*I visited Barbara Brandon-Croft at her Queens home, New York. Previously, we had first met in Philadelphia, where we both received Lifetime Achievement awards from the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention/ECBACC. Other recipients included Jerry Craft and Ray Billingsley. So I was in good company.
We recalled the 2024 Editorial Cartooning Workshop in Lagos, Nigeria, hosted by PUNCH Media Foundation with support from the U.S. Consulate, which Barbara facilitated and I presented at remotely from London via Zoom. She spoke of how well she was received by the Nigerian cartoonists.
Barbara’s father, Brumsic Brandon, Jr., was a pioneering cartoonist who introduced Black characters to mainstream press through his strip Luther, running from the late 1960s to mid-1980s. He was also recognized as an activist and prolific editorial cartoonist for the Black press.
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Barbara is the first Black woman cartoonist to be nationally syndicated, with her comic strip “Where I’m Coming From” appearing in over 60 newspapers. During my visit, she showed me original works by both herself and her father, many of which are carefully preserved.
Many of the originals have stories behind them, and Barbara was able to give an insight into how some were produced, especially those of her dad. Barbara was kind enough to autograph her “Where I’m Coming From” cartoon strip, compilation book, and doodled a drawing of herself in the book.
This must have collection of her work, remains relevant today as it was years back, addressing issues like motherhood, colourism, dieting, gun violence, trends, and relationships through both serious commentaries and humour.
After my visit, my sister returned to pick me up from Barbara’s house. We said our goodbyes. I felt privileged to have spent the day with a trailblazer and to see original cartoons by both father and daughter together. The works of Barbara, who is also a ComiCon Inkpot winner, and her father’s work are both represented in the Library of Congress and in some editions of Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year.
TAYO Fatunla is a British Nigerian comic artist, editorial cartoonist, writer, and illustrator whose work has featured on MSN.com via EURweb.com. He created the “OUR ROOTS” series, highlighting Black history figures, earning the 2018 ECBACC Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award. A former cartoonist for Nigerian newspapers, he was named Professional Creative Cartoonist of the Year at the 2024 Annual Achievement Recognition Awards (The Building Blocks Initiative, UK). He also illustrated Camberwell’s public Black history walk map. https://www.instagram.com/tfatunla123
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