Barbara Brandon-Croft | |
---|---|
Born | Brooklyn, New York | November 27, 1958
Occupation | Cartoonist |
Nationality | American |
Genre | Comic strip |
Notable works | Where I'm Coming From |
Barbara Brandon-Croft (born November 27, 1958) [1] is an American cartoonist, [2] best known for creating the comic strip Where I'm Coming From, and for being the first nationally syndicated African-American female cartoonist. [3] [4] [5]
Brandon-Croft was born in Brooklyn, New York, [1] to Brumsic Brandon Jr. Her father was also a cartoonist and he was the creator of the comic strip Luther which was in circulation from 1970 to 1986 under the Los Angeles Times Syndicate newspapers. [3] [6] [7] She and her father are said to represent the only occurrence of father-daughter newspaper cartoonists. [3]
While she was still a baby, her family moved to a predominantly Black neighborhood located in New Cassel, New York. [8] During school desegregation, she was bused to a nearby elementary school in Westbury, New York. [8]
She attended the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. [1] [9] In 1982, she developed a cartoon feature for Elan, a magazine for black women. [1] She later joined the staff of Essence magazine as their fashion and beauty writer. She also created illustrations for The Crisis, published by the NAACP; as well as for The Village Voice and MCA Records. [6]
Brandon-Croft's illustrating talent had developed naturally. Growing up she helped her father with his comics in exchange for allowance. [1] She was first recognized for the comic strip Where I'm Coming From. She later did other illustrations including Sista Girl-Fren Breaks It Down...When Mom's Not Around. [1] Brandon-Croft also created a line of illustrated greeting cards for OZ. [1]
Brandon-Croft started publishing Where I'm Coming From beginning in 1989 in the Detroit Free Press. [3] [10] The comic strip traces the experiences of about twelve African-American women [3] [5] and gives insight into the challenges of being an African American woman living in the United States. [10] It features characters such as Alisha, Cheryl, Lekesia, Nicole and others. [5] [6] [7] The characters are based on Brandon and her real-life friends. [1] [6] [7]
The artwork is minimalistic. [1] There is an absence of backdrop drawings, with the focus solely on the characters, who are represented by drawings of their upper torso. [1] Speech bubbles are also omitted and the characters address the reader directly. [1]
Where I'm Coming From went into national syndication in 1991 with the Universal Press Syndicate, [10] making Brandon-Croft the first female black cartoonist to be nationally syndicated. [3] [6] [10] [11] It was the first comic strip by a black woman to be syndicated in mainstream newspapers. [12] The comic strip was featured in more than sixty newspapers between 1989 and 2004. [3] [7] It appeared in newspapers throughout the United States, including Essence, The Sacramento Bee, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Baltimore Sun, as well as in The Gleaner in Jamaica and the Johannesburg Drum magazine. [1] [3] [7] Brandon-Croft ceased publication of the comic strips in 2005 after subscriptions dwindled. [11] [13]
Brandon-Croft's and her father's work are both represented in the Library of Congress and in editions of Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year. [14]
Brandon-Croft is married to Monte Croft, with whom she has one child, Chase. She resides in Queens, New York. [13] [14]
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Barbara Brandon-Croft | |
---|---|
Born | Brooklyn, New York | November 27, 1958
Occupation | Cartoonist |
Nationality | American |
Genre | Comic strip |
Notable works | Where I'm Coming From |
Barbara Brandon-Croft (born November 27, 1958) [1] is an American cartoonist, [2] best known for creating the comic strip Where I'm Coming From, and for being the first nationally syndicated African-American female cartoonist. [3] [4] [5]
Brandon-Croft was born in Brooklyn, New York, [1] to Brumsic Brandon Jr. Her father was also a cartoonist and he was the creator of the comic strip Luther which was in circulation from 1970 to 1986 under the Los Angeles Times Syndicate newspapers. [3] [6] [7] She and her father are said to represent the only occurrence of father-daughter newspaper cartoonists. [3]
While she was still a baby, her family moved to a predominantly Black neighborhood located in New Cassel, New York. [8] During school desegregation, she was bused to a nearby elementary school in Westbury, New York. [8]
She attended the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. [1] [9] In 1982, she developed a cartoon feature for Elan, a magazine for black women. [1] She later joined the staff of Essence magazine as their fashion and beauty writer. She also created illustrations for The Crisis, published by the NAACP; as well as for The Village Voice and MCA Records. [6]
Brandon-Croft's illustrating talent had developed naturally. Growing up she helped her father with his comics in exchange for allowance. [1] She was first recognized for the comic strip Where I'm Coming From. She later did other illustrations including Sista Girl-Fren Breaks It Down...When Mom's Not Around. [1] Brandon-Croft also created a line of illustrated greeting cards for OZ. [1]
Brandon-Croft started publishing Where I'm Coming From beginning in 1989 in the Detroit Free Press. [3] [10] The comic strip traces the experiences of about twelve African-American women [3] [5] and gives insight into the challenges of being an African American woman living in the United States. [10] It features characters such as Alisha, Cheryl, Lekesia, Nicole and others. [5] [6] [7] The characters are based on Brandon and her real-life friends. [1] [6] [7]
The artwork is minimalistic. [1] There is an absence of backdrop drawings, with the focus solely on the characters, who are represented by drawings of their upper torso. [1] Speech bubbles are also omitted and the characters address the reader directly. [1]
Where I'm Coming From went into national syndication in 1991 with the Universal Press Syndicate, [10] making Brandon-Croft the first female black cartoonist to be nationally syndicated. [3] [6] [10] [11] It was the first comic strip by a black woman to be syndicated in mainstream newspapers. [12] The comic strip was featured in more than sixty newspapers between 1989 and 2004. [3] [7] It appeared in newspapers throughout the United States, including Essence, The Sacramento Bee, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Baltimore Sun, as well as in The Gleaner in Jamaica and the Johannesburg Drum magazine. [1] [3] [7] Brandon-Croft ceased publication of the comic strips in 2005 after subscriptions dwindled. [11] [13]
Brandon-Croft's and her father's work are both represented in the Library of Congress and in editions of Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year. [14]
Brandon-Croft is married to Monte Croft, with whom she has one child, Chase. She resides in Queens, New York. [13] [14]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link){{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link){{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: others (
link)
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)