Today in Comics History, June 30: Happy birthday, Christopher Priest!

Born on this day: comics scipter and editor Christopher Priest or just Priest (aka James Owsley), the first Black writer/editor in mainstream comics! His extensive work includes Conan, Black Panther, Justice League, Steel, Vampirella, Deathstroke, Quantum and Woody, and much more! Priest also co-created Quantum and Woody, Okoye of Wakanda, Everett K. Ross, and others.


from Black Panther (Marvel, 1998 series) #12 (October 1999)




He's a creator whose race is vitally important to his writing. Especially in (of all places) Marvel's MAD-alike Crazy, where Priest laid out funny and pointed pieces about racial issues and relations.


from Crazy #85 (Marvel, April 1982), script by Christopher Priest, photos by Eliot R. Brown
This piece immediately preceded "The Brownstones," a Black parody of The Flintstones. "Priest has said on his website he created this story to mock how 'white' the Flintstones were.... Larry Hama requested this page in anticipation of protests..."


from Crazy #85 (Marvel, April 1982), script by Christopher Priest, artist uncredited
..."but they received 'no more hate mail than we got every month anyway."—Grand Comics Database.


And wow, here's a story where Chris Claremont murders Christopher Priest (fairly graphically) for spoofing an X-Men story. Iiiiiii'm...pretty sure if it had been written the other way around there would have been lots of hate mail.


from Crazy #88 (Marvel, July 1982), script by Christopher Priest, pencils and inks by Bob Camp
Can you find Priest among the Marvel Bullpen?




cover of Marvel Age #35 (Marvel, February 1986) by James Fry and Tom Morgan
He's now at DC and has just finished up the run that changed the hierachy of miniseries in the DC Universe, Black Adam! (Here's hopin' the comic did better than the movie!)


"DC Nation" from DC Comics cover-dated August 2002
A very happy birthday to you, Priest!