Orrin C Evans
and the story of All Negro Comics
by tom christopher
copyright 2002
first published in the comic buyer’s guide
When Orrin C. Evans died in 1971 at the
age of 68 he was eulogized in
the New
York Times as ‘the dean of black reporters’. From our vantage
point of
another quarter century, we can also say he was the father of
black
comicbooks.
Mr Evans was born in 1902 in Steeleton,
Pennsylvania, the eldest son of
George
J. Evans Sr, and Maude Wilson Evans. Mr
Evans Sr was employed by
the
Pennsylvania Railroad, his wife was the first black to graduate from
the Williamsport Teachers’ College,and the
family lived in white
neighborhoods. However, despite this stable home life the
every day
realities
of Northern racism were never far from their door. Mr Evans
Sr
passed for white in order to provide a better living for his family
than the
menial jobs available to blacks would allow, but this forced
him to
carry the pretense to the inevitable ends of hiding the darker
skinned
Orrin in a back room while Maude donned an apron and pretended
to be a
maid when friends from his work dropped by.
On other occasions,
his
father was not able to acknowledge Orrin at his workplace. Years
later
Orrin was visibly moved when relating these episodes. As Orrin’s
friend,
Claude Lewis wrote in 1971 ‘There was no National Association
for the
Advancement of Colored People back then, there was no Urban
League. Like others of his time, Orrin Evans was out
there on his own.
And what
he had to suffer was more than anyone I know could endure’.
Orrin
was a strong headed young man, and during the family’s many dinner
table
discussions on the issues of the day he so often used the phrase
don’t tell me in
defending his beliefs that his father took to calling
him ‘Mister
don’t tell me’, and as often as he would drive Orrin to
school
and wait in the parking lot till he got in the door, just as
often
would Orrin exit through the rear.
Despite the emphasis placed on
education
in his family Orrin was more interested in the experiences
life
offered, and he dropped out of school in the eighth grade to pursue
his goal
of writing.
His
first job was on the Sportsman’s Magazine at age 17, and his first
real
newspaper experience was with the Philadelphia Tribune, the oldest
black
paper in the country. From there, in
the early nineteen-thirties,
he
decided to break the color barrier and landed a writing position on
the
Philadelphia Record, becoming the first black writer to cover
general
assignments for a mainstream white newspaper in the United
States. In 1944 at the Record he wrote a series of
articles about
segregation
in the armed services, which were read into the
congressional
record, and helped end the practice. He
won an honorable
mention
in that year’s Hayword Hale Broun award, but also drew some
unwelcome
attention. To criticize the government
during wartime, even
to point
out the obvious hypocrisy of segregating troops putting their
lives on
the line to defend a country where democracy supposedly makes
all men equal
was considered treasonous by some and he and his family
received
death threats. His daughter Hope
remembers their house being
protected
in a 24 hour a day vigil by a congregation of Orrin’s friends,
both
black and white, until the threats subsided.
This was
not the only time Orrin was threatened because of his color and
position. Once at the Philadelphia Police Precinct at
55th and Pine a
police
sergeant pulled his revolver and ordered him out of the station,
not
believing a black man had any legitimate place on the front side of
the
bars, and the national hero and Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh
once
held up a press conference during the infamous kidnapping of his
son to
have Orrin ousted because he was black.
Shortly
after the war, the Record was hit by a strike and management
decided
to shut the paper down rather than settle the labor issues.
Orrin
was out of a job and looking for something to do. He had always
loved
cartoons. His daughter Hope, a teacher
like her grandmother,
mother,
and aunt remembers her father reading the comics to her, and
particularly
enjoying The Katzenjammer Kids and Lil Abner.
At work he
liked to
walk through the art department and watch the staff cartoonists
work. In later life he enjoyed the civil rights
cartoons of his friend
Jerry
Doyle, and went out of his way to meet Morrie Turner, the first
syndicated
black cartoonist. He was always
impressed with the way a
well
executed cartoon could simplify and clarify complex issues, and,
noting
the high illiteracy rate in the black community, began to
consider
the possibility that he could reach a wider audience with a
comicbook
than through his other writings, which by 1947 had expanded to
include
works in the Chicago Defender, Philadelphia Independent, the
Public
Journal, American Musician and Crisis, the NAACP journal.
For
Orrin to note the lack of black heroes in the popular culture was a
singular
feat in itself. As Claude Lewis said in
a recent interview ‘We
weren’t very
conscious about being left out, it was just the way things
were. We identified with Superman, Batman,
Submariner and the rest of
them
without giving much thought to it. If
you’ve never seen a black
hero you
don’t spend a lot of time wondering where they are. Today you
would,
but back then, there were no blacks in ads.
It just didn’t
happen’. Orrin wanted to change all this. He considered himself an
urban
American born in the twentieth century, fully integrated into the
western
world. He and his wife were long time
supporters of the NAACP
and the
Urban League. The works of WEB Du Bois
spoke more to him than
did
those of Marcus Garvey. He possessed a
library said to be possibly
the
finest in the black community with volumes not only of Afrocentric
interest
or white commentaries on what was termed ‘the Negro problem’,
but a
library that represented his own wide range of interests, and he
wanted
to produce a comic that would reflect these values.
Like all
his other projects Orrin threw himself whole heartedly into his
proposed
comic. He arraigned a partnership to
publish the comic which
included
Harry T. Saylor, editor at the record, his friend Bill
Driscoll,
the sports editor, and others. Orrin
was determined that the
book
should be of high moral and educational standards. He co-created
the
features in the comic along with the artists who included his
brother,
George J Evans Jr, two other Philadelphia cartoonists, one of
whom was
John Terrill, the other named Cooper, and a Baltimore artist
who signed
his work Cravat. The cartoonists
probably wrote their own
scripts,
and there was further editorial input by Bill Driscoll. Hope
remembers
this as a very happy time for him, and that he was involved in
every step
of the book’s production, having secured a bullpen/production
area in
another building.
All Negro Comics # 1 carries a cover date
of June 1947. No information
about
the press run or distribution remains, but it is believed that the
comic
was distributed outside of the Philadelphia area.
A second
issue was planned and the art completed, but when Orrin was
ready to
publish he found that his source for newsprint would no longer
sell to
him, nor would any of the other vendors he contacted. Though
Orrin
was unyielding in his support of integration and civil rights he
was
moderate in his methods of achieving these goals. He believed in
the
general fairness of the system he had been born into. He was not a
man
given to conspiratorial thinking, but his family remembers that his
belief
was that there was pressure being placed on the newsprint
wholesalers
by bigger publishers and distributors who didn’t welcome any
intrusions
on their established territories.
Race and
economics have always been emotionally charged rallying points
and from
this date we can only look to the model of history and judge
for
ourselves. Surely the mainstream
publishers had an interest in
cultivating
the black market. Parent’s Magazine
published two issues of
Negro
Heroes, dated Spring 1947 and Summer 1948, featuring reprints from
their
Calling All Girls, Real Heroes and True Comics. Fawcett published
three
issues of Negro Romance, the second issue being reprinted by
Charlton
as Negro Romances number four, dated June through October 1950
and May
1955 respectively, as well as a series of sports hero comics
about
1950 that included short runs of books starring Jackie Robinson
and Joe
Lewis. White companies also designed
and distributed tabloid
sized inserts
of comics and general interest material to be inserted
into
black newspapers, but All Negro Comics was not only the first comic
of
original material to be marketed to blacks, it was the only comic
book
produced by blacks, and the only comic book featuring black
characters
in lead heroic roles. After this, with
the very obvious
exception
of several anti-racist EC stories, blacks disappeared from
comics
except for background in the jungle books, where the day was
always
saved by white jungle kings. Blacks
were never seen in street
scenes,
never anguished over lost romances or romped in teen aged
innocence. Probably the next time a black appeared in a
comic book was
Spiderman
18, November 1964, where a black cop is depicted. There were
exceptions
to prove the rule: some romance comics with photo covers used
occasional
pictures of relatively darker girls, but with straight hair
and
generally caucasian features, and there’s a solitary black on a mid
1950s
Charlton cover about the time they reprinted Negro Romances. Gabe
Jones of
Sgt Fury’s Howling Commandos debuted with a May 1963 cover
date,
but in true comicbook fashion, the series depicts integration of the armed
services
at a time when there was none, while comics in general made no
mention
of a contemporary issue. Blacks were
never seen in their true
percentage
of the population until after this first appearance in
Spiderman. The first silver age black hero, the Black
Panther was
created
by Lee and Kirby and debuted in Fantastic Four 52, July 1966. A
series
of black history comics were released under the general title of
Golden
Legacy, between 1966 and 1972. There
were sixteen issues
published
with most titles reprinted in 1976, and again in 1983. The
last
American edition of Classics Illustrated, number 169 was Negro
Americans
The Early Years published in 1969. The
second issue of All
Negro
was never published.
Orrin
Evans returned to the newspaper business.
He was an editor at the
Chester Times,
and later at the Philadelphia Bulletin, where he worked
with
Claude Lewis who recently said ‘Orrin had many contacts throughout
the city
of Philadelphia and the region. He knew
the people who were
running
the city and he knew the people who were at the bottom, and he
was
equally at ease in either community. He
was well liked and well
versed
and that made him a very valuable person in a newsroom’. During
his
lifetime Mr Evans was featured in articles in Jet and Ebony
magazines. He was a director of the Philadelphia Press
Association, and
an
officer of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia. In 1966 he
won the
Inter Urban League of Pennsylvania Achievement Award. He
covered
more National Urban League and NAACP conventions than any other
reporter
and the month before his death he was honored in a resolution
at the
annual NAACP convention in Minneapolis and a scholarship was
created
in his name.
At the
time of Mr. Evans’ death Claude Lewis wrote
what was well known
by
Orrins friends, that perhaps his
greatest strenght was that he hadn‘t
been
left bitter by past experiences, but always believed that the
good in
humans would prevail.
Orrin C.
Evans' contribution to the comics industry is important to us
today
not only because he was the first black publisher, but because he
was he
was an exceptional intellect from outside the field who saw the
great
potential in comicbooks as a medium for both entertainment and and
education,
and who had the determination to see his dreams through to
reality.
Sources
Interviews Hope Evans Boyd, George J. Evans Jr,
Claude Lewis, George
Evans
Article Philadelphia Tribune 15 Feb 77, Pg
21: Orrin Evans, A Black Who
Refused to Be Bitter.
Entry In Black and White (reference)
Pg 306
Obituary NY Times 8 Aug 7, Pg 58
Obituary Philadelphia Bulletin 8 Aug 71
Charles
Lindburg reference is from American Swastika by Charles Higham.
Doubleday Publishers,1985.
Garden City, NY. Thank you to John Judge
For this reference
REVIEW: ALL NEGRO COMICS Number 1
ACE HARLEM by John Terrell opens the
book. The story begins early one
morning
in Pop’s Bar-B-Que Shack ‘before the early morning sharp chicks
and
smooth studs drift in’. Two jive
talking zoot suiters enter and
kill
Pops while robbing the place. The only
witness, a beautiful girl,
calls
the police and Ace Harlem, famed negro detective is sent to
investigate. Ace immediately takes in all the clues and
is led to the
herb
store of ‘Doctor’ Ali Ben, who puts him hot on the trail of the
thief,
who purchased his good luck root from the ﾔdoctorﾕ.
The crooks
meanwhile
have had a falling out and and the more belligerent, Lizard,
has
killed the other just as Ace comes upon the scene. Lizard runs, and
is
pursued. During the confrontation at the top of a rickety flight of
steps lizard
trips and eventually is strangled in his long watch chain,
which
was the instrument of death in the previous killings. The story
is well
written with natural dialogue. Mr
Terrell’s art is always
competent
and often quite forceful in the bold Caniff-like style of the
day.
The next strip, the DEW DILLIES by Cooper
is an odd one. Itﾕs
about...well...these
pixies, only one is a mermaid and the other is a
young
boy...well, they’re all young, really, and later there’s a mean
one
that’s half alligator, called a goolygator. They’re looking for
something
to eat, but can’t agree on any of their immediate choices, a
clam and
a duck, because of the interconnectedness of all life, and
settle
on a fruitarian feast. The story is a
little wordy in an old
fashioned
manner, but the art is very well designed and executed in a
classic
children’s book style that would’ve fit well into Animal comics.
EZEKIEL’S MANHUNT a two page text story is
next. While a typical boy’s
adventure
story, it is doubtless the first time in a comic book that a
sentence
like His white teeth shone against his smooth dark brown skin
was
applied to the clever young hero who outwits the crazed murderer
hiding
in the old shack.
LION MAN by George J Evans Jr
follows. ‘American born, college educated
Lion Man
is a young scientist, sent by the United Nations to watch over
the
fearsome ‘magic mountain’ of the African Gold Coast. Within its
crater
lies the world’s largest deposit of uranium ---enough to make an
atom
bomb that could destroy the world.’
Lion man is joined by a young
orphan,
Bubba, who’s just big enough to get in the way. This story
concerns
Doctor Blut Sangro, an evil figure, and his guide, Brossed the
beachcomber
in what seems to be the first chapter of an ongoing
conflict.
The characters are well defined and Mr Evans’ art is simple
and
realistic, looking influenced by early Alex Raymond.
HEP CHICKS ON PARADE, a page of gag
cartoons about overly fashionable
women
signed LEN is next. The artist delivers
a lovely example of 1940’s
girlie
gags
LIL EGGIE a humor feature about a
diminutive husband with wife and
money
woes fills the next page. John Terell,
the Ace Harlem artist
checks
in with a humorous shortie in a lighter style that would easily
fit
among the better drawn humor strips of the day.
SUGARFOOT by Cravat completes the
book. Sugarfoot and his pal Snake Oil
are
traveling musicians who this first time out are involved in trying
to
hustle a meal out of an old farmer, and also hustle his beautiful
daughter,
Ample. Cravat draws in an energetic
cartoony style somewhat
like
Harvey Kurtzman.
An
introductory editorial, a public service announcement warning Crime
Does Not
Pay and encouraging a strong community through church,
education
and sports round out the issue along with the promise that the
second
issue would feature stories of Negro Trailblazers and Sports
Heroes.
All Negro Comics # 1 is a good read. More thought went into the stories
than I
can briefly recap. Ace Harlem works as
a detective story, the
dialog is
realistic and the incidentals of the story, the root doctor
and the
juke box playing ‘Open the Door Richard’ reflect the culture of
the
creators, as do Sugarfoot and Hep Chicks.
Lion Man, a character
surprisingly
like Lee and Kirby’s Black Panther,is a well thought out
concept,
born with a secret laboratory and a pesky junior sidekick and
ready
for some good ol pulpy jungle action.
The book reads and looks
pretty
much the same as a Fox, Iger or Chesler book of the same time
period.
OBITUARY
Cartoonist
George J. Evans Jr died in late July 1996 at the Howard
Hospital
in Maryland.
Mr Evans
created the first black comic book hero, Lion Man, for his
brother
Orrin’s ground breaking All Negro Comics, dated June 1947.
Because
of their relationship it can be assumed that George J Jr was the
first
cartoonist that Orrin approached to contribute. George co created
Lion Man
with his brother and wrote and illustrated the first story,
told in
a simple, well drawn style reminiscent of early Alex Raymond.
Lion Man
was described as being American born and college educated and,
working
under the auspices of the United Nations, he is sent to guard a
huge
uranium deposit in Africa. He had a
secret laboratory hidden in
the
jungle and a pesky zulu orphan named Bubba for a sidekick and comedy
relief.
‘It had never been done before. Lion
Man was the black jungle
king’,
George J Jr said in a recent interview, contrasting his creation
with
previous characters.
George J
Evans Jr was the youngest child of George J Evans Sr and Maude
Williams,
born 13 March 1911. He is survived by
his wife, Ruth Evans,
his
daughter Pat Sullivan,and two grandchildren.
He was a life long
resident
of the Philadelphia area where his family has lived for
generations.
(PLEASE
NOTE: THIS IS NOT GEORGE EVANS, THE FICTION HOUSE AND EC ARTIST)
POST SCRIPT – UPDATE
It has
been brought to my attention that George J Evans was one of several artists to
colaborate
on the newspaper strip Why Is It? later
in his life. Samples can be found at:
All text
copyright tom christopher
All art,
trademarks and character/story copyrights are trademark and copyright estate of
Orrin C Evans
All
trademarks and copyrights are 2003
All
rights reserved
