by Jen Van Meter and Cully Hamner
reviewed by Carlton Hargro.

I hate Black Lightning.

And, honestly, I hate him mostly because I’m black.

You see, African-American comic readers — especially guys my age — have been subjected to a legion of lame black characters over the decades, and Black Lightning is one of the lamest.

I mean, here’s a guy who wore a 1970s-inspired costume with big, flyaway collars until the 1990s — and a mask that was attached to a huge afro wig.

On top of that, the guy had lame powers and lame villains (like the fat gangster Tobias Whale). Moreover, he was another brother (one of many and plenty) fighting crime in “the hood” while guys like Green Lantern were flying to other planets.

Taking my hate for the character into consideration, you shouldn’t be surprised to hear that I wasn’t excited about picking up Black Lightning: Year One #1. I figured that any re-telling of the character’s first year in action would be some lame storyline involving BL fighting gangs in the ghetto. After reading the comic, however, I’m happy to say that I was only partially right about the series.

In BL:Y1, the hero does fight gang members, but the story — by writer Jen Van Meter — is far from lame. The issue does wonders for showing BL as a complex person, instead of one-note B-lister. Read an old issue of The Outsiders, and BL comes off very Tabula Rasa-ish. But Meter presents him as someone who gets angry, has hopes and sometimes gets things wrong.

On the art side of things, I have to admit that Cully Hamner really put his foot in these pages (that’s a compliment). His line work, as usual, is clean and confident. You’ve got to love an artist like Hamner, who gets the storytelling right, fills the background with great details and still serves up everything with his own stylized personal style. I wish all these wannabes artists who swipe from manga art could learn lessons from Hamner.

Oh and, still focusing on the art, the colors — by Laura Hamilton — are very much on point: rich, moody and cinematic.

After reading this, do I still hate BL the superhero? Yep. But, I’ll be sticking with this series.

Carlton Hargro is the editor-in-chief of Creative Loafing. For more reviews from Carlton Hargro, visit the Arts section at http://www.charlotte.creativeloafing.com/.

THIS JUST IN!

Just added to the guest list of the 2009 Charlotte Minicon is Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 artist GEORGES JEANTY! Georges is an old friend of ours, and a regular guest at HeroesCon, so we’re extra proud of how high his star has risen lately. If you’ve never met Georges (pronounced almost exactly how it looks, like GEORGE-ess), he’s a super sweet guy, and is sure to be a popular guest at the show.

ALSO NEW to the list, and no less sweet, are good ole GREG ADAMS (Thunderbolts, Excalibur) and Charlotte local BUDDY PRINCE (Night). They join an existing guest list including:

CHRIS BRUNNER: Gotham Central, Loose Ends (forthcoming)

J. CHRIS CAMPBELL: Zig Zag, Project: Superior

IAN FLYNN: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic X

JASON LATOUR: 24/7, The Expatriate, Loose Ends

BUDD ROOT: Cavewoman

ANDY SMITH: 52, Green Lantern

Add to that some of the biggest and best comics dealers from all over the Southeast, not to mention a huge number of fans, and you’ve got the Charlotte Minicon. Going on Saturday, January 17, from 11am to 5pm. Admission will be $2 per person, and the event will once again be held in the Palmer Building at Fireman’s Hall: from our store, just head east on 7th Street until you get to your first light at 5th St. Fireman’s Hall is on the left!

And before I forget, Ian Flynn informs us that he may have a ton of Sonic freebies available while supplies last, so be sure and bring your kids! If you have any questions, feel free to post in the Comments section below!

Hello to 2009! Maybe it’s just my own infectious enthusiasm, but it seems like everyone I talk to is thinking that 2009 is going to be a really great year. We tend to agree; and how could so many of us be wrong?

Just in terms of our little corner of the world, here in your friendly neighborhood comics shop, we’ve got an enormous year planned. Check out this short list, just off the top of my head:

–Our first Discussion Group of the year will be January 12, and feature the most critically acclaimed book of 2008, BOTTOMLESS BELLY BUTTON.

–The Charlotte Minicon, now in its fourth decade, going on January 17.

–An in-store appearance by acclaimed director George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) on February 20.

—Free Comic Book Day going on the first Saturday in May (May 2).

–One of the biggest HeroesCon‘s ever, with a guest list that already includes names like Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, and Jeff Smith: June 19-21.

And that’s just the FIRST HALF of the year! Good gravy!

Oh, but while I’m on the subject of the New Year, I thought I’d mention that 29 years ago today, on January 2, 1982, then 27-year old Shelton Drum opened up Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find in a tiny, closet-sized location on Central Avenue. Today the store is one of the most well-known in the country, not to mention my employer for give or take the last 12 years. Happy Birthday, Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find, and Happy New Year’s to all of you!