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Scout Comics’ Black Cotton #1 Goes to a Second Print

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Scout Comics has revealed that Black Cotton #1 is going back to print. Set in an alternate reality where the social order of “white” and “black” is reversed, an elitist family, the Cottons, are rocked by a tragic shooting that begins to unravel long-standing family secrets that could not only destroy the family but also divide the fragile social climate of the world.

Black Cotton is written by Brian Hawkins and Patrick Foreman with art by Marco Perugini. Use order code JAN218878 to order the second printing.

Black Cotton #1 2nd printing

Review: Black Cotton #1

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Black Cotton #1

Steven Barnes is one of those writers whose world-building skills makes you believe anything. His books has been part of my cognitive edification, including understanding metaphor and character development. His stories truly transport you to other worlds and makes you fall in love with the protagonists within them. The books where I first got to know him was The Lion’s Blood series.

The premise of the series was if Africa rose to prominence and Europe is a failed continent. It revolved around two characters, both of the same age, but one Black and one, white. The series itself was a godsend, as it showed just how inhuman, systemic racism truly is. In the debut issue of Black Cotton, we’re transported to a world where the social order is reversed as in Lion’s Blood, giving way to a bold new perspective.

We’re taken to Virginia, where one sullen night, a lone Black cop, Zion Cotton, stops a White woman in a hoodie, and before wither could comprehend the next few minutes, the young lies in a pool of her own blood. We soon find out that the cop is part of a rich family. As the latest incident makes the headlines, his family secures the services of a high-powered attorney, one that has scary reputation. Soon protests hit the streets, where signs advocating for “White Lives matter’ can be seen everywhere, and family tensions between the Cottons only get worse, as his sister’s far-right mindset only heightens it. By the issue’s end, the Cottons’ lawyer has arrived at the victim’s hospital suite, where she meets their lawyer.

Overall, Black Cotton #1 is a satisfying start that looks to say a lot. Hopefully, it gets its footing in the second issue. The story by Patrick Foreman and Brian Hawkins is bold and revolutionary. The art by Marco Perugini is adequate. Altogether, Black Cotton is a story that shows promise but is hard to say right now if it can fulfill it.

Story: Patrick Foreman, Brian Hawkins Script: Brian Hawkins
Art: Marco Perugini Letterer: Francisco Zamora
Story: 8.0 Art: 5.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Buy

Scout Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Scout Comics

Review: Black Cotton #1

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Black Cotton #1

Black Cotton #1 is an interesting concept of a comic. The world is similar to ours but the dynamics of race are switched. Whites are the minority in this world. The story dives into race relations and power when a Black police officer from a wealthy family shoots a White woman he thought was armed. It’s a story that plays our far too often in our world with the races reversed. I was hoping Black Cotton would have something intriguing to say on the subject, unfortunately, the debut issue doesn’t seem to.

Entertainment can be a powerful way to explore our world and discuss issues that society must deal with. The exploration of race relations and power dynamics is nothing new and something that has been well done in comics in recent years. Black took us to a world where only Black individuals had superpowers. It showed how that impacted race relations and exacerbated the issues that we deal with in the real world. I was hoping Black Cotton #1 would give us something else to really think about but the story just delivers a similar world where just the skin color of the individuals has changed.

The rich are still rich trying to by silence and skirt justice. The minorities are up in protest over the abuses of the rich and powerful. It’s our real world story just the races of the perpetrators and victim have changed. There’s nothing very new or interesting in that so far. About all that stands out is some scenes of protests where signs are emblazoned with slogans about “white lives”. This could be intriguing is “white lives matter” wasn’t so politically charged as is. Creators Patrick Foreman and Brian Hawkins aren’t delivering anything thought provoking yet. The story they present seems to be making the argument that race is the corruption, money and power are the corruption. It throws out race dynamics as an underlying issue squarely focused on the economic division. It’s a real world debate but as presented is a bit clunky.

The art by Marco Preugini is good. The character designs and world feel realistic and lived in. The characters deliver a lot of emotion in their frustrations, guilt, sadness, and more. The emoting is the highlight of the art and the comic. The comic is in black and white and while interesting in a meta sort of way it hurts the comic a bit as the difference between races isn’t as clear as it would be in color. There’s a lessoning of the impact of the point of the comic.

Black Cotton #1 has potential. It could be a hell of an exploration of race relations. But, the first issue delivers a familiar story with the only difference being the color of the skin. It doesn’t provide anything new or interesting to chew on. In fact, it feels like it distills our real world ills to economic disparity and that’s it. It’s simplistic in its approach. Hopefully future issues deliver a bit more to chew on and contemplate as the story progresses.

Story: Patrick Foreman, Brian Hawkins Script: Brian Hawkins
Art: Marco Perugini Letterer: Francisco Zamora
Story: 6.0 Art: 6.75 Overall: 6.0 Recommendation: Pass

Scout Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Scout Comics

Black Cotton Launches in February from Scout Comics

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Set in an alternate reality where the social order of “white” and “black” is reversed, an elitist family, the Cottons, are rocked by a tragic shooting that begins to unravel long standing family secrets that could not only destroy the family, but also divide the fragile social climate of the world.

Elijah Cotton, the modern patriarch of the Cotton family and business mogul of Black Cotton Ventures, tries to manage the public outrage and fallout from his police officer son, Zion Cotton’s, shooting of a young white woman. Meanwhile, Qia Cotton, the only daughter of Eljiah and the CEO of Black Cotton Ventures, attempts to assuage the situation by paying off the victim and her family; Xavier Cotton, the youngest Cotton and sophomore in high school, works on a history project that takes him down a rabbit hole of family history.

Black Cotton is written and co-created by Patrick Foreman and Brian Hawkins with art by Marco Perugini, lettered by Francisco Zamora, and graphic design by Jerry Nilsson. It comes to shelves in February from Scout Comics.

Black Cotton