Barbara Brandon-Croft (born November 27, 1958)[1] is an American cartoonist,[2] best known for creating the comic stripWhere I'm Coming From, and for being the first nationally syndicated African-American female cartoonist.[3][4][5]
Early life
Brandon-Croft was born in Brooklyn, New York,[1] to Brumsic Brandon Jr. Her father was also a cartoonist and he was the creator of the comic strip Luther which was in circulation from 1970 to 1986 under the Los Angeles Times Syndicate newspapers.[3][6][7] She and her father are said to represent the only occurrence of father-daughter newspaper cartoonists.[3]
While she was still a baby, her family moved to a predominantly Black neighborhood located in New Cassel, New York. [8] During school desegregation, she was bused to a nearby elementary school in Westbury, New York.[8]
She attended the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University.[1][9] In 1982, she developed a cartoon feature for Elan, a magazine for black women.[1] She later joined the staff of Essence magazine as their fashion and beauty writer. She also created illustrations for The Crisis, published by the NAACP; as well as for The Village Voice and MCA Records.[6]
Brandon-Croft's illustrating talent had developed naturally. Growing up she helped her father with his comics in exchange for allowance.[1] She was first recognized for the comic strip Where I'm Coming From. She later did other illustrations including Sista Girl-Fren Breaks It Down...When Mom's Not Around.[1] Brandon-Croft also created a line of illustrated greeting cards for OZ.[1]
Where I'm Coming From
Brandon-Croft started publishing Where I'm Coming From beginning in 1989 in the Detroit Free Press.[3][10] The comic strip traces the experiences of about twelve African-American women[3][5] and gives insight into the challenges of being an African American woman living in the United States.[10] It features characters such as Alisha, Cheryl, Lekesia, Nicole and others.[5][6][7] The characters are based on Brandon and her real-life friends.[1][6][7]
The artwork is minimalistic.[1] There is an absence of backdrop drawings, with the focus solely on the characters, who are represented by drawings of their upper torso.[1] Speech bubbles are also omitted and the characters address the reader directly.[1]
Where I'm Coming From went into national syndication in 1991 with the Universal Press Syndicate,[10] making Brandon-Croft the first female black cartoonist to be nationally syndicated.[3][6][10][11] It was the first comic strip by a black woman to be syndicated in mainstream newspapers.[12] The comic strip was featured in more than sixty newspapers between 1989 and 2004.[3][7] It appeared in newspapers throughout the United States, including Essence, The Sacramento Bee, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Baltimore Sun, as well as in The Gleaner in Jamaica and the Johannesburg Drum magazine.[1][3][7] Brandon-Croft ceased publication of the comic strips in 2005 after subscriptions dwindled.[11][13]
Brandon-Croft's and her father's work are both represented in the Library of Congress and in editions of Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year.[14]
Personal life
Brandon-Croft is married to Monte Croft, with whom she has one child, Chase. She resides in Queens, New York.[13][14]
Exhibitions
2020 "Still... Racism in America: A Retrospective in Cartoons" (Medialia Gallery, New York City) — joint exhibition with Brandon-Croft and her father Brumsic Brandon Jr.[15][16]
2022 "Still... Racism in America: A Retrospective in Cartoons" (Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, Columbus, OH) — joint exhibition with Brandon-Croft and her father Brumsic Brandon Jr.[17]
2024 "Still... Racism in America: A Retrospective in Cartoons" (University of California-Davis Design Museum, Davis, CA) — joint exhibition with Brandon-Croft and her father Brumsic Brandon Jr.[18]
Bibliography
Brandon, Barbara (1993). Where I'm Coming From. Andrews McMeel Publishing.
Brandon, Barbara (1994). Where I'm Still Coming From. Andrews McMeel Publishing.
Ahmed-Cawthorne, Francheska; Brandon, Barbara, illustrator (1996). Sista' Girlfren' Breaks It Down When Mom's Not Around. Simon & Schuster, Inc.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
deJongh, Monique Jellerette; Cato-Louis, Cassandra Marshall; Brandon, Barbara, illustrator (1997). How to Marry a Black Man: The Real Deal. Crown.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Brandon-Croft, Barbara (2023). Where I'M Coming From. Drawn and Quarterly.
^ abcde"Barbara Brandon Croft (1958-)". Source: Black Women in America, pp. 161-62; Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 3, pp. 16-17. October 24, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
