3 Review(s)

A seasoned cartoonist of epic proportions, Brandon-Croft carves out space for Black women s perspectives in her nationally syndicated strip. Few Black cartoonists have entered national syndication, and before Barbara Brandon-Croft, none of them were women. From 1989 to 2005, she brought Black women s perspectives to an international audience with her trailblazing comic strip Where I m Coming From. From diets to day care to debt to dreaded encounters with everyday racism, no issue is off-limits. This remarkable and unapologetically funny career retrospective holds a mirror up to the ways society has changed and all the ways it hasn t. The magic in Where I m Coming From is its ability to present an honest image of Black life without sacrificing Black joy, bolstered by unexpected one-liners eliciting much-needed laughter. As the daughter of the mid-century cartoonist Brumsic Brandon Jr. the creator of Luther, the second nationally syndicated strip to feature a Black lead Brandon-Croft learned from the best. With supplementary writing by the author and her peers alongside throwback ephemera, this long-overdue collection situates Brandon-Croft as an inimitable cartoonist, humorist, and social commentator, securing her place in the comics canon and allowing her work to inspire new readers at a time when it is most needed.