Top 10 Graphic Novels starring Black Female Protagonists [Linwood’s Picks]

Far Sector by N. K. Jemisin

In the words of an American Hip-Hop duo called Rae Sremmurd: “I don’t have a type”, but seeing the depiction of badass Black women in film, video games, and graphic novels is what I fancy as the writer of quite a few myself. For this list, I will be showcasing my favorite comic book series starring Black women as protagonists. I read primarily independent ventures, so while you may see a couple from the “big two” publishers in the industry, there will definitely be quite a few that you aren’t aware exist!

If you know of any more, make sure you let us know in the comment section below! Enjoy!

“Growing up as a prodigy, Malika inherits the crown from her father in an incredibly unusual way, splitting the kingdom of Azzaz in half. After years of civil war, Malika finally unites all of Azzaz, expanding it into one of the largest empires in all of West Africa–but expansion will not come without its costs.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Malika-Warrior-Queen-Roye-Okupe/dp/150672308X
“Niobe, the child of prophecy first introduced in The Untamed, is on the run both from her destiny and those who would see it unfulfilled. She finds shelter among her mother’s people, but when a boy is murdered it sets off a series of events that will lead to war.”

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Niobe-Death-Sebastian-Jones-ebook/dp/B07F4C49NV
“It tells a story of young human exiles on a distant, desert planet. They live and love and fight and die in a lawless town called Scare City. There they must decide if they will build a new world and rise above the violence and tribalism they left behind on Earth, or if they will be destroyed by them.”

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Concrete-Park-You-Send-Me/dp/1616555300
“Jook Joint is horror mini-series that follows a Mahalia as she runs a sex-positive club, The Jook Joint, in 1950s New Orleans. The club has one rule, keep your hands to yourself. … The book plays like a gore-infested horror movie showing extremely graphic scenes of violence and cannibalism as well as featuring nudity.”

Purchase Link (Cancelled): https://www.amazon.com/JOOK-JOINT-CVR-MARTINEZ-MR/dp/B07HZ4ZNHJ
“When there is nowhere left to turn, you must turn to each other. After Anna Hoyt’s sister commits suicide, Anna sets off for Atlanta to kill the man responsible for destroying her family – her fiance, Jim ‘Whitey’ Donovan. But Anna, a spirited though pampered daughter of a prominent doctor, can’t do it alone. To get through the hell that lay between her Alabama home and Atlanta, she makes a deal with one of the Donovan slaves, Hattie Virgil, who has an agenda all her own. In exchange for a chance at freedom, Hattie, a survivor, will lead this unlikely pair on a quest that will change them both forever.”

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Kill-Whitey-Donovan/dp/B07ZDL62F7
“Martha Washington — prisoner, runaway, lunatic, soldier, and now seditionist — has seen the future. It looks great on paper, but it doesn’t work. The U.S. government is controlled by power-hungry nutcases. The ecology is a shambles. Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it . . . nobody, that is, except PAX and the very expensive weather-control satellite, Harmony. In Martha Washington Goes to War, it’s Martha vs. PAX and the United States government, and the odds are more even than you might think!”

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Martha-Washington-Goes-Frank-Miller/dp/1569710902
“Far Sector introduces a new Lantern from Earth named Sojourner “Jo” Mullein, who has been recruited to keep the peace on a planet in the farthest reaches of known space. The story begins as the first murder victim in 500 years is discovered in the City Enduring, and Jo is called in to help with the investigation.”

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Far-Sector-N-K-Jemisin/dp/1779512058
“Meet Pamela Evans. Much more than a typical Manhattan cab driver, she also happens to be a badass monster fighter who wields an enchanted tire iron. Yeah, that’s right. Welcome to the year of her greatest adventure.”

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/MCMLXXV-1-Joe-Casey/dp/1534312153
“By day, Domino Swift competes for fame and fortune in a worldwide motorcycle racing league. By night, she cracks heads of rival gangs in brutal bike wars to gain possession of a rare, valuable contraband: an engine-boosting “machine narcotic” known as Crush.”

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Motor-Crush-1-Brenden-Fletcher/dp/1534301895
“Nola Thomas wakes up alone in a deserted New Orleans hospital. Bruised, broken, and badly burned, she emerges from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina with one thing on her mind – revenge.”

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Nola-1A-Boom-comic-book/dp/B07661SJ45

Linwood Storm

Linwood Storm is an American musician, executive producer, filmmaker, director, actor, publisher, voice-over artist and comic book writer from Fredericksburg, Virginia. He is currently the host of the ‘Black Grindhouse’ podcast and founder of GameCargo.

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