50 Cent’s a Publisher; Why Not Hudlin?
Posted by: Guy LeCharles Gonzalez on March 21, 2007 at 12:48 am
 GalleyCat had an interesting post yesterday about 50 Cent’s publishing imprint, G Unit Books, noting that it’s “poised to become the most high profile purveyor of a hot-selling literary genre sometimes called ‘urban fiction’ or ’street lit’ that has steadily increased its cultural presence over the last half-decade.”
I see Black and Latina women of all ages reading so-called “urban fiction” on the subway every day; street vendors selling tablefuls of the books in high-traffic areas in the City; and remember well some of the hustling novelists (and poets) who’d hawk their own work on the subway back in the mid-90s. I see all of that, and then I see Reginald Hudlin, President of Entertainment of BET, writing Black Panther for Marvel Comics, always talking a good game about raising the profile of minority comics characters, and wonder why he’s seemingly satisfied with working on someone else’s plantation instead of building his own? Seriously, though; while it’s always easy to tell other people how to spend their money, imagine if Hudlin and BET put some of their combined resources towards developing a publishing imprint and launched something like BET GrafLit, focusing on full-length graphic narratives like Blokhedz, Stagger Lee, Bluesman, Nat Turner, The American Way, Lance Tooks’ and Keith Knight’s work, an anthology from The Ormes Society, etc.? If nothing else, it would offer some karmic balance for crap like Lil’ Kim: Countdown To Lockdown, Beef: The Series, and the mind-bogglingly wrongheaded web feature, B-Girls. What. The. Fuck? 
Categories/Tags: Blogs, Reginald Hudlin
26 Responses to "50 Cent’s a Publisher; Why Not Hudlin?"1 | david brothers It’s worth noting that this question was raised at the BET panel at NYCC, and Hudlin and Cowan responded that they’d like to do something like that, and put a lot of black authors or black-oriented books out, comic or otherwise. They’re looking at options, but they’re focused on getting the network into shipshape first. “Give us time” was what they said, I believe. I’m paraphrasing of course. Cowan in particular seemed to want to push BET away from the paradigm it’s stuck in now, and the animation stuff he’s approved so far seems to bear that out. I really wish the BET panel had gotten some coverage or was recorded or something. Ah, good to know, David. Thanks! Hopefully it doesn’t get bogged down in corporate red tape, like most things worth doing often do. BTW, I know PCS shot footage at the Con, including some of the Black Panel, so hopefully that’ll be going up soon. Is that what you’re calling the BET panel, or is that something different? PS: The “talking a good game” link above is from that footage, freshly uploaded to YouTube this evening. 3 | Jon Haehnle We’ll have more PCS footage soon, some of it from the Black Panel (not to be confused with the BET or the BET Animation panels). I gave our new guy, Dan Diaz, all our NYCC footage to go through and he happened to pick Reggie for his first try at editing something for the site. Incidentally, this is the second con in a row where I’ve turned to my PCS partner (Howard at NYCC and Shola at SDCC) and said something like, “Day Two is almost over and I’m not sure we’ve interviewed any white guys yet :O” Not sure how many other sites who cover the cons have that conversation… 4 | Howard Brown There was a Black Panel and BET also had one of their own panels where they were showing some of their animated offerings. What David is talking about was from that particular panel. The footage above in the article is from one of the one on one video interviews we did with Denys and Reggie (two on one?). We also did shoot footage at the Black Panel as well as other areas, and we’ll be rolling that out soon as well. BTW, nice to see you here David :) 5 | Godwell Henestly, I hope they do whatever it is HUDLIN and COWAN are doing aways from BET so it doesn’t wind up a cororate property like MILSTONE did and end up being shelved instead of upgraded. People better remember…BET is now VIACOMS monster and will only be allowed to offer Afrikan ‘Intellectual’ properties at a limit without taking something much more dear in the process… …OUR SOULS! 8 | Joe D. It’s not about just what Hudlin is or isn’t doing. I applaud what Sheppard Hendrix and other indie black publishers are doing. Build it and they will come (as that sappy baseball flick said). I agree it would be cool if they did start something along those lines though, but I’m not holding my breath. Just waiting for indie creators to keep creating. 9 | david brothers BTW, nice to see you here David :) Don’t call it a comeback, Howard. I’ve been a fan since it was PCS to Buzzscope and back again :) Cowan did a pretty solid job of convincing me after the panel that BET had good things in the works that ran against their rep. My dream right now, though, is for them to hook up with Kyle Baker and hit us with a Nat Turner animated feature. David: …hit us with a Nat Turner animated feature. That would be hot, and huge step in the right direction. Howard: …when they see ‘Bid ‘em in’ Yeah, I’m real anxious to see how that turns out! Godwell: I hope they do whatever it is HUDLIN and COWAN are doing aways from BET… I hear you. Part of my “Make the f**king comics!” rant called for ownership because the exisiting publishers either don’t get it or aren’t built in a way to do anything about it. Ideally, Hudlin and Cowan would fund it themselves, but again, I’m not trying to tell people how to spend their– Well, damn, yes I am, actually! Dirk Deppey: Possible answer: Because the Direct Market is at this point little more than a Marvel/DC delivery network with a mostly white, middle-aged demographic, and if Hudlin really wanted to reach the American mainstream with his own comics line, he’d need to approach it through other markets and business models. Very true; which is exactly why we need something like BET GrafLit (or, to a lesser degree, The Guardian Line) where people with a vested interest have their own money on the line. And it’s not about reaching the mainstream, really. F’ them! They have their comics and aren’t really interested in expanding their tastes. I’m talking about reaching out to the same “urban” audiences 50 Cent is tapping into, who don’t give a damn about Marvel and DC beyond some nostalgic name-checking and the occasional movie. Pocket Books is making the attempt with Blokhedz, the kind of graphic novel that’s likely not going to be getting much coverage on Newsarama or CBR (or TCJ, for that matter) despite being better, and easier to purchase, than the majority of the crap they do cover. (NOTE: Look for my review this weekend.) 12 | david brothers I reviewed Blokhedz shortly after NYCC and found it to be a rock solid start, despite a couple tiny hiccups. The lack of coverage on Newsarama and the like is completely bananas. 13 | s dot s Big up to 50 for venturing to literature. I can wait to read the book version of “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” I see what you see Guy w/r/t urban lit readership and would venture to say if Cowan and Hudlin (or anyone else for that matter) spend their marketing dollars heavily in the comic book arena is wasting said dollars if they want to see their books reach the right audience…and be successful. Not saying they need to sell comics on the subway but they shouldn’t care if they’re mentioned in Newsarama either. 14 | Leigh Walton “And it’s not about reaching the mainstream, really. F’ them! They have their comics and aren’t really interested in expanding their tastes. I’m talking about reaching out to the same “urban” audiences 50 Cent is tapping into, who don’t give a damn about Marvel and DC beyond some nostalgic name-checking and the occasional movie.” Guy, I gotta point out that you just called the 30-yo white male nostalgist market “mainstream,” which is certainly what they like to consider themselves, but it’s a lie that bothers me every time I see it. 50 Cent (or Naruto) is a hell of a lot more mainstream than the fucking Justice Society, and the sooner everybody acknowledges this fact, the sooner we’ll see the kind of popularly-accessible, diverse body of comics that you’re talking about. The folks “who don’t give a damn about Marvel and DC beyond some nostalgic name-checking and the occasional movie” ARE the mainstream. I agree that BET has the power to move into publishing, and possibly succeed. Are they exploring animation? I haven’t been following this story. I also have no idea how Virgin Comics is doing, or what their business plan is. They certainly can’t expect to succeed by relying on 100,000 INFINITE CRISIS fans to pick up their books… If they really are marketing and distributing to mainstream channels (i.e. outside the Direct Market), they might be a useful role model for a big entertainment company moving into comics. But I haven’t seen any signs that Virgin Comics is doing much of anything. 15 | Reginald Hudlin You know what would be really useful? If someone actually wrote an article describing the events at the “black” panel and the BET panel. As some people here have already posted, I discussed the “BET Comics” idea, and we showed several pieces of animation that inspired the audience to burst into applause, laugh their heads off, and (with BID ‘EM IN) shock them into silence. If someone had written a piece like that a while back, we could avoided this rant, which both flames me and asks me for help. Make up your mind, Guy. People who actually watch the network are very excited about the changes in programming. Shows like SEASON OF THE TIGER or MEET THE FAITH or THE CHOP UP or ONE NIGHT ONLY or AMERICAN GANGSTER are exactly the kinds of shows that people say BET should put on, but they never get mentioned in attacks like this…because people don’t bother to actually watch the channel before getting their rant on. Or do we owe some karmic debt for airing PCS’s “Akira’s Hip Hop Shop” on BET J? We’re a broadcaster. Which means the audience that makes CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL the highest rated relgious program in television history may not be the same audience that makes THE BET AWARDS the highest rated award show in all of cable. But the viewing audience is not monolithic. As for me writing for Marvel, it’s clearly not for the money. I love comics and dreamed of doing this my whole life. I get to write some of the most beloved characters in popular culture. I get to work with supportive and talented people like Axel Alonso and Joe Quesada. I’m learning the comic book business by working with the best. So if and when I decide to do my own thing, I actually know what I’m doing. Reginald: If someone had written a piece like that a while back, we could avoided this rant, which both flames me and asks me for help. Make up your mind, Guy. I wholeheartedly agree that the Black panel and the BET panel should have received better coverage than it has to-date — had I not missed the entire Con for health reasons, I would have done it myself — and David noted that the topic had in fact come up in his first comment here. My intention wasn’t to flame you with this post, but rather to ask the question of why you hadn’t yet made a move into publishing, and I appreciate your shedding some light on it being as much about having love for Marvel’s characters as cutting your teeth in preparation for bigger things. I can get down with that. As for BET’s programming, I don’t watch much TV at all these days that isn’t sports or Grey’s Anatomy, so I’m not familiar with most of the shows you mentioned, but there’s a saying that you’re only as strong as your weakest link, and, in my opinion, BET has some serious weak links. I understand you’re attempting to serve a broad audience with a variety of programming, but I think you’d greatly improve the perception of the BET brand by leaving the lowest-common-denominator stuff to VH1 and Spike TV. 17 | Reginald Hudlin Sorry to hear of your illness. Hope you are feeling better. As for how to judge a network…actually, no, networks are mainly judged by their hits. NBC is the HEROES network, FOX is defined by 24 and AMERICAN IDOL, and ABC is LOST and DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (and GREY’S ANATOMY). I don’t think about them in terms of their daytime talk or game shows. BET is just now moving aggressively moving into original primetime programming, but has quickly racked up a lot of critical and commercial success. So you can applaud change or complain about things you don’t like on a network you don’t watch. 18 | david brothers You know what would be really useful? If someone actually wrote an article describing the events at the “black” panel and the BET panel. I’ve tried to do a little coverage, but I didn’t take notes or do anything but play the observer/fan at the panel because I figured that somebody important was going to cover it. Other than the coverage here at PCS and the brief spot at ToonZone, nobody big covered either panel. Gotta love the comics media, huh? You’re always invisible until you screw up. :/ My top three favorite panels at NYCC were the Kyle Baker humor panel, the BET panel, and the Black panel. The rest of the ones I saw were just pretty much boring hype-y dreck. These three, though, either taught me something or had my rapt attention. Next time I hit a con, though, I’m going to be sure to record or take notes or something. It’s not right that either of those panels should get so little press. 19 | Howard Brown Our features on the Black Panel, BET Panel and others will be featured shortly, as stated in the earlier post. Doing some finishing touches on those video pieces. Also, for the record, Seven Days in Japan aired on BET J, not Akira’s Hip Hop Shop. Akira isn’t finished yet :) Still not sure how that would mean that BET owed us some karmic debt though. As it stands though, from what I got from this piece was that the question is why don’t organizations that are about programming aimed at Blacks, namely BET, doing something in this space to bring something positive there. It is a very legitimate question, as it was even asked at the BET panel, as was noted. Considering your background, Reggie and the changes that have been seen in BET these past 18 months, that question being aimed at you should be taken as a compliment. That’s just my two cents though. 20 | Reginald Hudlin Hey, it’s a natural question, which is why I answered it at the panel and again here. That’s why I didn’t get the hostility at the end. 21 | Howard Brown Hmm, while I can’t speak for Guy, I would think of it as the following. When you’re a network, the SOLE network for serving a group of people; you’re viewed differently. It’s much easier for people to pick shots when they see something that’s not positive or uplifting being aired. It’s like you mentioned at the panel, BET is held to that higher standard as people look to it to be where a better and more natural portrayal of us can be found to counter the ‘Shoot this ni**a’ mentality that is being preached about us everywhere else. So that’s my take on it. While we’ve spoken on these and other things and I can say I know you’re aware of all these things; everyone hasn’t been able to spend that time with you to see where you’re coming from. Just keep doing your thing. If we didn’t have love for you over here, we wouldn’t be talking about you, lol What Howard said. The hostility at the end of the post was sincere, a result of poking around BET.com to see if there was some publishing initiative I was unaware of and coming across B-Girls, which I think is terribly inappropriate content for the BET brand. I’m all for celebrating beautiful black women, but I’d rather not see it done in the context of a stripper’s directory. All that’s missing are webcams and a paypal link! Seriously, though, as always, I appreciate your willingness to discuss these issues publicly, and I understand it can be difficult to separate those with legitimate concerns vs. those looking to stir shit up. I have a vested interest in seeing better and more diverse portrayals of my people — both bloodlines, Black and Latino — and, at the end of the day, as long as your ultimate intentions are good, I’m in your corner. Keep up the good work, but don’t ever be satisfied with what you’ve accomplished because there’s much more work to be done than we’ll be able to get to in our lifetimes. Peace! 24 | Jon Haehnle Aw, I feel the love lol. In other news, as promised in the above comments PCS’ Black Panel coverage continues with The Mad Twinz Blokhedz test animation 25 | Jennifer Aren’t YOU writing at someone’s “plantation” as we speak? Or are you Mr. Shock and nobody told me? Check the masthead, Jennifer. PCS is a co-operative, not a plantation; a bunch of independent contributors who serve no corporate master. If there’s a Mr. Shock, I guess that’d be Jon, and I’ll take him over an Isaac Perlmutter or Sumner M. Redstone any day. |
 |
Also Check These Out!
Latest from PCS COMICS
Latest from PCS IS DEAD
|
|
|
