On September 10th, the fifth edition of Black Movie Soundtrack Happened at the Hollywood Bowl. The venue was packed and people loved the show. This photo is in the wings just off stage as host Craig Robinson waits on his cue.
Host Craig Robinson, Musical Director Marcus Miller, DJ D Nice, and creator and curator Reginald Hudlin.
No matter where you sit, it’s always a great view. The screens allow you to see the performers and the film clips that play throughout the show.
The closet seats are called the pool, because there use to be a man-made pond with water features there. Then the garden boxes of four or six seats, then the terrace, super seats, etc.
D Nice got the Bowl audience rocking in the pre-show before the concert even started!
Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Jerome Benton and Morris Day of The Time. Tom Morello – guitar god, political activist, member of Rage Against the Machine. Reginald Hudlin, producer.
Reginald with Jennifer Holliday, from the original Broadway cast of Dreamgirls.
This year we honored the movie music of Quincy Jones and, as we do every year, Prince!
The crowd lights up the Bowl with their phones as Prince’s signature song is performed by PJ Morton, Tom Morello, Marcus Miller’s all-star bend (dubbed the “Black Movie Soundtrack Savages” by Craig Robinson) and Derrick Hodges’ Color of Noize orchestra.
PJ Morton who sang I CHOOSE YOU with Bun B and PURPLE RAIN with Tom Morello.
My mother, Helen Hudlin, still celebrating her 95th birthday, with host Craig Robinson.
An East St. Louis reunion with Vada and Charlene Manager flanking my mom and our neighbor and dear friend from back home, Anette May.
Here’s a lot of recent comic book material of mine currently in stores!
There’s the BLACK PANTHER by Reginald Hudlin, which is an Omnibus Edition with all my Black Panther work collected into one big beautiful book!
Doggone right it’s influential! First appearance of Shuri, my creation, his marriage to Storm, Panther on missions with Blade and Luke Cage…so much feel good kick ass action!
Black superhero love. I deliver.
Next is the first ever ICON action figure by McFarlane Toys, which also offers a Platinum edition alternate costume version! I love Icon, which is why I wrote the books when we relaunched Milestone Media.
Here’s a page of him after he destroyed the Confederate White House and walked out with the head of Jefferson Davis. Seems relevant to recent events.
Here’s Icon in the modern day, threatening the life of a NSA agent who thinks she’s in charge of him. As I have said, Icon and Superman have similar powers, but Icon goes harder than Superman would ever do!
Also, the Fourth MILESTONE COMPENDIUM of the collected issues of the original Milestone run! Also, we have compact paperback of the first season of STATIC SHOCK, featuring the brilliant anime inspired art of Nikolas Draper-Ivey! I love making comics as much as I do making movies, TV shows, live concerts and everything else I do!
This all good stuff for summertime reading, birthday or holiday gifts, so go to your local comic book shop or go online and get you some!
Here’s a highlight reel of this year’s NAACP Image Awards! We had so much fun celebrating special honorees Dave Chappelle, Kamala Harris, and the Wayans family, as well as the amazing actors and storytellers nominated for their wonderful work. Thank you Deon Cole for being an exceptional host, as well as the NAACP, BET and CBS.
With Halloween putting Marvel fans of all ages into Black Panther costumes around the world, one writer has explained that was actually a major reason for his creation of Shuri, sister of King T’Challa, and the female Black Panther of Marvel’s Universe.
Co-creator of Shuri, Reginald Hudlin, shared insight into the Character’s purpose, after seeing a reference to the character on Abbott Elementary. During the Halloween episode of the show, “Costume Contest,” teacher Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) reacts to one of her white students dressing as a Black Panther, prompting Hudlin to cite a similar surprise he found after creating Shuri:
When I wrote Black Panther I created Shuri so both my son and daughter could dress as the character for Halloween. After the movie debuted, a third of the kids at their elementary school, of all races, came as Black Panther or Shuri. https://t.co/AQqyQkGMoE
Shuri’s Creator Explains Wanted His Son & Daughter To Both Be Black Panther
Intended to Inspire His Children, Winds Up Inspiring Several Worldwide
Shuri made her debut in 2005, specifically in Black Panther #2 by Reginald Hudlin and John Romita Jr., with this story establishing early on that Shuri always wanted to become the Black Panther, having planned to fight her uncle for the throne had her brother, T’Challa, not beaten her to the punch. Establishing this early on seems to suggest that Hudlin had plans to anoint Shuri as the Black Panther from the very beginning. Hudlin’s foreshadowing would pay off four years later once Shuri officially gains the cowl in Black Panther #1 by Reginald Hudlin and J. Scott Campbell.
The foreshadowing adds additional context to Hudlin’s claim that he created Shuri so that both his son and daughter could dress up as the Black Panther for Halloween. The movies that would follow from the Marvel Cinematic Universe would launch the character into an entirely new stratosphere of popularity. Hudlin saw it unfold firsthand in a scenario not unlike that seen in the Abbott Elementary episode, where children of all races dress up as the Black Panther. It showcases the enduring impact that pop culture can have on audiences, even beyond that of the comics.
The Impact of Pop Culture on Black Panther (and Shuri’s) Legacy
Reginald Hudlin’s Dream Fully Realized
The impact of any body of work can be impossible to predict and that is no more true than with the MCU release of the first Black Panther movie. The Black Panther namesake was beloved in its own right, but no one could have imagined it would have amounted to a billion-dollar franchise. The adoration of the movies and the comics has allowed fans to celebrate it in ways that are personal to each and every one of them.
It means a lot for children to see themselves reflected in media they admire, so for Black Panther to do that for both boys and girls brings Hudlin’s dream to fruition in even more ways than he could have expected.
