Oops. Apparently today is July 1st in these parts. With all that time slipping i've been doing lately, i ran out of June without getting to one topic i wanted to be sure of posting. It was originally planned for Juneteenth, but got bumped by the post i did use, and then my peripatetic brain wandered away, thinking it had already been there. So i'm pushing July back by a day, and we're hopping back 56 years to June of 1964 and a comic that was legendarily rare but should have been widely distributed...
It may have been over half a century ago, but it still resonates today with our current struggles. Don't go looking for #s 1-4, this was the first comic book published as part of HARYOU's outreach programs.
The comic was years ahead of its time, illustrating a thick & wordy report - Youth In The Ghetto: A Study Of The Consequences Of Powerlessness - the way we'd see done later for things like the Iran/Contra Affair and the 9/11 Attack, making the information readily accessible to the general public.
I'm very curious about Sam Huger, the artist on this book. It appears to be the only comic he ever drew, at least under that name. I say 'at least under that name' because it's surprising well done for someone with no experience in the field. I'd very much like to know what else he did, comics or otherwise.
Without further comment from the old white dude, let's head on inside the covers...
Hmm...
I was going to put the full report here, but i don't see a way to link it or store the file here on Blogger.
However, i did find a .pdf copy over at the Internet Archive. Here's the link, and hopefully it's still good by the time you got here.
It may have been over half a century ago, but it still resonates today with our current struggles. Don't go looking for #s 1-4, this was the first comic book published as part of HARYOU's outreach programs.
The comic was years ahead of its time, illustrating a thick & wordy report - Youth In The Ghetto: A Study Of The Consequences Of Powerlessness - the way we'd see done later for things like the Iran/Contra Affair and the 9/11 Attack, making the information readily accessible to the general public.
I'm very curious about Sam Huger, the artist on this book. It appears to be the only comic he ever drew, at least under that name. I say 'at least under that name' because it's surprising well done for someone with no experience in the field. I'd very much like to know what else he did, comics or otherwise.
Without further comment from the old white dude, let's head on inside the covers...
 |
| (For all you Neil deGrasse Tyson fans, that's his Dad being named in the first panel.) |
Hmm...
I was going to put the full report here, but i don't see a way to link it or store the file here on Blogger.
However, i did find a .pdf copy over at the Internet Archive. Here's the link, and hopefully it's still good by the time you got here.
page art by Sam Huger from Harlem Youth Report #5 (1964)
Sam Huger is my grandfather!
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Naazym - very pleased to meet you.
ReplyDeleteIs he still with us?
He did some very fine work. Do you know what other works he had published? (Not just comics)
Thank you. And Unfortunately he is no longer with us. However I will ask my father about his other works he had published. N get back to u
DeleteSadly, not a surprise that Sam is no longer with us. Far too few of that generation of artists are still here.
DeleteIf you do learn more of his works, please do pass it on. I'd love to see more, and folks should know more about him.
Meanwhile, i hope you had a good Halloween and enjoy the upcoming holidays!