Daredevil by Zdarsky and Checcetto: A complex run that mirrors a complex world

By Toren Chenault — Violence is complicated. Audiences are fine with violence in movies like Transformers or Infinity War, and for readers of comics like Batman or Spider-Man, violence inflicted on villains feels necessary. Here comes a man called Bane, high on venom, or a man dressed as a goblin throwing exploding pumpkins from a glider. We see these villains, and we want heroes to pummel them. It quickly becomes good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, and then it’s on to the next issue, the next arc, the next story.

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Black Hole and Beyond: Preparing for a Kickstarter

By Toren Chenault — Since my last column about Black Hole Comics and Entertainment, we had a Lift Off segment come out and another short story as well. Both were great examples of how cool the people are that I get to work with. The world around us is still going through a plethora of changes, and we’re all just trying to adapt to them.

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Black Hole and Beyond: Lifting Off with steady growth

By Toren Chenault — Last week, was the biggest week in Black Hole Comics and Entertainment’s short history, for a few reasons. The main one is obvious: our short story contest winners were announced. That was exhilarating, and I get giddy as hell when cool things happen for creatives, especially when they feel seen. But also, last week was the first time we had more than two pieces of content out on the website in a week. Our contest announcement, an interview with comic writer Lonnie Nadler, and an original short story from one of our launch writers.

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Why I Love Black Superheroes

By Toren Chenault — Black History Month is a time to celebrate. I love being Black, and I love everything about my culture. And I think it’s important to celebrate culture, no matter who you are. I also love comic books and am in the process of writing my first comic. As a future comic creator and as a Black male, I think it’s important to acknowledge the strides we’ve made in the comic book industry when it comes to diversity. See, we still have a long way to go, though. In fact, it saddens me the low number of Black writers and artists I see in mainstream comics today.

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Grand Abyss Hotel - 'Neoliberalism has become a state religion'

Toren Chenault — I had a hard time figuring out how to write this piece. I knew I wanted to, because there’s just so much going on right now. Typing it right now, I can’t fully capture it with just my words. I hope you’re all staying safe, and if you’ve been impacted by the pandemic, my heart goes out to you. It’s hard to capture situations like this with words and art. It’s a special talent when artists can fully capture the state of things, of the world. And I think comics often do it well, and in the most creative ways. Sometimes words or pictures can scare us, make us feel uncertain, more so than we already are. But it feels good knowing we aren’t alone in our anxiety, anger, and concerns about life.

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BLACK HOLE COMICS AND ENTERTAINMENT - A Mission Statement

My name is Toren Chenault and I'm one of the co-founders of Black Hole Comics and Entertainment. I’m from Cincinnati, but currently live in Lansing, Michigan. I'm also the President/Publisher/CEO whatever other fancy title people like to have with these types of companies. That isn't important. What is important is that you are reading the very first post for Black Hole! And I'd like to welcome you.

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Watchmen, Doomsday Clock, and finding love and hope in political stories

By Toren Chenault — If you haven’t been paying attention to the world, President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iranian General Qasim Soleimani. He was also impeached a few weeks ago. In Australia, more than half a billion animals have been killed by unstoppable wildfires. Around the world, pro democracy protests continue in places like Colombia, Spain, and Hong Kong. And here in the states, a battle for the Democratic nomination continues as reports say that Bernie Sanders possibly, maybe, or not at all, told Elizabeth Warren that he didn’t think a woman could win the preside

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