BHM Spotlight: Samax Amen On How Spider-Man Taught Him Right From Wrong

by Troy-Jeffrey Allen

In celebration of Black History Month, PREVIEWSworld asked multiple creators within the comics industry to talk about their personal history with Black History Month and their personal history with comics. In our eighth installment in this series, we talk with Samax Amen, artist and curator of all things urban and excellent at GhettoManga.com. 

Give us the rundown on a recent comics project you're excited to be a part of.

There is a Kickstarter going right now for a book called Crazy 9, about a street drug that unleashes latent mutations if anyone who takes it. Problem is it's administered by taking a bullet to the brain.

Anyways, I penciled a 9-page story in the Crazy 9 anthology. If your readers like indie comics, they should peep this anthology. I'm proud of to be part of it.

When did you become interested in comics?

I have always been into comics, since before I could read. Before I had a religion or a political leaning, I learned everything I needed to know about right and wrong from Spider-Man.

How was Black History Month introduced to you growing up?

I was born in the seventies, so it was the "Black and Proud"/Blaxploitation era. I probably became aware of Black History Month in grade school. It wasn't something that was terribly important to me personally until high school when race as a construct really started to mean something tangible for me.

Does that line up with your take on Black History Month in 2018?

That's an interesting question. The seventies was a very racially charged time, like now. Even though we have made a lot of progress since then, I actually think the average person's grip on black history is not any better than it was then. BHM might be more necessary than ever. We have better tools to spread knowledge, but we need to develop our sense of what black people have contributed to civilization here and around of the world.

If you could work on any comic next, what would it be?

I would love to draw a comic about any of the underutilized black female characters Marvel has in their stables, particularly Storm, Misty Knight, or Monica Rambeau. I think I could bring something to each of those characters that no one has seen before, and change the way fans think of them. I would love to draw a Brother Voodoo comic. I would also love to work with Felipe Smith on Ghost Rider.

What was the last comic you've read that you'd recommend?

An incredible webcomic called Crescent City Monsters, a Civil Rights Era horror fantasy starring a fledgling black sorcerer/ rock and roll star in New Orleans. CCM is BEAUTIFULLY drawn, and well-written. Get familiar at DreamFuryComics.com

Also, there's a little book called Fight of the Century that I read a digital copy of. That was pretty dope. Maybe you've heard of it?

Why Black History Month?

Black History Month will continue to be important. As socially literate ("woke") as kids today seem to think they are, their grip on history and why it matters is as tenuous as mine was when I was a kid. Maybe more. Black History Month is an important institution.

Give us a quick rundown of your upcoming con appearances.

I don't have anything to report right now. I am planning some shows with other people here in Dallas that I can't give much information about yet. However, I encourage people who wanna stay updated on my activities should join my email list and let me know what they wanna know about:

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Troy-Jeffrey Allen is the Consumer Marketing Digital Editor for PREVIEWSworld.com and Diamond's pop culture network of sites. His comics work includes BAMN, Fight of the Century, and the Harvey Award-nominated District Comics.