Ron Wimberly Reveals Black History in Its Own Words
“The Nib, home of political cartoons and nonfiction comics, approached comics artist Ron Wimberly in late 2014 about contributing a series of illustrations to their site for Black History Month in February of 2015 – “Black History in Its Own Words.” The primacy of the idea – illustrations of black Americans with a brief, punchy quote – sparked immediately with Wimberly, who overdelivered on his commitment and repeated the assignment the following year.
This February, again timed for Black History Month, Image Comics collects those twenty-four illustrations, complemented by fourteen new drawings fans have never seen before. In total, “Black History in Its Own Words” showcases 88 pages of Wimberly’s graphically striking portraits and strikingly chosen quotes, featuring luminaries from James Baldwin and George Herriman to Kanye West and Serena Williams.
CBR: When you were first approached about the idea of drawing the “Black History in Its Own Words” series on The Nib, what was the concept’s main appeal to you?
Ron Wimberly: It was simple: All I had to do was choose black luminaries who said great things and draw them. That was enough. Maybe the ease of the concept was part of the draw. I tend to challenge myself usually, but this was very straightforward; there’s no complex formal elements to the project…”
