Well, I wish I could have read this without knowing as much as I knew before opening it, but curiosity got the better of me and I read the scathing denouncement of the book by J. Micheline and several of the comments before I was able to get ahold of Strange Fruit #1. I did however, find the overwhelmingly damning review informative, providing a somewhat helpful context. Nevertheless, I liked the book.
S P O I L E R S ! ! !
I read it trying to block out the criticisms and the knowledge of who wrote the book, "listening" to determine if it sounded authentic to me. It did, for as much as I could actually know having only consumed other interpretations of idioms, diction and early 20th century life in the U.S.
To me, Jones & Waid telling this story is different than them being assigned to write an existing hero of color, instead of that opportunity going to a writer of color. First, it is a story they conceived. Second, despite the presence of what appears to be a black protagonist (he's extraterrestrial) we don't yet know who or whom the intended focus of the story is?
Suffice to say, there are both black and white, original characters from a turbulent period in American history, already offering, and promising to offer even more, provocative narrative which will undoubtedly tick off many. Perhaps me too yet, I had to ask myself, if I had an original story to tell about white people interacting with blacks during a controversial period in history, would I accept the notion that I should not tell that story because I am not white?
My two cents.
Peace,
Mont
