Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Black Cotton writer Patrick Foreman

by Mike Rhode

I'd like to start by apologizing to Patrick Foreman for the late appearance of this interview. He responded quickly to our usual questions, but I dropped the ball and let it slip down my email page. So for bonus content, at the end of this interview, find a link to some other interviews with him about his upcoming Black Cotton comic, as well as the ordering page from Diamond's Previews.

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.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

Brian and I are the creators and writers of Black Cotton, a comic book series published by Scout Comics.  Black Cotton is actually my first comic book writing project, while Brian has been writing for years and has several amazing issues coming out. He has a self-published comic called Don’t Ever Blink Chapter 2 on Kickstarter right now and Devil’s Dominion with BlackBox Comics comes out in December.

Overall, we have an amazing Black Cotton team with  art done by Marco Perugini, letters done by Francisco Zamora, and graphic design done by Jerpa Nilsson.

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

As a team, we do a combination of it all.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

I was born in the 1970s,  in Crossett, Arkansas, but raised mostly in Virginia Beach.  In Arkansas, I lived in a very small town called Hamburg.  Many may lose their heads on hearing this (lol) - because another famous person who played basketball with Michael Jordan is from there too -- you know him, Scottie Pippen.  He is actually in my yearbook!  Our town was so small -- there was only one school at that time so when I was in kindergarten, he was in High School… Same school, same year book.

Why are you in Virginia now?  What neighborhood or area do you live in?

I got stationed at Quantico, VA back in 2014.  Then I retired after 25 years in the Marine Corps in 2018,  and the wife and I decided to stay here in Virginia.

 What did you do in the Marines?

I was a Career Planner.  So I helped the Marines make mutually beneficial decisions for themselves and their families while doing the same for the Marine Corps Institution.  It's basically the HR section for the Marine Corps. 

 

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

I’m actually mostly a collector.  I grew up reading comics and from the start I would always buy two copies, one to read and one to put away.  I still enjoy comic books today  --the artwork, masterful storylines.  Brian has been one of the greatest teachers and mentors I have had throughout this process. He was able to take our conversation and layout a roadmap to where we are today.  Much Respect to Brian.

Who are your influences?

Definitely Dwayne McDuffie, Todd McFarlane.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

I wouldn’t change a thing.  Everything I have gone through thus far has grown me to the person I am today… Led me to my beautiful wife and molded me for the future places before us.  Still learning and still growing – those things will always remain constant.

 What work are you best-known for?

Actually, I am best known for two things: my 2020 award winning gospel song “He’s Able" featuring David Scott and my magazine with Todd Dubose, Returning Citizens Magazine, which is currently viewed by more than 1.2 million Incarcerated Individuals daily across the nation.

What work are you most proud of?

I am most proud of Black Cotton.  Black Cotton is a world changer.   Black Cotton is a comic, yes, but it is also a mindset; it’s a mindset being explored in a comic.  The Black Cotton Mindset.

How did you start to work with Scout Comics?

 

Co-Creator Brian Hawkins has made some great connections throughout his career.  Meeting and becoming good friends with Brendan Deneen, the CEO of Scout Comics, was one of them.   We talked out several options about how to bring Black Cotton to the world and Brian mentioned Scout Comics.  We decided to show it to them and they loved it.  They came back saying they would love for us to join the Scout Family.  It was off and running from that moment forward. 

What would you like to do  or work on in the future?

I would love to see Black Cotton on the TV screen.

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

I go play Ultimate Frisbee.  Nothing like a good game of Ultimate Frisbee to get the juices flowing and a great break from the grind.

What do you think will be the future of your field?

I am looking forward to the evolution of comics.  I feel this Covid Era has given many a time to pause and go back to their creative stages.  We were so busy before that we didn’t have true time to just be creative – brainstorm, look at it – step away and come back.  We had hard deadlines to meet.  We have time now.  The question is what are they doing with that time?  These next few years will answer that question.

What's your favorite thing about DC?

The museums.

Least favorite?

Traffic.

 What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

The African-American Museum, but start at the bottom first though.  It is a lot to take in just one day.  It really is a two day venture.

Do you have a website or blog?

https://www.scoutcomics.com/ and BlackCottonComic on Facebook & IG.

How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected you, personally and professionally?

I have been blessed during this time.  My wife and I are both retired Marines and both of us work for the federal government too, so with our jobs we were able to switch over to telework fairly easy.  I feel for the nation and cannot wait till we are looking back on this moment in our history.

 Preorder your copy from your LCS using Diamond Code DEC201650 from Scout Comics. https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/DEC201650

More interviews:

Interview: Brian Hawkins and Patrick Foreman Talk BLACK COTTON From Scout Comics
By AJ O. Mason
December 5, 2020
https://monkeysfightingrobots.co/interview-new-scout-comics-series-black-cotton/

Two Scout Geeks
Lucky Ep #13 with Patrick Foreman and Brian Hawkins.
https://www.ageofradio.org/twoscoutgeeks/

Interview with Brian Hawkins and Patrick Foreman (Creator of Black Cotton)
Bearded Comic Bro
Dec 16, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMIpPMm-jBs

SCOUT COMICS WANTS YOU TO PICK "BLACK COTTON"
That Indy Comics Guy
Nov 28, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&feature=youtu.be&v=lNWDaFENlkE

Catching up with The Lily

Advice on how to tell your family you're against in-person holiday gatherings

For starters, join forces with like-minded loved ones

(Christine Suggs)

Christine Suggs

December 13 2020

https://www.thelily.com/advice-on-how-to-tell-your-family-youre-against-in-person-holiday-gatherings/

Is covid ruining my kid's childhood? Sometimes I worry, but she's resilient.

She deeply misses school and social connection

Shelley Couvillion

December 6 2020

https://www.thelily.com/is-covid-ruining-my-kids-childhood-sometimes-i-worry-but-shes-resilient/

A White stylist had no idea how to handle my Black hair. Here's what that experience taught me.

In college, I had one of the worst salon visits of my life

Bianca Xunise

November 29 2020

https://www.thelily.com/a-white-stylist-had-no-idea-how-to-handle-my-black-hair-heres-what-that-experience-taught-me

I started 2020 grappling with postpartum depression. I had no clue it would be the least of my worries.

Everything started to spiral in March and April. To cope, I turned to my passion.

Chari Pere

November 22 2020

Philip Kennedy Johnson interview about writing Superman titles

New 'Superman' Writer on His "Epic" Comic Plans

December 16, 2020

Graeme McMillan

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dcs-new-superman-writer-unveils-his-epic-plans

Charlie Hebdo trial in France concludes with convictions

All 14 defendants in trial related to 2015 attack on French newspaper Charlie Hebdo found guilty [in print as All 14 defendants found guilty in attacks on Charlie Hebdo, market]

James McAuley

Washington Post Dec. 17, 2020, P. A13

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/charlie-hebdo-hyper-cache-verdict/2020/12/16/680df8d4-3fb3-11eb-b58b-1623f6267960_story.html

When Jeff Kinney's covid book tour came to Silver Spring

How 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' author Jeff Kinney became the king of COVID-19 book tours

Hannah Yasharoff

USA TODAY

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2020/12/17/covid-19-book-tour-diary-wimpy-kid-author-jeff-kinney/6327127002/

Peanuts at 70 panel

Peanuts at 70

Sarah Boxer, Jonathan Lethem, Clifford Thompson, and Chris Ware, moderated by Andrew Blauner.

•Dec 16, 2020

Library of America

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne_aXsQcJhI

LOA Live: A conversation with Sarah Boxer, Jonathan Lethem, Clifford Thompson, and Chris Ware, moderated by Andrew Blauner. In 1950 Charles M. Schulz debuted a comic strip that is one of the indisputable glories of American popular culture—hilarious, poignant, inimitable. The "Peanuts" characters continue to resonate with millions of fans, their beguiling four-panel adventures and television escapades offering lessons about happiness, friendship, disappointment, childhood, and life itself. Andrew Blauner, editor of the LOA anthology "The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life," joins four distinguished contributors to the collection for a seventieth anniversary conversation reflecting on the deeper truths of Schulz's deceptively simple strip and its impact on their lives and art and on the broader culture. Presented in partnership with Peanuts Worldwide and the Charles M. Schulz Museum.

animation voice actor David Lander obituary in Post

David Lander, who played Squiggy on 'Laverne & Shirley,' dies at 73 [in print as Played Squiggy on 'Laverne & Shirley' and spoke about multiple sclerosis]

By Deborah Vankin — Los Angeles Times

Washington Post Dec. 15, 2020

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/david-lander-died/2020/12/06/41b4f6b6-3774-11eb-a997-1f4c53d2a747_story.html

Wonder Woman 1984 reviews

This is set in DC, so here's some reviews of it.

Wonder Woman 1984 review – queenly Gal Gadot disarms the competition

Peter Bradshaw

 15 Dec 2020

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/dec/15/wonder-woman-1984-review-gal-gadot-kristen-wiig-patty-jenkins

 

'Wonder Woman 1984': Film Review 

12/15/2020

David Rooney

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wonder-woman-1984-film-review

 

Review: 'Wonder Woman 1984' is a rousing, retro throwback to Christopher Reeve's 'Superman'

Brian Truitt

USA TODAY December 15 2020

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/12/15/wonder-woman-1984-review-gal-gadot-returns-rousing-retro-sequel/6541503002/

 

Wonder Woman 1984 'fills you with wonder'

By Nicholas Barber

15th December 2020

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201215-wonder-woman-1984-fills-you-with-wonder

 

'Wonder Woman 1984' Review: Escapist Superhero Sequel Whisks Us Away From Real-World Disaster

Peter Debruge

Variety December 15 2020

https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/wonder-woman-1984-review-sequel-1234853844/

Latest Goodwyn cartoon newsletter

EDITORIAL CARTOONS

December 15, 2020

First Second's #SketchSchool with Ben Hatke for Julia's House Moves On

•Dec 9, 2020

FirstSecondBooks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r53YC6y82I

In First Second's #SketchSchool series, you'll see your favorite graphic novelists draw their characters and create graphic worlds right in front of your eyes! You can follow along and try to learn new skills, or just watch the magic happen. Stay tuned on Tuesdays for more videos! In this next installment, you'll watch Ben Hatke draw Julia from Julia's House Moves On, which is now available wherever books are sold. Music by Ketsa. Start reading JULIA'S HOUSE MOVES ON: https://us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

Quick holiday book recommendations - Mary Shelley, Bill Mauldin, and Wakanda Files

 by Mike Rhode

A few books that would make good gifts have come in -- well, a lot have, but I'm behind like everyone else these days. Part of my problem is that, as an editor, I assigned two of these to academic reviewers for the International Journal of Comic Art, and then I read those reviewers opinions... so I've linked to those reviews as well.

Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter, Brea Grant and Yishan Li, Six Foot Press, 1644420295, $19 

From the book's Amazon page, we learn - When angsty teenager Mary Shelley is not interested in carrying on her family’s celebrated legacy of being a great writer, but she soon discovers that she has the not-so-celebrated and super-secret Shelley power to heal monsters, just like her famous ancestor, and those monsters are not going to let her ignore her true calling anytime soon. Everyone expects sixteen-year-old Mary to be a great writer. After all, her mother, her aunt, and her grandmother are all successful writers (as they constantly remind her)―not to mention her famous namesake, the OG Mary Shelley, horror author extraordinaire. But Mary is pretty sure she’s not cut out for that life. She can’t even stay awake in class! Then one dark and rainy night, she’s confronted with a whole new destiny. Mary has the ability to heal monsters… and they’re not going to leave her alone until she does. 

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. I'm a big urban fantasy reader these days, especially of books written by women. It's a good choice for a young adult who likes manga, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's funny, and well-drawn (by Li), with some minor family drama, but a lot of fun ideas. As an older white man, I'm not the target audience, but I'll be buying the rest of this series for myself as it comes out. Li's an artist I wasn't familiar with, but I'm going to look into more of her work (some of which is apparently not for this age group).

Drawing Fire: The Editorial Cartoons of Bill Mauldin, Todd DePastino (ed.), Chicago: Pritzker Military Museum & Library, 2020. 250 pages; $35.00. ISBN 9780998968940.

From the book's Amazon page, we learn - The first career-spanning volume of the work of two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin, featuring comic art from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm, along with a half-century of graphic commentary on civil rights, free speech, the Cold War, and other issues. Army sergeant William Henry “Bill” Mauldin shot to fame during World War II with “Willie & Joe” cartoons, which gave readers of Stars & Stripes and hundreds of home-front newspapers a glimpse of the war from the foxholes of Europe. Lesser known are Mauldin’s second and even third acts as one of America’s premier political cartoonists from the last half of the twentieth century, when he traveled to Korea and Vietnam; Israel and Saudi Arabia; Oxford, Mississippi, and Washington, DC; covering war and peace, civil rights and the Great Society, Nixon and the Middle East. He especially kept close track of American military power, its use and abuse, and the men and women who served in uniform. Now, for the first time, his entire career is explored in this illustrated single volume, featuring selections from Chicago’s Pritzker Military Museum & Library. Edited by Mauldin’s biographer Todd DePastino and featuring 150 images, Drawing Fire: The Editorial Cartoons of Bill Mauldin includes illuminating essays exploring all facets of Mauldin’s career by Tom Brokaw, Denise Neil, Cord A. Scott, G. Kurt Piehler, Jean Schulz, and Christina Knopf, with a Preface by Tom Hanks.

This book is aimed at me - an older white male - except most of Mauldin's career took place before I was an adult. Never mind that ... he was an excellent cartoonist and a true proponent of a free and equal America with rights for all. After these past four years, we need to return to his values more than ever. While I got a review copy from the Pritzker, I would have gladly bought this is I saw it in a store first. Todd DePastino does an excellent job rounding up a diverse group of essays and providing the relevant grounding for cartoons that can be 70 years old now. IJOCA's review is here.

The Wakanda Files: A Technological Exploration of the Avengers and Beyond, Troy Benjamin, Epic Ink, 2020. 978-0760365441. $60.

From the book's Amazon page, we learn - An in-world book from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Wakanda Files—compiled by request of Shuri (Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War) as part of her quest to improve the future for all people—is a collection of papers, articles, blueprints, and notes amassed throughout history by Wakanda’s War Dogs. In a nod to Wakandan technology, the pages of the book have a printed layer of UV ink with content that is visible only under the accompanying Kimoyo bead–shaped UV light. Within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Wakanda has been on the forefront of what is technologically possible. Their ability to stay ahead of the rest of the world is second only to their ability to keep themselves hidden. As the architect behind many of Wakanda’s great advancements, Shuri is constantly seeking ways to improve what has come before. To aid in her search, she researches the past for context, reference, and inspiration by compiling The Wakanda Files. Organized into areas of study, including human enhancement, transportation, weapons, artificial intelligence, and more, The Wakanda Files trace the world’s technological achievements from the era of Howard Stark and early Hydra studies to modern discoveries in quantum tunneling and nanotechnology, weaving together the stories, personalities, and technology that are the fabric of the MCU.

This book is aimed at a young adult audience too, probably received as a gift, given the price. It must be popular this season as Amazon appears to be sold out. As a teenager, I would have loved this book. As an adult, I admire the cleverness of the packaging (especially that little uv light which is the middle detachable ball there on the right in the photo), and the conceit of being a set of spy reports from the MCU. There's not enough Black Panther in here, which makes sense because the book is a report to him, but that may disappoint people who expect to find him in a book with Wakanda in the title. In conclusion - a good grandparent's gift to a fan of Marvel movies, if not the comic books. IJOCA's review is here.

All 3 books were provided by the publisher's representatives. We don't receive anything but the books, and that includes advertising or link revenue. So buy them from your local store if you can.

Dec 16: LOA LIVE: Celebrating the Peanuts gang at 70

No images? Click here LOA LIVE Join us for our final online event of the year         Peanuts at 70: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and The Meaning of Life A conversation with Sarah Boxer, Jonathan Lethem, Clifford Thompson, and Chris Ware; Andrew Blauner, moderator     In 1950 Charles M. Schulz debuted a comic strip that is one of the indisputable glories of American popular culture—hilarious, poignant, inimitable. The Peanuts characters continue to resonate with millions of fans, their beguiling four-panel adventures and television escapades offering lessons about happiness, friendship, disappointment, childhood, and life itself. Join editor Andrew Blauner and four distinguished contributors to the LOA collection The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life, for a seventieth anniversary conversation reflecting on the deeper truths of Schulz's deceptively simple strip and its impact on their lives and art and on the broader culture.       Wednesday, December 16 6:00 – 7:00 pm ET REGISTER Presented in partnership with Peanuts World Wide and the Charles M. Schulz Museum       RELATED TITLE   Hardcover • 352 pages List price: $24.95 Web Store price: $18.95 Use coupon code LIB2020 today or tomorrow to receive 15% off the Web Store price: $16.11 The Peanuts Papers Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life Edited by Andrew Blauner In The Peanuts Papers, thirty-three writers and artists demonstrate just how much Peanuts means to its many admirers—and the ways it invites us to ponder, in the words of Sarah Boxer, "how to survive and still be a decent human being" in an often bewildering world. Featuring essays, memoirs, poems, and two original comic strips, here is the ultimate reader's companion for every Peanuts fan.       Image, above: Charles M. Schulz at his studio drawing table in 1978. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

PCHH asks Does 'Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World' Hold Up, Ten Years Later?

Does 'Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World' Hold Up, Ten Years Later?

Glen Weldon

Daoud Tyler-Ameen

Mallory Yu

Jourdain Searles

Pop Culture Happy Hour December 7, 2020

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/02/941558942/does-scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world-hold-up-ten-years-later

Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Johnny Simmons, Ellen Wong, Alison Pill, Mark Webber are among the many stars of 2010's Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.

Big Talk Productions/Kobal/Shutterstock

The 2010 film Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World starred Michael Cera as a directionless and not terribly bright 22-year-old in Toronto. Despite an amazing cast and director Edgar Wright's kinetic visual style, the film underperformed. In the ten years since, it's attained cult status. But does it hold up?

The audio was produced by Mike Katzif and edited by Jessica Reedy.

Disney to rely heavily on Star Wars and Marvel media in 2021

Disney unveils huge cache of content, signaling it seeks to dominate both digital and theaters [in print as Disney unveils new content, signaling aim to dominate theaters and digital].

Steven Zeitchik

Washington Post Dec. 11, 2020

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/10/disney-starwars-marvel-dominance/

Friday Night Comics: Holiday Special

Malaka Gharib, Amy Kurzweil, and GB Tran

Dec 4, 2020

Black Mountain Institute

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn2J0bhLuAk

Join comics heroes Malaka Gharib, Amy Kurzweil, and GB Tran for a holiday special hosted by The Believer's art director Kristen Radtke, where we'll make cards and comics for the people we miss most. You'll leave the workshop with three handmade gifts.

For these you will need some of the following materials: Paper–colored paper, printed paper, cardstock, it doesn't matter. Drawing tools like a pencil or pen, or more ambitious tools like crayons, markers, eyeliner–whatever you have. A pair of scissors. Glue or tape (or gum!). Cuttable material. This could be regular paper, tissue paper, or a plastic bag.

******** All past comics workshops can be found here: https://believermag.com/comics-worksh... If you have the means, please consider supporting The Believer: http://believermag.com/support ******** Purchase the hosts' books: Vietnamerica by GB Tran: https://bookshop.org/a/271/9780345508720 I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib: https://bookshop.org/a/271/9780525575115 Flying Couch by Amy Kurzweil: https://bookshop.org/a/271/9781936787289 Amy Kurzweil's Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Amykurzweil

Multiversity's reviewer doesn't like Tom King's “Batman/Catwoman” #1

"Batman/Catwoman" #1

By Elias Rosner | December 4th, 2020

http://www.multiversitycomics.com/reviews/batman-catwoman-1/

The Post on Twins, an animated Zoom funeral, and Priya's Mask

Surprisingly Priya's Mask, a comic made in India, has a local tie.

She is the Brown girl superhero the world needs right now — and in recent days, she has gained fans from Mumbai to Maryland [in print as Teen superhero takes on covid, gaining fans from Mumbai to Md.]

Theresa Vargas

Columnist

Washington Post Dec. 10, 2020, p. B1, 3

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/she-is-the-brown-girl-superhero-the-world-needs-right-now--and-already-she-is-drawing-young-fans-from-mumbai-to-maryland/2020/12/08/9f5e8b06-38fa-11eb-98c4-25dc9f4987e8_story.html

Middle school worries inspired Varian Johnson's graphic novel 'Twins' [in print as Novelist's childhood inspired tale of rival twins].

By Mary Quattlebaum

Washington Post Dec. 9, 2020

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/middle-school-worries-inspired-varian-johnsons-graphic-novel-twins/2020/12/08/33ea912c-2aa8-11eb-92b7-6ef17b3fe3b4_story.html

Together Alone at the Zoom Funeral

By Kolin Pope and Ted Muldoon

December 10, 2020

https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2020/12/10/zoom-funeral/

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Hang In There, Baby!"

From Mike Flugennock, DC's anarchist cartoonist -

 "Hang In There, Baby!"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=3110

God, I miss Trump already — yeah, I said it, and I'd say it again if I had to. The sonofabitch isn't even out of office yet, and I already miss him. I miss the breathtaking, aggressive stupidity, the comical  blustering, and those tweets. Oh god, yeah, those tweets — every one a solid nugget of pure comedy gold.

I really was hoping for another four years of those little classics, but no luck. Instead, we're in for four years of banal, empty, platitudinous bilge  — like this little stinkburger, where he takes forever just to tell us that all we'll likely get for coronavirus relief is another measly-ass $1200 check, and that otherwise we can go fuck ourselves. Christ, it looks like something off an old 1970s cat poster.