#RetroReview: When Waid and Jones fed us strange but fresh fruit

Things went Boom! as far back as 2015 when the publisher teamed up with Mark Waid and J.G Jones to tell a strange but refreshing story. Here’s another look at a criminally overlooked masterpiece.   

By Abdulkareem Baba Aminu

Way back at the 2015 Comic-Con in San Diego, there was a bit of buzz about a certain project. OK, maybe a lot of buzz. But what would you expect from a book written by Mark Waid and J.G Jones? (Oh, and by the way, Jones painted the whole thing). As if that wasn’t enough of a selling point, the comic — called Strange Fruit, strangely — is set in a famous, historical period of American history, the Great Mississippi flood of 1927. After reading it in floppies, I finally snagged a hardcover when it came out. And boy was it a beauty!

Back to the premise, the fact that it is set in the Jim Crow South is where ‘normal’ or ‘regular’ ends. Beastly plantation owners? Check. Angry, overworked slaves? Check. Torch-wielding, blood-lustin’ Klansmen? Check. Strange, black, absolutely naked, and possibly super-powered being? Uh…check. The stage was set perfectly by the writers, who establish the characters pretty early, showing from the beginning that this is obviously an unusual comic book.

“In the fictional, rainy town of Chatterlee, Mississippi, a strange, silent giant makes an appearance whose nature angers the local KKK. Now, he’s a super-strong colossus of a man whose skin is black, so you can imagine the resulting drama.”

Based on characters and events in the fictional, rainy town of Chatterlee, Mississippi, a strange, silent giant makes an appearance whose nature angers the local KKK. Now, he’s a super-strong colossus of a man whose skin is black, so you can imagine the resulting drama. By the time I tore through the pages, I was breathless. Or at least I thought I was until I saw what the aforementioned mysterious, major character used the second Confederate national flag for. I mean, this is the same flag known as ‘the stainless banner’ in reference to the white field that comprised a large part of its design elements, which designer William T. Thompson now infamously declared symbolized the “supremacy of the white man”. Also, the N-word is tossed around casually like a greeting.

But hey, in Waid and Jones’ defense, you’re reading a book which has rich dialogue like: “White folk ain’t much gonna cotton to yo running ’round with yo Johnson hangin’ out!” And that’s just one moment, of many, during which a reader would be reminded that he or she’s not simply reading a blockbuster book by heavyweight, big-name creators but something special.

Having been longtime friends, Waid (Superman: Birthright, Daredevil) and Jones (Y: The Last Man, Wanted) had been trying to find the perfect duet all these years. With both of them being Southern natives who grew up during the Civil Rights wars, they certainly had a personal story to tell. They had actually begun work on Strange Fruit a long time ago, having discussed it one way or another since Jones shared the basic idea with Waid. The writing duo was born and while it took a while to put the project together, they utilized the waiting time to get contracts finalized and ruminate on what direction they were heading.

The wait paid off, big time. Even today, the book stands firm in its brilliance and strange topicality. Jones’ painted work — with the spot-on American-ness of Norman Rockwell and the gorgeously detailed power of Alex Ross — has its own individual style and energy. And does it sizzle! Ordinary bar scenes are elevated to things of beauty while conversations come positively alive. And don’t get me started about the action scenes. The settings are all well-realized, as evidenced by the obviously painstaking research done on clothes and buildings of the ’20s.

“If you find the name of the comic book ‘Strange Fruit’ familiar, it is because it is a song first performed by Billie Holiday in 1939, written by teacher Abel Meeropol as a poem. It protested – you guessed it – racism.”

The creators, also, had experienced the racial clashes firsthand as youngsters. Jones says while he finds it sad and infuriating that the issues within remain topical nearly a century after, it shows the nation has not traveled as far down the road as hoped. If you find the name of the comic book ‘Strange Fruit’ familiar, it is because it is a song first performed by Billie Holiday in 1939, written by teacher Abel Meeropol as a poem. It protested – you guessed it – racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans, and is considered a classic.

Both Waid and Jones have admitted that their story was a tough one to tell, which they do in this book, without – ahem – whitewash, and with what they described as a fair share of rough imagery and language. Racism, particularly the violent kind, is a major issue in today’s headlines and a rereading of Strange Fruit has never been timelier. So much so that way back in 2015 when the series debuted, I felt it was sure to provoke thought. Plus it’s a damn good yarn they’ve spun, one that I daresay, was Eisner bait then. But that wasn’t to be, and while many might have forgotten it exists, I strongly feel it is time for it to be revisited. It will be strange, yes. But it will also be fresh.