Barbara Brandon-Croft

Last updated
Barbara Brandon-Croft
Born (1958-11-27) November 27, 1958 (age 65)
Brooklyn, New York
OccupationCartoonist
NationalityAmerican
Genre Comic strip
Notable worksWhere I'm Coming From

Barbara Brandon-Croft (born November 27, 1958) [1] is an American cartoonist, [2] best known for creating the comic strip Where I'm Coming From, and for being the first nationally syndicated African-American female cartoonist. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Early life

Brandon-Croft was born in Brooklyn, New York, [1] to Brumsic Brandon Jr. Her father was also a cartoonist and he was the creator of the comic strip Luther which was in circulation from 1970 to 1986 under the Los Angeles Times Syndicate newspapers. [3] [6] [7] She and her father are said to represent the only occurrence of father-daughter newspaper cartoonists. [3]

While she was still a baby, her family moved to a predominantly Black neighborhood located in New Cassel, New York. [8] During school desegregation, she was bused to a nearby elementary school in Westbury, New York. [8]

She attended the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. [1] [9] In 1982, she developed a cartoon feature for Elan, a magazine for black women. [1] She later joined the staff of Essence magazine as their fashion and beauty writer. She also created illustrations for The Crisis , published by the NAACP; as well as for The Village Voice and MCA Records. [6]

Brandon-Croft's illustrating talent had developed naturally. Growing up she helped her father with his comics in exchange for allowance. [1] She was first recognized for the comic strip Where I'm Coming From. She later did other illustrations including Sista Girl-Fren Breaks It Down...When Mom's Not Around. [1] Brandon-Croft also created a line of illustrated greeting cards for OZ. [1]

Where I'm Coming From

Brandon-Croft started publishing Where I'm Coming From beginning in 1989 in the Detroit Free Press . [3] [10] The comic strip traces the experiences of about twelve African-American women [3] [5] and gives insight into the challenges of being an African American woman living in the United States. [10] It features characters such as Alisha, Cheryl, Lekesia, Nicole and others. [5] [6] [7] The characters are based on Brandon and her real-life friends. [1] [6] [7]

The artwork is minimalistic. [1] There is an absence of backdrop drawings, with the focus solely on the characters, who are represented by drawings of their upper torso. [1] Speech bubbles are also omitted and the characters address the reader directly. [1]

Where I'm Coming From went into national syndication in 1991 with the Universal Press Syndicate, [10] making Brandon-Croft the first female black cartoonist to be nationally syndicated. [3] [6] [10] [11] It was the first comic strip by a black woman to be syndicated in mainstream newspapers. [12] The comic strip was featured in more than sixty newspapers between 1989 and 2004. [3] [7] It appeared in newspapers throughout the United States, including Essence, The Sacramento Bee , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Baltimore Sun , as well as in The Gleaner in Jamaica and the Johannesburg Drum magazine. [1] [3] [7] Brandon-Croft ceased publication of the comic strips in 2005 after subscriptions dwindled. [11] [13]

Brandon-Croft's and her father's work are both represented in the Library of Congress and in editions of Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year. [14]

Personal life

Brandon-Croft is married to Monte Croft, with whom she has one child, Chase. She resides in Queens, New York. [13] [14]

Exhibitions

Bibliography

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Otfinoski, Steven (2003). African Americans in the Visual Arts. Infobase Publishing. p. 27. ISBN   9781438107776.
  2. ↑ Maurice Charney, ed. (2005). Comedy: A Geographic and Historical Guide, Volume 1. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 131. ISBN   9780313327148.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Black Comic Book Day: Barbara Brandon-Croft - Where I'm Coming From" . Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "Toni Morrison Among Lates Medal Of Freedom Honorees". April 30, 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Where I'm Coming From Sampler". The Lakeland Ledger. August 2, 1994. p. 6B.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Barbara Brandon Croft (1958-)". Source: Black Women in America, pp. 161-62; Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 3, pp. 16-17. October 24, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "'Coloring Outside the Lines: Black Cartoonists as Social Commentators' exhibit to open at Laney". Oakland Local. August 6, 2010. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Degand, D. (2023). "'Black lines on white paper': How comic artist Barbara Brandon-Croft draws on Where [She's] Coming From". Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics: 1–23. doi:10.1080/21504857.2023.2282063 . Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  9. ↑ Charboneau, Jeffrey (1995). "Just for laughs". Syracuse University Magazine . Vol. 12, no. 2. pp. 28–29. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Astor, Dave (8 March 2005). "End is Near for Groundbreaking 'Where I'm Coming From'".
  11. 1 2 "Barbara Brandon-Croft Ending Strip". Comics Reporter. March 9, 2005. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  12. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (March 30, 2008). "Origin Story". The New York Times .
  13. 1 2 "Barbara Brandon" . Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  14. 1 2 C., Howard, Sheena (2017). Encyclopedia of black comics. Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.,, Priest, Christopher J. (Christopher James), 1961-. Golden, CO. ISBN   9781682751015. OCLC   974683696.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Exhibition web page, Medialia Gallery website. Retrieved Apr. 2, 2024.
  16. ↑ "SOCIETY: STILL: Racism in America - A Retrospective in Cartoons," ABC7NY Here and Now Episode 269: Segment 3 (March 30, 2020).
  17. ↑ Exhibition web page, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum website. Retrieved Apr. 2, 2024.
  18. ↑ Exhibition web page, University of California-Davis website. Retrieved Apr. 2, 2024.

Further reading

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