Blair Davis

The Blacker the Ink

Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art

Edited by Frances Gateward and John Jennings

Rutgers University Press

The Blacker the Ink is the first collection to explore not only the diverse range of black characters in comics, but also the multitude of ways that black artists, writers, and publishers have made a mark on the industry. The book’s fifteen original essays take us on a journey that includes familiar milestones like Luke Cage and The Boondocks, while spanning everything from African American newspaper comics of the 1930s to Francophone graphic novels of the 2000s.

Copyright year: 2015

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The Battle for the Bs

1950s Hollywood and the Rebirth of Low-Budget Cinema

By Blair Davis

Rutgers University Press

In The Battle for the B’s, Blair Davis analyzes how B-films were produced, distributed, and exhibited in the 1950s and demonstrates the new possibilities that existed for low-budget filmmaking at a time when many in Hollywood abandoned the B’s. B-movies innovated such industrial components as demographic patterns and marketing approaches, created such genres as science fiction and the teen-oriented films of the early and mid fifties, and led to the emergence of “New Poverty Row,” a movement now known as underground cinema.

Copyright year: 2012

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Comic Book Movies

By Blair Davis

Rutgers University Press

Comic Book Movies investigates the genre’s powerful appeal to today’s moviegoers. Examining not only superhero movies, but also adaptations of indie comics and graphic novels, Blair Davis assesses their aesthetic innovations and tells how they have transformed the film industry.

Copyright year: 2018

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Comic Book Women

Characters, Creators, and Culture in the Golden Age

By Peyton Brunet and Blair Davis; Introduction by Trina Robbins

University of Texas Press

A revisionist history of the origins of comic books that reclaims women’s pioneering and pivotal roles as both creators and characters.

Copyright year: 2022

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Christianity and Comics

Stories We Tell about Heaven and Hell

By Blair Davis

Rutgers University Press

This book presents an 80-year history of how the comics industry has drawn inspiration from biblical imagery, stories, and themes. Charting how comics have both reflected and influenced Americans’ changing attitudes towards religion, it includes underground comix, books from Christian publishers, and a vast array of DC, Marvel, and Dark Horse titles, from Hellboy to Preacher.

Copyright year: 2024

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Movie Comics

Page to Screen/Screen to Page

By Blair Davis

Rutgers University Press

Movie Comics is the first book to study the long history of comics-to-film and film-to-comics adaptations, covering everything from silent films starring Happy Hooligan to sound films and serials featuring Dick Tracy and Superman to comic books starring John Wayne and Bob Hope. Blair Davis tracks the artistic coevolution of films and comics, investigates how the film and comics industries joined forces to expand the reach of their various brands, and contemplates our abiding desire to experience the same characters and stories in multiple forms.

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The Blacker the Ink

Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art

Edited by Frances Gateward and John Jennings

Rutgers University Press

The Blacker the Ink is the first collection to explore not only the diverse range of black characters in comics, but also the multitude of ways that black artists, writers, and publishers have made a mark on the industry. The book’s fifteen original essays take us on a journey that includes familiar milestones like Luke Cage and The Boondocks, while spanning everything from African American newspaper comics of the 1930s to Francophone graphic novels of the 2000s.

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Desegregating Comics

Debating Blackness in the Golden Age of American Comics

Edited by Qiana Whitted; By Qiana Whitted

Rutgers University Press

Desegregating Comics assembles a team of leading scholars to explore how debates about the representation of Blackness shaped both the production and reception of Golden Age comics. It examines not only the racial stereotypes that predominated, but also the innovations of Black comics artists and the activism of Black fans.

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