Books
28 Days Of Black Girls In Comics: Melody Cooper
28 Days of Black Girls in Comics is a celebration of Black women and marginalized people creating epic stories in comics and graphic novels.
It’s day two of #28DaysOfBlackGirlsInComics and it’s exciting to see people thrilled to see this type of content. Let’s get right into it!
Support Black girls in comics: Melody Cooper
Cooper isn’t new to world-building, sci-fi or Blerd culture. After all, her parents were English and science teachers and her brother even worked at Marvel. Fandom and geekdom runs in the family! Now Cooper is spreading her talented wings and has writing credits in both comics and TV. She’s written for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Netflix’s Two Sentence Horror Story. Her two latest comics are OMNI Vol 2: No More Hate and Noir is The New Black. Cooper is unapologetically Black and when she’s in the writers’ room, she makes it clear that creating Black and POC characters is on her priority.
If you haven’t read OMNI here is a brief description courtesy of Humanoids.
Dr. Cobbina, able to think at the speed of light and instantly diagnose any situation, heads an enigmatic corporation known only as OMNI, giving her the resources she needs to search for others like her. She’s on a quest to learn the origin of her new powers—but, along the way, discovers that the fate of the entire world may rest on her shoulders!
Omni Vol 2: No More Hate just dropped today, so you can show your support by getting an issue.
Read our previous review on Omni Vol 1: The Doctor Is In:
The storytelling and image formatting in this comic is seamless-the images and text are well placed, allowing the reader to clearly follow the events. The transitions and movement in the supernatural scenes are clear as well, so the reader is able to easily immerse themselves in the action without feeling lost. Each character introduced felt realistic and had depth. I cared about their feelings and motives in the story, from Dr. Cecilia’s growing curiosity and concern on the growing cases of ignition events, to Mae’s genuine affection for her friend and desire to help her through the story’s events. Mae as the protagonist’s side-kick offered a lightness and comedic relief that helps to balance out Cecelia’s serious -and at times, intense -disposition. I love that the comic clearly subverts common hero-sidekick tropes, and they accomplished it well without making it feel like a point. This comic also didn’t shy away from current and relevant world events: in fact, the world issues brought up in the plot serve as the comic’s vehicle.