I've spent some time over the last several years noting that we've been witnesses to a subtle though significant movement of sorts among black men writers. They've collectively been producing a continuous, interrelated body of outstanding works. Mat Johnson is an important contributor to what's been produced.
He's published novels, graphic novels, comic books, and a tremendous amount of resistance tweets. He's like his contemporaries Ta-Nehisi Coates and Victor LaValle in that way, writing across multiple genres. Johnson's humor corresponds to aspects of works by Colson Whitehead and Aaron McGruder.
When you consider Johnson's publishing record during the 21st century, you see why I think it's so necessary to include him in considerations of contemporary Black Book History. What follows are a list of his books:
2000: Drop
2003: Hunting in Harlem
2006: John Constantine Hellblazer: Papa Midnite (Tony Akins and Dan Green, artwork)
2007: The Great Negro Plot: A Tale of Conspiracy and Murder in Eighteenth-Century
2008: Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery (Warren Pleece, illustrator)
2010: Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story (Simone Gane, illustrator)
2011: Pym
2012: Right State (Andrea Mutti, illustrator)
2015: Loving Day
Related:
• Black Book History, February 2019
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