Lobo (Dell Comics)

Lobo is a fictional Western comic book hero who is the medium's first African-American character to headline his own series.

Publication history

Lobo starred in Dell Comics' little-known but groundbreaking, two-issue series "Lobo" (Dec. 1965 & Sept. 1966), also listed as "Dell Comics" #12-438-512 and #12-439-610 in the company's quirky numbering system. Created by writer D. J. Arneson and artist Tony Tallarico, it chronicled the Old West adventures of a wealthy, unnamed African-American gunslinger called "Lobo" by the first issue's antagonists. On the foreheads of vanquished criminals, Lobo would leave the calling card of a gold coin imprinted with the images of a wolf and the letter "L".

Tallarico in a 2006 interview said that he and Dell writer Arneson co-created the character based on an idea and a plot by Tallarico, with Arneson scripting it.

Awards

On May 19, 2006, Temple University College of Arts and Sciences presented Tallarico its Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Comics and Books Industries, in recognition of his creating the first comic book to star an African-American.

Black comic-book stars

While Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor Atlas Comics had published the African tribal-chief feature "Waku, Prince of the Bantu" — the first known mainstream comic-book feature with a Black star, albeit not African-American — it was one of four regular features in each issue of the omnibus title, "Jungle Tales" (Sept. 1954 - Sept. 1955). Comic books' first known African-American superhero, Marvel's Falcon, was introduced in 1969 ["Captain America" #117 (Sept. 1969)] , but there would be no Black star of his or her own comic until 1972, with Marvel's "Luke Cage, Hero for Hire", followed in 1973 by Marvel's Black Panther (an African superhero introduced as a supporting character in a 1966 issue of "Fantastic Four") in "Jungle Action".

ee also

*List of African American firsts

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.comics.org/ The Grand Comics Database]