Blackwax Boulevard is a slice-of-life comic that follows Marsalis, Hardy, and Veronika, as they strive to keep the titular record store open for business. In this graphic novel collection, Blackwax Boulevard Is Listening, our heroes also tackle the most hot-button issues of the day: racism, homophobia, #MeToo, and cancel culture. Blending pop music esoterica with blistering commentary on wokeness, fandom, and celebrity, Blackwax Boulevard Is Listening captures a generation of record lovers, nerds, hipsters, and outcasts grappling with the cultural turbulence of the late '10s and early '20s.
This incisive, compelling collection from Jackson (Marty's Diner) collects strips from his vinyl-toasting slice-of-life webcomic Blackwax Boulevard, which features a vivid record store milieu and a memorable cast with a diverse range of personalities, interests, and conflicts. The central character is Marsalis, the store’s cashier and aspiring music critic, whose boss, Hardy, inherited the store from his uncle but is seeing the business facing hard times. The story follows Marsalis's crush on activist Salimah and his desperate attempt to become the intern of legendary bad boy music critic Chester Vick (a let-it-blurt Lester Bangs-style character). There's also eight-year-old Seung-Jin, skipping school because she loves music and is afraid of a potential school shooting, along with several other side characters, like Veronika, a recovering addict who's working through a lot of baggage.Jackson's examination of misogyny, white privilege, rape culture, police violence, and homophobia is potent, even profound, rooted in a cast that's fully formed and convincingly drawn, in every sense of the word. The storylines feel urgent and relatable, pulsing with the anxieties of their moment: Marsalis weakly tries to defend his idol Vick to his skeptical friends against many charges of sexual assault, while Veronika's unresolved issues regarding her own assaults trigger a relapse, and Salimah has an explosive argument with both Veronika and her egotistical activist boyfriend, Brother Rage. It all comes to a climax when Vick himself visits the store with his new intern, a young woman who will no doubt be his next victim.
For all the thorny issues Jackson takes on, readers new first and foremost are invited, here, to enjoy the company of this winning cast, with the compelling story developments building naturally from their sharply observed desires, fears, and flaws. The fact that Jackson manages to make this funny, primarily through his highly expressive cartooning, ensures this stands tall as satire, trenchant social commentary, and a love letter to music and those who live for it.
Takeaway: Trenchant, funny, and wise slice-of-life comics set in a record store.
Comparable Titles: Ezra Claytan Daniels, Lawrence Lindell.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Bracing and hugely involving...Another must-read graphic novel collection about the true believers of the music world.
Replete with timely and timeless observations, insights, wit, wisdom, and humor, Blackwax Boulevard Is Listening is a fun and deftly read that will have immense appeal to readers with an interest in satire presented in a graphic novel format. While unreservedly recommended for community library Graphic Novel collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that Blackwax Boulevard Is Listening is also readily available in a paperback edition (9780999259641, $20.00).
Winning Writers is pleased to announce the results from its ninth annual North Street Book Prize. This contest recognizes the best books being self-published or hybrid-published today. 1,862 books were received from around the world.
Dmitri Jackson of Ballwin, Missouri won First Prize in Graphic Novel & Memoir for Blackwax Boulevard Is Listening, the second installment of his comic strip about the staff of an urban record store who contend with unrequited love, addiction, and fallen idols in a compelling storyline inspired by the #MeToo movement. This is Jackson's second win in this category.
The 2024 Glyph Comics Awards have been announced their list of nominees. Held at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia, PA, the Glyphs recognize the best in comics made by, for and about people of color.
Among the nominees, Dmitri Jackson's Blackwax Boulevard Is Listening has earned 3 nominations: Best Male Character (Marsalis J. Parker), Best Female Character (Salimah Armstrong), and Rising Star Award.
