Afua Richardson
Afua Richardson | |
---|---|
Born | April 25, 1980 New York City, NY |
Nationality | American |
Area(s) | Writer, Penciller, Inker, Colourist |
Pseudonym(s) | Docta Foo |
Notable works | Genius, World of Wakanda |
www |
Afua Richardson is an African-Native American artist. She did covers for five issues of Marvel's World of Wakanda and art for a short story backup in the first issue.[1][2] Her comic, Genius, with writers Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman[3] won Top Cow's 2008 Pilot Season.[4][5][6] She illustrated a Langston Hughes poem in 2014 for NPR's Black History Month,[7] and did variant covers for several comic book titles including All Star Batman for DC comics,[8] Attack on Titan for Kodansha,[9][10] Mad Max for Vertigo, as well as covers/variant covers for X-Men '92, Totally Awesome Hulk, Shuri, and Captain America and the Mighty Avengers at Marvel Comics. She was one of a small group of African American women artists who were employed by the "big two" comic publishers at the time she entered the industry.[11]
Biography[]
Richardson was raised in New York City.[12] From a family of scientists,[13] she studied classical flute from age nine.[12] As a flautist, she performed with ensembles at Carnegie Hall and on Soul Train.[14] She also performed with Sheila E. and Parliament-Funkadelic.[13]
She was a backup singer, a beatboxer, a background dancer on MTV Jams and appeared in an off-Broadway show with Melvin Van Peebles.[12][15] She is part of the musical collective Future Soul Society, and recorded with Alexa Edmonds Lima under the name 'Afua & Alexa'.[16][17]
Richardson is a self-trained artist.[12] She was a member of the now defunct Ormes Society, which promoted African-American women in the comics industry.[18]
For the comic book series, Genius (2007), she worked with writers Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman to tell the story through the voice of a black woman, Destiny Ajaye.[19] Richardson's experience of being a minority in the United States influenced her work.[20] In Genius, she draws violent acts in a way that is both "matter-of-fact and highly stylized," according to ComicsAlliance.[21] She portrays Ajaye's thought processes and David Brothers called it "instantly understandable and worthy of poring over."[21]
Awards[]
In 2011, Richardson received the for Artistic Achievement as one of the few African-American women comic book artists to work for the leading publishers in the field.[22][23][17]
Bibliography[]
Interior art[]
- World of Wakanda #1 (2017) (backup short story)
Top Cow[]
- Genius (2007)
Cover work[]
DC[]
- Warren Ellis' WildStorm #2 – Variant (2017)
- All Star Batman #1 – Variant (2016)
Marvel[]
- Captain Marvel #4 – Variant (2016)
- Totally Awesome Hulk #2 – Variant (2016)
- X-Men '92 #1 – Variant (2016)
- Captain America and the Mighty Avengers #14 – Variant (2015)
- World of Wakanda #1–#5 (2017)
Image[]
- Black Magick #3 – Variant (2016)
Other art[]
- Attack on Titan Anthology – Pinup (2016)
- Mad Max Fury Road Artist Book – Two-Page Spread (2016)
- The Negro Speaks of Rivers – Illustrations of the Langston Hughes Poem set to Narration for NPR (2014)
References[]
- ^ "Black Panther: World of Wakanda (2016) #1". Marvel Press. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ "SDCC 2016: Black Panther: World of Wakanda". Marvel Press. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ "Genius #1". Image Comics. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ "Top Cow's Genius is a chilling reflection of this week's Ferguson turmoil". AV Club. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ "Military Genius: 17 Year-Old Female Gang Member Takes on Top Cow". Newsarama. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ "Afua Richardson: Journey to Genius". Lincoln Motor Company. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ "Blood And Water: Illustrating Langston Hughes' 'Rivers'". NPR. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ "All Star Batman #9". DC Comics. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ "Read This Gorgeous, Heartbreaking Story From the Attack on Titan Anthology Comic". io9. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ "Kodansha Announces "Attack on Titan" Anthology". CBR – NYCC. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ Jackson, Cheryl V. (April 16, 2016). "Black female characters, artists fight for place in comic book world". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Howe, Brian (November 12, 2014). "Real Live Wonder Woman". Indy Week. Retrieved May 4, 2017 – via HighBeam Research.[dead link]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Womack, Ytasha L. (2013). Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. pp. 83, 105. ISBN 978-1613747964. OCLC 854285645.
- ^ Howe, Brian (November 11, 2015). "Four on the Floor". Indy Week. Retrieved May 4, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.[dead link]
- ^ "Waking Astronomer Is ATL's New Space-Aged R&B Trio". OkPlayer. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- ^ "Afua & Alexa- Starchild". The Steady Rock. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Staggs, Matt (August 12, 2012). "Better Know an Artist: Afua Richardson AKA 'Docta Foo'". Unbound Worlds. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ Peterman, Erika (November 28, 2011). "African-American Women Take On The Comic Book Industry". St. Joseph News-Press. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2017 – via HighBeam Research.
- ^ Bernardin, Marc. "A comic book I wrote imagined snipers shooting at police. Now that frightening reality haunts me". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- ^ Sava, Oliver (August 15, 2014). "Top Cow's Genius is a chilling reflection of this week's Ferguson turmoil". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Brothers, David (August 9, 2010). "Welcome to the Terrordome: 'Genius' Fights the Power [Review]". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- ^ "Afua Richardson". Graphic Classics. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- ^ "African Avengers: the comic book creators shaking up superhero genre". The Guardian. February 3, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
External links[]
- African-American artists
- American artists
- African-American musicians
- American flautists
- Living people
- 1980 births