Feeling less alone: The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town: Comic Book Review

Hello Loves

It’s been a year or so hasn’t since I written on the blog. Navigating the past year emotionally took its toll at times and to be honest I wasn’t feeling motivated to write. Until I received an email from Jamila Rowser from Black Josie Press. It was a press release/Kickstarter update for their latest launch: The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town.

The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town is an autobiographical comic that’s dedicated to exploring the intersection of Blackness and mental health, created by the award-winning cartoonist Robyn Smith (DC Comics' Nubia: Real One (written by L.L. McKinney) and Black Josei Press' Wash Day (written by Jamila Rowser)

The comic was originally self-published by Robyn in 2016 and was named one of the best short-form comics of 2016 by The Comics Journal. Black Josei Press is  reprinting the 32-page comic which features a gorgeous new watercolor cover and bonus process pages.  

In The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town, Robyn Smith recounts her experience being one of the only Black people in a rural Vermont town and how that affected her mental health. Her delicate graphite illustrations and poetic words take the reader on a journey through three chapters: Sad, Angry, and Black.  Being a Black girl in a majority white space is to be ignored but constantly observed. Robyn examines this experience of being simultaneously invisible and hyper-visible with such honesty and self-awareness.

WOW!

After supporting their Kickstarter (ends tomorrow), I felt inspired and wanted to do something I haven’t done close to a year: A REVIEW.

The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town is split into three sections: ‘Sad’, ‘Angry’, ‘Black”.  I was impressed how the commentary unfortunately was universal for black and brown women. I grew up in the projects but felt so isolated being the only black girl in an honors class, experiencing similar microaggressions from my junior high school classmates that Robyn was experiencing in a small town. I had no clue what a microaggression was until I was in my first semester at FIT experiencing the same isolation, I felt in my jhs.

In the ‘Angry’ section, the word “n*gger’ came up.  Robyn nailed the different scenarios that black people have to deal with, non-black people casually saying using the excuse “it was in a song” “you guys say it” etc. Ummm not true in my house it was and still is “the n word” I’m grateful I was taught that it’s not a word to say casually even when black people say it (that’s a whole over blog post).  I regret when I was around former non-black friend’s that were that said “the n word” using those excuses I would try to brush it off to fit in and not cause a conflict. Shame on me….

The last portion ‘Black’ resonated with me the most especially with my experiences in 2020 but towards the end of it coming to a more acceptance of who I am. I’m happy Robyn talks about this in the last chapter (don’t want to give it away support the Kickstarter).  It’s feelings that a lot of Black and brown women experience.  Our feelings are valid we shouldn’t have to fight for the simplest of things and be seen as angry or demanding.  We struggle, we get sad, we get angry because we are trying to survive, then we accept ourselves and start to thrive.

Reading “The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town” was therapeutic for me!

As we are dealing with many traumatic anniversaries coming up. I think this is a comic that should be on the bedside table for every black and brown girl.  Robyn reminded me that I am not alone in my struggles and heck inspired me to write again. And I’m thankful for that.

The Kickstarter is sending SOON (33 hours to go), please support here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamilarowser/the-saddest-angriest-black-girl-in-town

 Follow Robyn Smith here , Twitter, and Instagram.

Follow Black Josie Press here 

Buy Nubia: Real One: here

Xo

Kos

WCW: JAMILA ROWSER-WRITER

You guys may have seen me post about Geek Girl Brunch, on my social media pages. I am so grateful to have found the Geek Girl Brunch Community. I have met so many amazing women through it and wonderful friends.

I had the opportunity last week to talk to co-founder Jamila Rowser.  Jamila is bomb! She has written for NYLON Magazine, MTV, Mass Appeal and Critical Chips 2 (which was nominated for the 2018 Angouleme Alternative Comics Award).  In addition to Wash Day and Geek Girl Brunch, she also founded Straight Outta Gotham, a project that highlights connections between hip-hop and geek culture.

Back to her new project Wash Day!  Wash Day is a slice-of-life comic that pays tribute to the beauty and endurance of Black women and their hair. The 27-page story was written by Jamila Rowser and illustrated by Robyn Smith, with script edits by J.A. Micheline. It follows Kimana, a 26-year-old woman living in the Bronx, as she cares for her long, thick hair.

As Kim goes through her Sunday morning rituals, readers experience the highs and lows of her day—fresh coffee, rising rent, girl talk and catcalls.

Jamila, inspired by her own wash day ritual and desire to read more comics by and for women of color, decided to follow the words of the great Toni Morrison, “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it

Robyn decided to peruse comics so she could tell stories that highlight the personal and societal aspects of Black womanhood. It is those very facets that she saw in Wash Day and drew her to the project, “There’s something radical about a story of a Black woman taking time for herself and taking care of herself in ways extremely specific to Blackness.”

Wash Day will be self-published with the help of a Kickstarter campaign. Which runs from April 3rd - May 4th.  Hyped to see Washday exceed its Kickstarter goal of $5k to $10k! #blackgirlmagic at its finest!

A physical copy of the comic book, Wash Day

Check out my q&a with Jamila below!

O.C.O: What brought you to comics?

J.R: I’ve always enjoyed anime, video games and sci-fi and fantasy, so comics was inevitable for me. I also had a late uncle named Barry who was a huge comic book fan and was a big inspiration to me as well. He took me to my first comic con when I was young.

O.C.O:  What was the inspiration behind “Wash Day”? and Why was it important to you to highlight the day in the life of Kimana?

J.R: I love josei manga and I wanted to create a Black josei comic basically. A comic by and for Black women. There’s a quote Robyn Smith, the artist of Wash Day, said that I think describes up it beautifully, “There’s something radical about a story of a Black woman taking time for herself and taking care of herself in ways extremely specific to Blackness.” 

Preview pages, illustration by Robyn Smith

O.C.O:  How did you and Robyn link up?

J.R:  I found Robyn on Twitter! Someone had retweeted her art and I was drawn to it. I look at more of her work and I loved her style and read her moving comic The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town and reached out to about working on Wash Day. She was excited to be a part of the project and loves drawing hair, which is great because there’s a lot of it in this comic. She’s been an absolute pleasure to work with.

With a pledge of $30 or more, readers will receive a Wash Day sticker sheet featuring art by Robyn Smith. 

Preview pages, illustration by Robyn Smith

O.C.O:  Who has had the biggest influence on you outside the comics industry, and how did they affect your life?

J.R:  Other than my Uncle Barry, I would say my friends and music are my biggest influencers. Specifically, artists like Frank Ocean, Solange, SZA and Tyler the Creator, especially their recent projects. Missy Elliot, Erykah Badu and Outkast are also big inspirations to me as well. I think they are all highly creative people whose art is often clever and intellectual, but also deeply relatable and accessible to many.

Preview pages, illustration by Robyn Smith

O.C.O:  What element of your work gives you the most personal satisfaction?

J.R:  That I get to work on something that I care about. It sounds simple, but it’s truly fulfilling to be able to devote time and energy into a project you’re passionate about.

O.C.O:  If a young girl is interested in creating comics, what’s the best advice you can offer her?

J.R:  Create what you want to exist in the world.

O.C.O: What’s on your horizon? Any current/future projects and plans/dreams you can share with us?

J.R: I am working on a mini comic that I’m not ready to announce yet. I hope to release it late summer/early fall. I’m pretty excited about it! I can say that it is inspired by an iconic song.

O.C.O:  What advice would you give to aspiring artists wanting to use their art to address social issues? 

J.R:  Try to let go of the pressure to be the representative of your people. It’s often a burden I feel as one of the few Black women who works in a predominantly white space (I’m talking about my 9-5 job), but I actively try to let it go and remind myself that my experience is mines alone and I can’t and shouldn’t have to represent my race or sex. The same goes for stories, of course there are experiences we all share, but don’t get hung up on trying to include everyone’s experience.

Support Wash Day y'all: www.washdaycomic.com the kickstarter campaign runs through May 4th.

You can follow Jamila on Instagram and Twitter.

Xo

Kos

Giving the gift of kindness

So, this was initially going to be a gift post, but I have decided against it. I rather use my platform to highlight an issue that is very important to me “BULLYING” As a child, I was teased and bullied. The experience has had an effect on me. I can not imagine what it must be like to be bullied in this age of technology. A component that children and adults are faced with now, which brings to mind recent accounts of bullying resulting in the suicides of 10-year-old Ashawnty Davis and 13-year-old Rosalie Avila.

Ashawnty Davis

Rosalie Avila

In the past, I have posted content on social media thinking I was making a clever comeback to bullies who have posted toxic comments about me. In reflection, I realize that this response was bullying too, replying out of anger for my appearance being racially mocked. Two wrongs don’t make a right and I learned this year it’s truly best to ignore and walk away.

Bullies hurt people because they are hurt.  

As a way to kick off the New Year, I am working with and supporting two companies this holiday season:

Flexin' In My Complexion

Ten year old Kheris Rogers (yes ten years old) created Flexin’ In My Complexion, a tee shirt line which inspires African Americans to be confident and comfortable in their skin. Kheris was motivated by the fact she has long been bullied for her skin tone.  In elementary school, for example, white students and teachers discriminated against Kheris for her dark skin.  The racist taunting got so bad that her mom decided to transfer her to a different school — but the bullying still occurred. This time, from black students, who suggested Kheris’ darker skin shade made her less beautiful. Since launching  “Flexin In My Complexion” a few months ago Kheris has received praise from Alicia Keyes and featured her collection in two New York Fashion Week shows in September, making her the youngest designer ever!

Kheris says “Going through that inspired me to begin Flexin’ In My Complexion because black comes in so many shades and they all are beautiful. What I want people to learn from my brand is that beauty has nothing to do with what is on the outside. What is on the inside is what counts.”

FLEXIN' IN MY COMPLEXION TEE: BLACK & WHITE

QUEEN!

And then there is Ditch The Label

Ditch the Label is a digital charity, which means that most of their support is provided online through their website and partnerships with games and social networks. They have determined that 50 percent report having been bullied, 50 percent of those who had been bullied report being bullied about their appearance, 24 percent of those bullied said they had their private information shared online. Their mission statement:

“Each week, thousands of young people aged 12-25 benefit from our digital online support programs through our website and partnerships with online games and social networks. We operate the largest bullying support community in the world and have thousands of support guides and resources freely available.”

Since Ditch the Label uses social media as a way to combat cyber bullying, they have amassed several videos that speak to why bullying and how to respond to the bully. 

From DITCH THE LABEL SHOP

I am extremely grateful to see people/organizations doing the work through art and social media to help people in pain. I have included the go fund pages for the burials of Rosalie Avila https://www.gofundme.com/4sgnu88 and Ashanty David https://www.gofundme.com/ashawntys-way-out-no-bullying. 

I plan to continue to speak against bullying in 2018; and to encourage those individuals and organizations who have made it their mission to rid our society of this abomination. Please join me. 

xo

Kos