Barbara Brandon-Croft (born November 27, 1958) is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

, best known for creating the

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

''Where I'm Coming From'', and for being the first nationally syndicated African-American female cartoonist.

Early life

Brandon-Croft was born in Brooklyn, New York, to

Brumsic Brandon Jr. Brumsic Brandon Jr. (April 10, 1927 – November 28, 2014)Brumsic Brandon a.k.a. Brum ...

Her father was also a cartoonist and he was the creator of the comic strip ''

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

'' which was in circulation from 1970 to 1986 under the

Los Angeles Times Syndicate The ''Los Angeles Times'' Syndicate was a print syndication service that operated from 1949 to 2000. Owned by the Times Mirror Company, it also operated the ''Los Angeles Times'' Syndicate International; together the two divisions sold more than ...

newspapers. She and her father are said to represent the only occurrence of father-daughter newspaper cartoonists. She attended the College of Visual and Performing Arts at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. In 1982, she developed a cartoon feature for ''Elan'', a magazine for black women. She later joined the staff of ''Essence'' magazine as their fashion and beauty writer. She also created illustrations for ''

The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...

'', published by the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

; as well as for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' and

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. Brandon-Croft's illustrating talent had developed naturally. Growing up she helped her father with his comics in exchange for allowance. 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''. Brandon-Croft also created a line of illustrated greeting cards for OZ.

''Where I'm Coming From''

Brandon-Croft started publishing ''Where I'm Coming From'' beginning in 1989 in the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

''. The comic strip traces the experiences of about twelve African-American women and gives insight into the challenges of being an African American woman living in the United States. It features characters such as Alisha, Cheryl, Lekesia, Nicole and others. The characters are based on Brandon and her real-life friends. The artwork is minimalistic. There is an absence of backdrop drawings, with the focus solely on the characters who are represented by drawings of their upper torso. Speech bubbles are also omitted and the characters address the reader directly. ''Where I'm Coming From'' went into national syndication in 1991 with the

Universal Press Syndicate Universal Press Syndicate (UPS), a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, was an independent press syndicate. It distributed lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger Eb ...

making Brandon-Croft the first female black cartoonist to be nationally syndicated. It was the first comic strip by a black woman to be syndicated in mainstream newspapers. The comic strip was featured in more than sixty newspapers between 1989 and 2004. It appeared in newspapers throughout the United States, including ''Essence'', ''

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'', ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' and ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'', as well as in ''

The Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'' in

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and the ''Johannesburg Drum'' magazine. Brandon-Croft ceased publication of the comic strips in 2005 after subscriptions dwindled. Brandon-Croft and her father's work are both represented in the Library of Congress and in editions of ''Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year.''

Personal life

Brandon-Croft is married to Monte Croft, with whom she has one child, Chase, and resides in Queens, New York.

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. Brumsic Brandon Jr. (April 10, 1927 – November 28, 2014)Brumsic Brandon a.k.a. Brum ...

"SOCIETY: STILL: Racism in America - A Retrospective in Cartoons,"
'' ABC7NY'' ''Here and Now'' Episode 269: Segment 3 (March 30, 2020).

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Access to digitized editions of ''Where I'm Coming From''
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandon-Croft, Barbara 1958 births Living people African-American comics creators American women cartoonists American comic strip cartoonists American female comics artists Artists from Brooklyn 20th-century American artists 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American artists 21st-century American women artists Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts alumni 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American artists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American artists