Celebrating Juneteenth with Comics!

In 2021, Juneteenth became a Federal Holiday. According to the Museum of African American History and Culture, Juneteenth commemorates the day when the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, to notify the citizens that the Emancipation Proclamation was being enforced, thereby freeing enslaved people in rebel states, including Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued. As the country commemorates Juneteenth 2026, Nerd Initiative wanted to take a look at some comics surrounding Juneteenth, as well as stories of freedom and empowerment.

The Gold Standard: First Freedom:The Story of Opal Lee and Juneteenth

Written by Angélique Roché with illustrations by Alvin Epps, Millicent Monroe, and Bex Glendining, this is the best starting location for the history of Juneteenth. This graphic novel follows the incredible life of Opal Lee, known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth. It serves as part biographical story and part historical novel that traces the history of Juneteenth itself. Published by Oni Press, the novel is available in hardcover from Simon & Schuster for $29.99

Historical Biography- March and Run

After being told by Civil Rights Icon John Lewis about the importance of The Montgomery Story, technology aide for Congressman Lewis, Andrew Aydin began to convince the Congressman about the potential benefit of using graphic novels as a medium to tell his own story. The result was a trilogy of graphic novels entitled March. Written by Congressman Lewis and Aydin with illustrations by Nate Powell, the trilogy, now collected in a single omnibus, March: Book One, focuses on the roots of the civil rights movement, Lewis’s childhood, meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his introduction to the principles of nonviolence. Book Two follows Lewis’s rise as a leader within the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Freedom Ride. Book Three closes the story with perhaps the most intense issue of the trilogy, covering the tragic Freedom Summer of 1964 and the horrors of Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettis Bridge. The omnibus is available from Penguin Random House for $22.99. Lewis followed with a one-issue sequel titled Run, which focuses on the aftermath of Lewis’s life after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Welcome to the Milestone: Celebrating Black Voices in Comics

In 1995, years of work and dedication to the inclusion of Black voices in comics paid off. Visionary Milestone Media Co-Founder Dwayne McDuffie became the first Black writer to be nominated for the Eisner Award for Best Writer. He maintained this distinction until this year, when Stephanie Williams became the Second Black Writer and the first Black Female to be nominated for Best Writer. McDuffie, unsatisfied with the representation of Black voices in comics, joined with three partners and founded Milestone Media. Iconic characters like Static, Icon, and Hardware were born, as well as the multi-ethnic superhero group The Blood Syndicate. Distributed through a deal with DC Comics, Milestone continued to grow, earning praise and fans across the comic world.

Pushing the Boundaries: Black Creatives in Comics Today

Following in the footsteps of visionaries like McDuffie, Black creatives continue to make an impact on the world of comics in new and exciting ways. Writers like Rodney Barnes with his seminal urban vampire series Killadelphia, Stephanie Williams with her 2026 series Temporal, and David F. Walker and Chuck Brown’s Bitter Root continue to expand the world of comics beyond traditional superhero stories. Black writers continue to unleash their talents on new, exciting worlds that are psychological, horror, time-displacement, and supernatural in the best ways. Other writers, such as Dr. Eve L. Ewing, bring their professional sociological experience to their stories, imagining stories in new ways. Vita Ayala brought deeply empathetic character work to Marvel’s X-Men through the New Mutants series. Christopher Priest continues to write the textbook on non-linear storytelling through stories like Black Panther and Vampirella.

Artists like Sanford Greene continue to be highly sought after for both cover work and interiors. Khary Randolph gave the world a lesson on world-building through a Black lens in this work on Excellence. Living legends like Denys Cowan, one of the co-founders of Milestone Media, continue to not only mentor the next generation but also contribute meaningful, impactful images to the world of comics. Creators like Taurin Clarke have built such an impressive portfolio that hardcover coffee-table style books now highlight their art. Asiah Fulmore and D.J. Chavis handled art and colors for the aforementioned Eisner-nominated Temporal. There’s no shortage of creators out there looking for a chance to tell their story, their way, and comic fans are ready with money in hand, waiting to hear those stories.

As the country celebrates Juneteenth, take a moment to celebrate the legacy of Black excellence in comics. From the stories that tell the story of Juneteenth to the creatives showing what a world where they are free to express their ideas through their lens looks like. Juneteenth is a day to honor the past and look to the future. Today’s Black creatives pave a new path in the world of comics while standing on the shoulders of legends.

How are you celebrating Juneteenth? Let me know in the comments below.