Vigilante: Southland, a stereotype for black superheroes that I actually like
With Marcus Holloway from Watch Dogs 2 to Raymond Kane a.k.a Nighthawk, writers are putting the idea that black people might be in with the whole social justice thing and actually might want to fight against racism. Crazy, ain’t it?
Unlike the other books, Vigilante Southland starts from an apathetic and understandable character’s point of view.
Every left leaning pro-black person knows a nigga like Donnie. The defeatist. The one who feels helpless to the system and sees people fighting on their behalf…no…on his behalf as useless. He sees protests and rallies as pointless endeavors because “it ain’t gonna change shit” and would rather play basketball or NBA 2K. We know this kind of person. We know how hard it is to get this person to give a shit and fight.
Donnie starts out as the content in your own oppression black man. He is the guy that does not quite get it and needs a little push. His girlfriend Dorice Smallwood, however, is all about that life.
Here is little tidbit about any black movement whether it is Black Lives Matters, Black Panthers, the Civil Rights Movement, to fucking slavery: black women lead the charge and do the most work. I am not kidding. Three queer black women created BLM. If you go to any BLM organization, if they are worth their salt, best believe black women will comprise of most of it’s members. The Black Panther’s most prolific programs were headed by black women. Civil Rights Movement, black women. Haitain Revolution headed Toussaint, but best believe Cecile Fatiman and Suzanne Belair killed just as many French white folks. Nat Turner ain’t got shit on Harriet Tubman a.k.a James Bond spy and black people’s Joan of fucking Arc but did not get caught. Black women have always been the force to everything black power. And that is fact.
If you want to derail the organizational power of black people, get black men to isolate black women. Then you would not have BLM. You would not have the Civil Rights Movement. You would not have the Black Panthers. Nigga, we would still be in chains.
Dorice is such a great character. It is going to be a joy watching her get Donnie off his ass and lead him to vigilantism.
Okay. Well…I’ll talk about this later.
So Dorice dies. Well she was killed and her death was covered up as a typical hit and run. And that is sad. I mean Donnie’s preceding dialogue prior to her death about getting honeys outside of his girlfriend who cares about his no good ass certainly does not endear me to him, no good nigga!
Okay, I am not mad. I am just…I am not trying to rip this book apart because it is good. It’s awesome, but…okay. Let’s just carry on.
Donnie goes to her funeral and afterwards, feels like his girlfriend’s slaying were not an accident so, feeling restless and useless, he goes to a connect that may help him bring closure.
… great. There have been 4 women introduced in this comic so far, 1 was killed as plot motivation for one character and the other’s first dialogue was a sexual innuendo. Fascinating. Truly.
I am really not trying to put my feminist hat on right now. I will later, but come on…
So Donnie meets with Pop and the latter informs him that Dorice’s killing was not just a mere hit and run, but was an organized hit.
Later on, Donnie searches through Dorice’s stuff, maybe trying to get her stuff out of the apartment and finds a weird box.
Dorice would have been such a cool character.
Anyway’s Donnie goes out with pop to find some answers and after beating up some homeless junkie who saw the murder. He continues to follow some leads and after a night of beating up bums, Donnie returns home.
His apartment was blown up.
Vigilante: Southside was a great origin story and a good beginning. The art is fantastic and dialogue are something that separates most characters because you immediately get where characters are coming from and they aren’t too loquacious.
Now I will put on my feminist hat. The fact that someone’s origin story revolves around the death of his girlfriend is cliche as fuck. Sure, I get that you wanted an apathetic character because the audience could be as apathetic as Donnie. He does not deviate from the perception of most white Americans when it comes to racism. You needed something that would make them care and Dorice’s death was that. However, Dorice could have just as easily got that treatment as well. She was already doing the vigilante routine and already was about that life. She had the cool as fuck weapon and the cool mask. She seemed perfect for this kind of thing and this whole comic made me wish she was the main character and not Donnie. But it cheapens it when her seemingly apathetic boyfriend just takes everything she worked for and believed. A black woman starts the fight only for black men to take the reins.
It is a good comic and a good start. It is just a shame that it starts off like it did.
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