that requires full disclosure. Recently, I wrote a piece about Marvel’s announcement that Sam Wilson, a black man better known as Falcon, will be taking over as the new Captain America. I also admitted that I know writer Rick Remender, who will be chronicling the adventures of Black Captain America. With that in mind, it is only fair that I admit to knowing Aaron McGruder, creator of The Boondocks, as well as a new television series that is about to debut, Black Jesus.

My relationship with McGruder is far more complex than my relationship with Remender, to the extent that I’d say at one point Aaron and I could’ve been considered friends. We haven’t spoken in a long time, and based on his work as of late, I’d say that we exist in differing ideological universes. If that’s not the case, he is more than welcome to get in touch with me, as I’m sure he still has my number, and we can talk about how his work often makes me want to vomit in the corner.

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Animation, Television5 Comments

Revisiting The Boondocks Part Two: The Show

May 28, 2014May 30, 2014 Shawn Taylor

Yesterday, we ran through a brief history of the characters that inhabited The Boondocks comic strips that I loved. That roll call was all prelude to why I don’t love the animated “adaptation” on Adult Swim.

When I first heard of a ‘Docks cartoon, I was elated. If I could never have a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, I was owed a ‘Docks one, right? Like damn near all my friends, I was glued to the television. The first episode, “The Garden Party,” started off promising with a Huey Freeman voice over: “I’m not a prophet. But sometimes I have prophetic dreams; like then one when I was at a garden party.” Huey walks out on stage at this lily-white garden party, and drops the following jewels, “Jesus was black. Ronald Regan was the devil. And the government is lying about 9/11.” A riot ensues. The white folks can’t handle the truth. Despite my finding the anime/manga style stilted, this scene was rendered well. What a way to launch your first episode.

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Comics5 Comments

Revisiting The Boondocks Part One: The Strips

May 27, 2014September 29, 2016 Shawn Taylor

The inter-webs — and my crew — are all a-chatter about how the fourth and current season of Adult Swim’s The Boondocks signals the demise of a once great animated property. With the series creator Aaron McGruder no longer involved, people are arguing that the magic is gone. While his presence and involvement during the last two seasons is debatable, having it publicly confirmed that McGruder is no longer associated with his creation seemed like the proper invitation for folks to start shitting on the show. The shitting should have happened a long time ago as the demise of this property started when it first jumped from strip to screen.

Before we get into everything wrong with the show (that’s for tomorrow), let’s first look back at what was right with the strips.

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