Powerman (comics)

Historically, comics in Nigeria were imported and had white protagonists.[2] An executive from Pikin, a Nigerian advertising agency, approached English art agency Bardon Press Features to discuss the idea of creating a series with a black superhero,[3][4] that would be used to promote literacy in Nigeria.[1]

Aspiring comic book artists Dave Gibbons and Brian Bolland were connected to Bardon Press Features and were tapped for the job. (When Gibbons asked why African creators did not work on the strips, he was told that African artists would likely emerge once comics become popular in Africa.)[2]

With comics purportedly being new to Nigeria,[4] Bolland recalls this work being created specifically to be "really simple; six panels on a page and [all] the panels had to be numbered."[5] Gibbons also recalls there was difficulty adjusting to writing for a Nigerian culture; for instance, he was told that a fat stomach indicated "success and power" instead of "gluttony or greed," and that having Powerman "always get off with the girls" was not considered sexist.[2]

Gibbons designed the character and the series logo. Gibbons and Bolland were to draw alternate issues, though they worked closely together. Together, they produced one 14-page issue per month, which was published every fortnight. Bolland's first issue was Powerman #2,[3] and he recalls that "soon Dave had drawn his entire story and I had produced just a few pages."[4] This knowledge — "that Dave could produce a page a day... and that I was going to have to do the same" — was a shock, but proved to be "the very best kind of training ground."[4] Ultimately, Bolland "drew around 300 pages of that very straightforward, simple-to-follow work, and I guess the storytelling flowed naturally from that."[4][5] Even so, he "was always struggling to get the last eight or ten pages finished," and was occasionally helped by friends, including Gibbons and future-2000 AD and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen artist Kevin O'Neill.[6]

By 1977 Powerman dropped to a monthly schedule.[7]

Without the permission of the original publishers, the comic was reprinted in South Africa. The Comics Journal accused the creators of Powerman of supporting Apartheid, since the characters were mostly black.

In 1988, the British publisher Acme Press reprinted the series to capitalize on the popularity of the artists, both of whose careers had since taken off. Power Comics was a four-issue limited series of 32 pages each. Powerman's name was changed to "Powerbolt" to avoid confusion with the character Luke Cage (also called "Power Man"), published by Marvel Comics. Power Comics was distributed in the U.S. by Eclipse Comics.

Powerman protects Nigeria from dinosaurs, robots, and other threats. One white character, a dishonest blond property developer, is named Boss Blitzer. Blitzer faces defeat at the hands of Powerman.[2]

Powerman has superhuman strength and can fly. His only apparent weakness is snakebite.[8]

• African characters in comics