In the 40s, Baker’s family joined the vast migration of black people moving northward in pursuit of economic opportunity and social mobility. Within this context Baker’s female heroines may serve as apt surrogates for the similarly objectified black male bodies.Ĭlarence Matthew Baker was born in 1921 in Forsyth County, North Carolina. How should we understand the heroism of a black man whose work is predicated on providing provocative images of white women during a historical period when he could have been beaten, maimed or lynched for simply speaking to them? Contextualizing Matt Baker’s work in the formulaic wish-fulfillment function of comic books provides a useful lens for decoding the narratives which led to thousands of lynchings across the country and continue to hyper-sexualize and dehumanize black men. This number pales in comparison to the estimated 3,446 black people lynched between 18 for crimes ranging from homicide to “insulting women.” Alleged rape of white women became a particularly powerful justification for mob violence, building on existing stereotypes about the biological inferiority and voracious sexual appetites of black men. During Baker’s life there were almost 400 reported cases of black people put to death by white mobs, a figure which only includes cases that resulted in the victim's death and were publicly recorded by the press.

To be certain, there is an uncomfortable and undeniable irony in Baker’s position. His pin-up styled comic book heroines captivated the imaginations and aroused the libidos of the predominantly white male readership targeted by early comic book publishers. But more than his position among the ranks of the heroic Firsts in the black community, Baker is known best for his unique talent as a “good girl” artist. Baker is often considered to be the first African American comic book artist. In this essay and series of works I attempt to reconcile the work and life of artist Matt Baker (1921-1959) with the sometimes deadly contemporary perception of black men as criminals and sexual aggressors.

Bradford wright comic book nation