‘Killadelphia Vol 1: Sins of the Father’ is Beautifully and Horrifyingly Black: Review

Writer: Rodney Barnes / Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander / Image What’s up nerds? I hope you’re all feeling better as comic distribution is stabilizing. Between the last few months of crazy, many comics fell to the wayside for me. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the Killadelphia Vol. 1 collection was being released last week. A recollection of the first issues’ magic came back to me, and I immediately downloaded the issues I didn’t have. It was really a perfect storm reading this collection now. These past few months have me filled with emotion. I’m frustrated and angry that while Black bodies are falling disproportionately at the hands and spikes of the police and coronavirus, I still must argue for the existence of systematic racism against some. I feel underwhelmed by the performative “wokeness” of companies trying to convince us that they’re “down with the Blacks.” I feel tentative hope marching down my street with a figurative rainbow of people shouting, “Black Lives Matter.” I feel the inevitable entanglement from the wonderful representation and disappointing mythologizing of the country’s history seeing Hamilton. With this concoction of conflict in my head, Killadelphia provided a wonderful outlet. It makes sense that a powerhouse writer/ producer like Rodney Barnes wrote this because I need this to be on screen. Teamed with Jason Shawn Alexander’s stunning visuals, the book tells a quick paced, succinct story while addressing a plethora of complex themes. This is …