A Fat, Black, Gay Superhero Has Come To Save Us: Alex Smith's 'Black Vans' is the Future

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Allie and, main character, Bo on the “Black Vans 2” cover art. (Artwork by James Dillenbeck)

Do fat people exist in the future?

That's likely a question that many have never thought to ask. It has been argued that people of size are some of the most openly discriminated against and marginalized. So, for some, thinking about fatness and fat people existing in the future may be hard to imagine. 

But not for writer Alex Smith, a 46-year-old, Philadelphia-based artist, with roots in the Punk music scene. Smith is not afraid of anarchy. In some ways, he thrives on it, and people are taking notice. His newest work, "Black Vans," takes his ambitions to uncharted territory and places Black, queer, fatness center stage. 

"If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this," Smith tells The Reckoning. "It was a no-brainer that the main character was going to be a fat, Black bear, period," when discussing his comic book series and its lead character, "Bo," who is of Afro-Latin descent.

"Black Vans" is a story about a group of hackers, who help superheroes with communications and analysis, and then rise to be the superheroes themselves when those they're helping begin disappearing. All of the characters are queer people of color.

The road to self-publishing "Black Vans" was paved by a young Smith, who started a local zine as a teenager in Greenville, North Carolina. 

"I did an underground newspaper in high school that was calling out institutional racism back in 91-92. I would talk about larger issues, like Rodney King, and things like that," Smith tells The Reckoning. "It was my first kind of buzzy moment as an artist, and it was so exciting."

"You just have to deal with the fact that we have absolutely normalized all of these identities.”

- Alex Smith

Smith became interested in comics when he was in fifth grade. Lured and seduced by the sinister feel of the worlds inside of pages, the comics were where he could get lost and indulge in stories that most people knew nothing about.

"There's all these weird sort of under-the-radar characters, and their stories evolve in such a cinematic way. And there was a danger and an esoteric sort of secret I had that no one else had," says Smith. "[They were] these little tiny books of awesomeness that I could buy for like 75 cents."

Smith was politicized early. His mom introduced him to Black history books, and he became obsessed with the Black Panthers. For Smith, the Black Panthers were superheroes, too. 

"They did all the superhero stuff," he says. "They wore uniforms. They were armed, and they taught self-defense. They were protectors of their community. They were vigilantes essentially."

Admittedly, even with his admiration for the Panthers, when he first began to draw his comic characters, they were mostly white with one or two Black people in the mix. Subconsciously, he was following the patterns of the comics he'd been reading, which meant writing to a white audience.

That's changed over time; he tells The Reckoning. 

"My storytelling has evolved to the point where I only want to write stories about gay Black people," he says. 

But how did Smith's superheroes become Black, gay, and fat? 

“If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this. It was a no-brainer that the main character was going to be a fat, Black bear, period.”

- Alex Smith

The simple answer is that Smith has an affinity for plus-size communities, like gay bear men, but even saying that isn't simple from a societal norms viewpoint. 

"If you're attracted to John Goodman or ['Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' actor] James Avery, you have to [mentally] leap," he says. "You have to make concessions. You have to explain yourself. What's not sexy about 'Uncle Phil?' The guy is breathtaking."

With artwork by collaborator James Dillenbeck, the duo has created a comic book and world where everyone is empowered, and their body size never comes up. 

"No [character] has ever said anything about being oppressed for being gay, disabled, Black, fat, or whatever. Everyone is everyone in this story," Smith says. 

Dillenbeck, a white man whose artwork is bright and warm, drew artistic inspiration from hip-hop album covers from the early-1990s. The warmth and joy you feel are also born out of frustration for the misrepresentation of people of size in the gay community and culture. 

"Look at any algorithm. Like Bo, our lead character, and Gene, our bouncer. Those two guys are not ever top of the algorithm, even though they're better looking," says Dillenbeck. "There is a lot of anger and pushback that makes 'Black Vans,' which is very bright and fun, [that] brings it to life."

For Smith, "Black Vans" is a "sexy comic book" and the ultimate middle finger for having to make concessions and give explanations. "You just have to deal with the fact that we have absolutely normalized all of these identities.”

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An image from inside of Gulf Coast Cosmos Comics (Image courtesy of subject)

Representation Beyond The Page 

For Smith to have the impact he intends with his comic, getting it to the people who need to read it most is important. Comic book stores can help get "Black Vans" to the people, but having stores willing to carry this kind of content is key.

Black-owned comic book stores could be a way to do that, but there are a relatively small number of shops across the country. In Texas, one Black-owned comic book store is currently in business—Gulf Coast Cosmos Comics (GCC). Owner Byron Canady, a Black queer man, knows how important it is that Smith's work is available to people.

Like Smith, Canady, an adjunct professor at the University of Houston, discovered comic books as a child. He and his brother were home sick from school and needed something to read. His dad picked up some comic books for the brothers to keep them occupied. 

"Interestingly enough, the comic books he got for myself and my brother kind of spoke to our personalities," he said. "He got 'Spiderman' for me to read, and, for my little brother, he was kind of like, 'The Hulk,' 'smash.'"

For Canady, the idea to open Gulf Coast Cosmos came from a graduate school project at Full Sail University. His project was to develop a business plan. 

"I don't know how many nerds don't want their own damn comic book store," he tells The Reckoning through laughter. The idea lived in that business plan for several years until an opportunity presented itself to open a brick-and-mortar business. Canady took his comic book store idea off the shelf.

“Comic books offer individuals, as readers, what traditional books do not offer—visual affirmation of self.”

- Byron Canady

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After months of work, an LLC, and signed paperwork for a physical location, Canady and GCC co-founder Sharmane Fury were ready to go in April 2020. The location never opened.

By August of that year, Canady's plan B became plan A. His brick-and-mortar comic book shop opened as an online business. The store made it through the pandemic with a physical location finally opening in September 2021. 

Canady considers it a privilege and a responsibility to have representation of everyone in his store because it's a reflection of his customers. 

Located in the historic Third Ward in Houston, Texas, Gulf Coast Cosmos Comics and its existence there is important. Canady hopes to expand the narrative of who the comic book reader is, what they look like, and who can be part of comic book culture. 

"Comic books offer individuals, as readers, what traditional books do not offer—visual affirmation of self," he says. 

It's not always easy to get the right comics into the store. Bias shows up in the distribution of comic books. As a retailer, Canady has had to push back to ensure he's getting the right promotional material that applies to his store for consideration. 

“The idea that Alex latched onto having Black, queer folk of size in the future as the hero; it was revolutionary. Having ‘Black Vans’ as a comic book reinforces a person's existence.”

- Byron Canady

"Oftentimes, I have to not only fight for the creator who needs representation, but I'm fighting for myself," he says. "It's like, look; you send me my inventory and promotional material that has absolutely nothing to do with my shop. I'll send it right back."

Because of this, Canady is always looking for innovative independent comic book creators. The Black comic book community has an informal do-it-yourself network that helps raise awareness about comics that Canady may be interested in, which is working.

"We have indie comic book creators all over this shop, and they sell out because their work is good," he says.

He thinks Alex Smith's "Black Vans" is important to have in comic book stores, too. Comics like it helps to reorient the customer to not think of comics as primarily a white product. For Black queer people, it can be so much more.

"The idea that Alex latched onto having Black, queer folk of size in the future as the hero; it was revolutionary," says Canady. "Having ‘Black Vans’ as a comic book reinforces a person's existence. It affirms something within yourself, like, 'yeah, we gonna be alright.' We gonna be here."

Black, queer, fat people exist in the future, and because of Alex Smith, they also emerge as heroes.

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Image Credits:

1. Black Vans 2 Cover Art: Artwork by James Dillenbeck

2. Image of Alex Smith: Photography by Johnnie Ray Kornegay III

3. “Bo” from Black Vans: Artwork by James Dillenbeck

4. Inside of Gulf Coast Cosmos: Image courtesy of subject

5. Image of Byron Canady: Image courtesy of subject

6. Black Vans Team (From Left to Right starting at the top: Ravenesque, Electros, Snack, Allie, Bo and Gloss): Artwork by James Dillenbeck