It would not be a comic convention without the sighting of a tall black man in sporting a phro, some bling with a proud, confident presence standing over his table of comics, it’s him, da man, Matthew Mohammed creator and writer of the Black Bastard comics.
The last time I had spoken with Matthew it was at the Paradise comic convention a few years ago. This was long before the days of my reporting for Heroic Arts and we had just discussed his comics and his larger then life presence as he caught my attention with his Black Bastard Pimp get up (hair, bling, full length fur coat and cane, Snoop Dog would have been proud), and I caught his eye while sporting a Family Guy T-shirt back in the days when they had be cancelled. That conversation really stuck with me over the years as I recall the early planning of this site I was looking forward to the day I would see him again at a show, interview him and pickup his latest works for what I’m sure would be another hilarious and probably not suited for children Black Bastard comic. Flash forward to Fan Expo 06 and there he was.
Talking to him from an interview perspective this time was interesting as usual, his casual slipping in and out of character for the photo’s and during conversation is always amusing and the comics on the table looking innocent enough on the well rendered covers always containing what Matthew likes to refer to as mature social satire. The comics themselves are for most a labor of love that Mohammed writes and self publishes while outsourcing the art work. Mohammed also writes for other mediums most notably for Ed the Sock (www.edthesock.com) and has been working on Black Bastard on his own for just over 4 years now.
The comics themselves are no doubt just wrong, but when you think of most comedy and satire it usually is of beat, at someone’s expense and in the end forgivable. For example, issue 1 while poking fun at various groups, has a plot that revolves around Hitler’s skull causing mayhem, some KKK references, Black Bastard encountering women he never “called back”, etc, so I think you can see where the humor is going, but in a world of South Park, Robot Chicken and Internet shock humor is all good by most in the mainstream, while I suggest adhering to the warnings on each Black Bastard cover “Suggested for mature readers”.
I can’t remember the quote exactly from Matthew 3 years ago, but he was selling the comic under the slogan of something along the lines of “it’s 100 percent wrong but 200 percent right” I know I got that quote wrong as it has been awhile, but it should give you an idea of the kind of things you can expect in each and every Black Bastard comic. For more information on his comics or to order the books or a selection of Black Bastard branded swag you should check out www.theblackbastard.com or look for him at a convention near you.
Posted: Sunday, September 10, 2006