Blacula is a 1972 American horror film produced for American International Pictures. It was directed by William Crain and stars William Marshall in the title role as an 18th century African prince who is turned into a vampire while visiting Transylvania. Two centuries later, he rises from his coffin attacking various residents of Los Angeles. The prince meets Tina who he believes is the reincarnation of his deceased lover.

Blacula was released to mixed reviews in the United States and was one of the top grossing films of the year. It was the first film to receive an award for Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards. Blacula was followed by the sequel Scream, Blacula, Scream in 1973 and inspired a small wave of blaxploitation themed horror films.

Plot

In 1780, Prince Mamuwalde (William H. Marshall), the ruler of an African nation, seeks the help of Count Dracula (Charles Macaulay) in suppressing the slave trade. Dracula refuses to help and transforms Mamuwalde into a vampire and imprisons him in a sealed coffin. Mamuwalde’s wife, Luva (Vonetta McGee) is also imprisoned and dies in captivity. In 1972, the coffin has been purchased as part of an estate by two interior decorators, Bobby McCoy (Ted Harris) and Billy Schaffer (Rick Metzler) and shipped to Los Angeles. Bobby and Billy open the coffin and become Prince Mamuwalde’s first victims. At Bobby’s funeral, Mamuwalde encounters Tina (Vonetta McGee), who Prince Mamuwalde believes is the reincarnation of his deceased wife. On investigating the corpse at the funeral, Dr. Gordon Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala) helps Lt. Peters (Gordon Pinsent) with an investigation of murders that are occurring.

Prince Mamuwalde’s continues to kill and transform various people he encounters into vampires as Tina begins to fall in love with him. Thomas, Peters, and Michelle follow the trail of murder victims and begin to believe a vampire is responsible. After Thomas digs up Billy’s coffin, Billy’s corpse rises as a vampire and attacks Peters who fends him off. After finding a photo taken of Mamuwalde where his body is not visible, Thomas and Peters track Mamuwalde hideout defeating several vampires while Mamuwalde escapes. Mamuwalde lures Tina to his water works later while Thomas and a group of police officers chase after him. Mamuwalde dispatches several officers as one shoots Tina. To save Tina from death, Mamuwalde transforms her into a vampire. After Peters manages to kill the vampire Tina, Mamuwalde believes he can not live any longer after losing her twice. Mamuwalde leaves for the surface where the sunlight rots his flesh and kills him.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Coffy is a 1973 blaxploitation film written and directed by American filmmaker Jack Hill. The story is about a black female vigilante played by Pam Grier.

The film’s tagline in advertising was “They call her ‘Coffy’ and she’ll cream you!”

Production

According to writer/director Hill, the project began when American International Pictures’ head of production, Larry Gordon, lost the rights to the film Cleopatra Jones after making a handshake deal with the producers. Gordon subsequently approached Hill to quickly make a movie about an [African American woman’s revenge and beat Cleopatra Jones to market. The film ended up earning more money than Cleopatra Jones and established Grier as an icon of the genre.

Coffy is notable in its depiction of a strong female lead (a capable nurse), something rare in the genre at the time, and also in its then-unfashionable anti-drug message. It was remade in 1981, with an all-white cast, as Lovely But Deadly.

Plot

Nurse “Coffy” Coffin (Pam Grier), seeks revenge for her younger sister’s drug related death, a product of the drug underworld, mob bosses and chain of violence that exists in her city. The film opens with Coffy showing her vigilante nature by killing a drug supplier and dealer. She does this without getting caught by using her sexuality as an attractive and athletic African American woman who will do anything for a drug fix, which lures the men back to their residence and gives Coffy the privacy needed to kill them both. Directly following the killing, Coffy returns to her normal job at a local hospital in an operating room, but is asked to leave when she is too jumpy when handing tools to the surgeon.

The film introduces Coffy’s African American police friend Carter (William Elliot), who used to date Coffy in their younger years. Carter is portrayed as a straight-shooting officer who is not willing to bend the law for the mob or thugs that have been bribing many officers at his precinct. Coffy does not believe his strong moral resolve until two hooded men break into Carter’s house while she is there and beat Carter into submission. It is later discovered that Carter will be lucky to walk again. This further enrages Coffy and gives her more vindication to continue her work as a vigilante, killing off those responsible for harming Carter and her sister.

Coffy’s boyfriend Howard Brunswick (Booker Bradshaw) is a city councillor and appears to be deeply in love with Coffy at the beginning of the film. Coffy admires Brunswick for his body and use of law to solve societal problems. She is very excited when he announces his plan to run for Congress, and his purchase of a night club. The two share a passionate love scene in the first part of the film that helps build the viewer’s image of Coffy’s sensual and stereotypical feminine side, while still portraying her in the rest of the film as a hardcore crime fighter.

Coffy’s next targets in the film are a pimp named King George (Robert Do Qui), who is supposedly one of the largest providers of prostitutes and illegal substances in the city, and Mafia boss Arturo Vitroni (Allan Arbus).

Coffy questions and abuses a former patient of hers that was a known drug user to gain insight into what type of woman King George likes and where he keeps his stash of drugs. This is the first scene where Coffy brutalizes another woman and shows no remorse because the former patient is using drugs again and a deviant of society. Coffy quickly escapes and goes to a resort posing as a Jamaican woman looking to work for King George.

George is quickly interested in her exotic nature and asks her to come with him back to his house to experience Coffy himself first. One of the prostitutes returns from a far away job and gets disgruntled and jealous when seeing George taking such a liking to Coffy. At an evening party later that day Coffy and the other prostitutes get in a massive brawl, which entices mob boss Vitroni and he demands that he have her tonight. Coffy prepares herself to murder Vitroni and just when she is about to shoot, is overtaken by his men. She lies and tells Vitroni that King George ordered her to kill him, which makes Vitroni order George to be murdered. Vitroni’s men kill George by dragging him through the streets with a noose.

Coffy then discovers her clean-cut boyfriend is actually corrupt when she is shown to him at a meeting of the mob and several police officials. He denies knowing her other than as a prostitute and Coffy is sent to her death. Once again, Coffy uses her sexuality to seduce her would-be killers. They try injecting her with drugs to sedate her, but she has switched these out for sugar earlier. Faking a high, she kills her unsuspecting hitmen with a razor blade.

Running to avoid capture, Coffy then car-jacks a vehicle to escape. Coffy drives to Vitroni’s house, murders him, and then goes to Brunswick’s to do the same. He pleads forgiveness and just as she is about to accept, a naked white woman comes out of the bedroom. At this, Coffy shoots Brunswick in the groin. The film then closes with Coffy being satisfied at having avenged her sister and Carter.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The film opens with a credit sequence depicting Shaft, a private detective, emerging from the New York City subway and walking through Times Square, with scenes characterizing early 1970s New York. Shaft visits a shoeshine parlor, and is informed that some gangsters are looking for him. Police Lt. Vic Androzzi meets Shaft outside the parlor; and tries to get information from him on the two gangsters, but without any success. After Lt. Androzzi leaves, Shaft spots one of the men waiting for him in his office building. He command’s the first gangster, forcing him into his office where the second gangster is waiting. After a quick fight, Shaft throws one of them out the window; while the other surrenders and reveals to him that Bumpy, the leader of an uptown gang, wanted to meet Shaft and knock him out at his office.

At the police station, Shaft lies to Lt. Androzzi and his superior about the fight by saying that his friend got into an “accident”. He is allowed to return to the streets for 48 hours. Shaft arranges a meeting with Bumpy, the leader of these gangsters, in his office. It turns out Bumpy’s daughter has been kidnapped, and Shaft is asked to get her back safe. Shaft starts his investigation by looking for a man named Ben Buford, who is revealed to have been part of “the movement” with Shaft years ago, and eventually finds out that Ben’s group is holding a meeting. Shaft then returns home to his girlfriend where they make love.

The evening of the meeting, Shaft is tailed by a fingerman to the meeting where an ambush ensures. Shaft and Ben escape from the carnage while Ben’s group and the fingerman are murdered by unknown assailants. Ben confronts Shaft, thinking he was set up, but they refrain from fighting and move on.

Shaft is told by Vic after the shooting that Shaft himself was the target, not Ben, and that there are brewing tensions between the “uptown” hoods belonging to Bumpy Jonas and the “downtown” Mafioso, that have culminated in a couple of murders. Vic states those who know, know it’s “hood against hood” on the inside, but the perception is black against white to the general public, with the possibility of things escalating into full-blown race war on the streets of the city. He also shows Shaft some pictures of two of the Mafioso men who just got to New York. Vic pleads to Shaft to just clue him in to what’s going on, though Vic already knew Bumpy was looking for Shaft.

Shaft and Ben later meet Bumpy at his uptown office where Shaft ups the price for the job, based on his new-found information from Vic. Bumpy states that the reason for turning him on to Ben’s is because Shaft is going to need an army to get his daughter back, and “Ben’s got one,” he claims. After negotiations with Bumpy on a new price, they both leave his office.

Shaft retires to the “No Name Bar”, across the street from Shaft’s apartment in Greenwich Village. In the bar, he notices two men there who look like the Mafiosi from the pictures Vic showed him, having some drinks while looking at Shaft’s apartment window. Shaft takes over the bar from the bartender, and calls the cops without the two Mafiosi knowing. As the cops arrive to arrest the two men, one of them spits on Shaft’s face to which he responds by breaking a bottle of scotch over the man’s head.

After spending the night with one of the ladies from the bar, Shaft visits Vic and the two mafiaso the following morning. When Shaft returns home, he wakes the woman up, and as she leaves his place, she complains about his rotten manners out of bed, leading to a verbal spat that ends quickly.

A few seconds after the woman leaves, Vic comes in echoing the woman’s spat to Shaft. Vic tells Shaft that the room that he was in at the station house was bugged and he is supposed to bring him in for questioning, but instead leaves. Ben and Shaft go to the apartment where Marcy Jonas is being held to make sure she’s alive. Once there, a gunfight ensues during which two hoods get killed and Shaft takes a bullet in the shoulder. At home where Shaft is getting medical attention from a doctor working underground with him (Shaft refuses to go to any hospital because the hospital will notify police about his gunshot wound.), Shaft tells Ben to round up his men and meet him at the hotel where Marcy has been taken, to prepare to get her back. He also calls Bumpy to tell him that his daughter is fine and he is going to need some taxicabs to meet him at the same hotel for the getaway.

Ben’s men all dress as workers at the hotel (cooks, waiters, elevator operators, etc) as to not arouse suspicion. Shaft and one of Ben’s guys go to the roof and get set up to enter from the window of the room where Marcy is being held captive. Shaft’s plan is to cause a distraction with an explosive thrown through the window of Marcy’s room while Ben and his men come down the hall and deal with the Mafia men as they leave their rooms.

The rescue plan is successful. Marcy is spirited out of the hotel into one of the waiting taxicabs; as the others get away in the remaining cabs, Shaft walks to a phone booth to call Vic. Shaft tells him his “case just busted wide open”, to which Vic tells Shaft to close it for him. Shaft tells Vic that he won’t and declares, “I guess you’re gonna have to close it yourself … shitty!” (referring to the earlier spat with his one-night stand when Shaft asked the woman to close the door on the way out, a remark Vic overheard and teases him with), howling in laughter and walking away as the closing credits roll.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Foxy Brown is a 1974 blaxploitation film written and directed by Jack Hill. It stars Pam Grier as the title character, described by one character as “a whole lot of woman” who showcases unrelenting black sexiness while battling the villains.

Plot

When her government-agent boyfriend is shot down by members of a drug syndicate, Foxy Brown (Pam Grier) seeks revenge. She links her boyfriend’s murderers to a “modeling agency” run by Steve Elias (Peter Brown) and Miss Katherine (Kathryn Loder). Foxy decides to pose as a prostitute to infiltrate the company, and helps save a fellow black woman from a life of drugs and sexual exploitation. This leads Foxy to a variety of revenge-themed setpieces — often violent and sexual — that range from cremating sex slave dealers to castrating a foe and presenting his severed genitals to his girlfriend.

Production

According to director Jack Hill, this was originally intended to be a sequel to his Coffy (1973), also starring Pam Grier, and in fact the working title of the film was “Burn, Coffy, Burn!”. However, American-International Pictures decided at the last minute it did not want to do a sequel, even though Coffy was a huge hit. Therefore, it is never said exactly what kind of job Foxy Brown has — “Coffy” was a nurse and since this was no longer to be a sequel, they could not give Foxy Brown that job and did not have time to rewrite the script to establish just what kind of job she had.

On the audio commentary on the film’s DVD release, Hill also mentioned that he was initially against the outfits that the wardrobe department chose for Foxy Brown. Since Pam Grier had become a star in her prior film Coffy, there was an impetus to present the actress as even more stylish than she had appeared in the previous film. But Hill, by his own account, initially felt that the outfits were too trendy and specific to the time period, and within a few years would cause the film to look dated and obsolete. In the years since the film’s release, however, Hill has reversed his opinion on Foxy’s clothes, particularly in the wake of not only Foxy Brown’s ascent into pop culture icon, but also the ’70s nostalgia movement that started in the mid-1990s.

Hill also mentioned that the character of Foxy Brown became something of a female empowerment symbol that seemed to transcend the time period of the film. As such, Hill believes, Foxy’s 1970s clothes and hairstyles merely add to the charm of the character.

Reception

The movie had a mostly negative reception.^[2]

Popularity: 5% [?]

Women in Cages is a 1971 film in the women in prison sexploitation sub-genre, co-produced by Roger Corman and directed by Gerardo de León. It was prominently featured in the Planet Terror portion of the 2007 film Grindhouse.

In August 2007, Grindhouse director Quentin Tarantino said of the film, “I’m a huge, huge fan of Gerry de Leon…. [the film] is just harsh, harsh, harsh,” he said, and described the final shot as one of “devastating despair.”^[1]

Story

Carol ‘Jeff’ Jeffries (Jennifer Gan) is set up by her boyfriend who she doesn’t realise runs a ship-board prostitution, gambling and drug dealing empire. Thrown into a harsh prison she encounters Alabama (Pam Grier), a sadistic lesbian guard fond of torture. Cell mate Stokes (Roberta Collins) is a heroin addict who agrees to a plot involving Jeff, that will secure her more heroin. Another cell mate Sandy (Judith M. Brown) also agrees to a plot involving Jeff, that could secure her own release. Their other cellmate Theresa (Sofia Moran) is Alabama’s girlfriend.

Realising her boyfriend is not helping her, Jeff hopes to escape through the jungle, but learns that local poachers are paid to track and kill escapers – who inevitably become lost in the wilds surrounding the prison. When Theresa falls foul of Alabama and loses her privileged position in the cell block, escape becomes an attractive option to her. Theresa reveals that she knows the jungle well and can obtain outside help. Despite the fact that two of her three cellmates had previously agreed to covert plots involving Jeff, all three of her cellmates – Sandy, Stokes and Theresa – agree to accompany her on the escape.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Pamela Suzette “Pam” Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress. She became famous in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison and blaxploitation films such as 1974′s Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino‘s film Jackie Brown. She is one of a few African-American actresses to receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. She has also been nominated for a SAG as well as a Satellite Award for her performance in the iconic film Jackie Brown. She received an Emmy Award nomination for her work in an Animated Program Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child. Rotten Tomatoes has ranked her as the second Greatest Female Action Heroine in film history. Director Quentin Tarantino remarked that she may have been cinema’s first female action star.

Early life

Grier was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the daughter of Gwendolyn Sylvia (née Samuels), a homemaker and nurse, and Clarence Ransom Grier, who worked as a mechanic and Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force. She has one sister and one brother.^[3] At age 6 Grier was raped by two boys when she was left unattended at her aunt’s house. “It took so long to deal with the pain of that,” she says, “You try to deal with it, but you never really get over it,” she adds. “And not just me; my family endured so much guilt and anger that something like that happened to me.”^[4] Because of her father’s military career, her family moved frequently during her childhood, to various places such as England, and eventually settled in Denver, Colorado, where she attended East High School. While in Denver, Colorado she appeared in a number of stage productions, and participated in beauty contests to raise money for college tuition toward Metropolitan State College. Contrary to previous reports she states that she is not the cousin of National Football League great Roosevelt Grier or to National Hockey League player Mike Grier.

Career

Grier moved to Los Angeles, California in 1967, where she was initially hired as a receptionist at the American International Pictures (AIP) company. She was discovered by director Jack Hill, who cast her in his women in prison films The Big Doll House (1971), and The Big Bird Cage (1972). While under contract at AIP, she became a staple of early 1970s blaxploitation movies, playing big, bold, assertive women, beginning with Jack Hill’s Coffy (1973), in which she plays a nurse who seeks revenge on drug dealers; her character was advertised in the trailer as the “baddest one-chick hit-squad that ever hit town!” The film, which was filled with sexual and violent elements typical of the genre, was a box- office hit, and Grier was noted as the first African-American female to headline an action film, as protagonists of previous blaxploitation films were males. In his review of Coffy, film critic Roger Ebert noted that Grier was an actress of “beautiful face and astonishing form” and that she possessed a kind of “physical life” missing from other actresses.^[5] Grier subsequently played similar characters in the AIP films Foxy Brown (1974), Friday Foster, and Sheba, Baby (both 1975).

With the demise of blaxploitation Grier appeared in smaller roles for many years. She acquired progressively larger character roles in the 1980s, including a prostitute in Fort Apache the Bronx (1981), a witch in Something Wicked this Way Comes (1983), and Steven Seagal‘s detective partner in Above the Law (1988). She made guest appearances on Miami Vice, Martin, Night Court and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and also had a recurring role in the TV series Crime Story between 1986 and 1988. She also appeared on Sinbad, Preston Chronicles, The Cosby Show, The Wayans Brother Show, and Mad TV. In 1994, Grier appeared in Snoop Dogg‘s video for Doggy Dogg World.

In the late 1990s Grier was a cast member of the Showtime series Linc’s. She again appeared in 1997 with the title role in Quentin Tarantino‘s Jackie Brown, a film that partly paid homage to her ’70s blaxploitation movies. As of 2004^[update] she appears in the cable television series The L Word as Kit Porter and occasionally guest-stars in such television series as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (where she is a recurring character).

In 2010 Grier began appearing in a recurring role on the hit science fiction series Smallville as the villain Amanda Waller, also known as White Queen, head agent of Checkmate, a covert operations agency.

Also in 2010 she wrote her memoir, “Foxy: My Life in Three Acts” with Andrea Cagan.^[6]

Personal life

Grier has never married and has no children. She dated basketball player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, during the early 1970s, and had a 18-month affair with actor/comedian Richard Pryor around 1976–77. She also was romantically linked to actor/comedian Freddie Prinze in the 1970s.^[6] In 1998 she was engaged to music executive, Kevin Evans, but the engagement was terminated in 1999. From 2000 to 2008 she dated marketing executive, Peter Hempel.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Can of Shut the F' Up

Popularity: 21% [?]

Dolemite is a 1975 blaxploitation feature film, and is also the name of its principal character, played by Rudy Ray Moore, who co-wrote the film and its soundtrack. Moore, who started his career as a stand-up comedian in the late 1960s, heard around that time a rhymed toast by a local homeless man about an urban hero named Dolemite, and decided to adopt the persona of Dolemite as an alter-ego in his act.

He included the character on his 1970 debut album, Eat Out More Often, which reached the top 25 on the Billboard charts. He released several more comedy albums using this persona. In 1975, Moore decided to create a film about Dolemite, using many of his friends and fellow comedians as cast and crew.^[1] The film was directed by D’Urville Martin, who appears as the villain Willie Green.

Cast

• Dolemite (Rudy Ray Moore): the protagonist of the movie. Dolemite is seen jailed in the beginning of the movie, followed by a flashback of detectives examining the trunk of his car in which stolen fur coats and drugs were found. It is obvious Dolemite was framed, but he spends time in jail nevertheless. Dolemite is later pardoned and released. Throughout the movie, as Dolemite attempts to rekindle his reputation on the streets and reclaim his pride and joy (the club referred to as “The Total Experience”) from Willie Green, he is constantly having run-ins with a pair of detectives, Mitchell and White, who framed Dolemite before (as seen in the flashback), and who are hell-bent on getting Dolemite back into the slammer.

• Queen Bee (Lady Reed): runs a whorehouse that references Dolemite as the part time owner on several occasions throughout the movie. Queen Bee is the only woman in Dolemite’s household who Dolemite speaks to as an equal, rather than a pimp. While Queen Bee is very emotional about having Dolemite return home after time in jail, no reference of an intimate relationship is ever made during the film.

• Willie Green (D’Urville Martin): the antagonist. Willie Green is seen in the initial flashback as having a leading part in the framing of Dolemite. Willie Green takes over Dolemite’s club “The Total Experience” while Dolemite is serving hard time. Willie Green and the city’s mayor, Mayor Daley, have a peculiar partnership. The mayor will abuse his office in helping Willie Green avoid problems with the law, while Willie Green promises black votes for the mayor’s upcoming re-election.

• Reverend Gibbs (West Gale): a black separatist with many connections, the Reverend leads a radical church in the “Fourth Ward.” He tips off Dolemite regarding who set him up two years prior, as well as who is supplying drugs to the community.

• Mitchell (John Kerry): a corrupt detective who – under the direction of Mayor Daley and Willie Green – frames Dolemite and sends him to prison. When Dolemite is released, he and his partner White attempt to frame him again.

• Blakely (Jerry Jones): an FBI man who lurks in the shadows, and knows why Dolemite is out on the street. When the time comes, Blakely apprehends the corrupt detectives Mitchell and White and the corrupt Mayor.

• Creeper (Vainus Rackstraw): better known as the Hamburger Pimp, he is recognized by his dingy “white-T”, characteristic pimp stroll (as he pulls up his pants), and constant begging for spare change and free food.

Follow-ups

A sequel, The Human Tornado, was released in 1976.

In 2001, Dimension Films (no relation to Dimension Pictures) announced that there was a remake of Dolemite in production, starring LL Cool J in the lead role. Details released about the project signaled major differences that would severely tone down the adult (and possibly politically incorrect) nature of the original film, such as making Dolemite not a pimp, but rather an individual framed for a crime he had not committed. Due to massive delays, LL Cool J is no longer attached to the project.^[2]

Popularity: 5% [?]

Now available in the 10 inch white bottle, and the 12 inch black bottle.

Popularity: 10% [?]

We are proud to announce that every Monday in May we will be featuring great 70s movies.  In May, we’ll showcase Coffy.  If you haven’t heard of this Pam Grier flick, you need to come back and read about it.  Better yet, go rent it.  We’ll showcase Blacula.  That’s right, they made a movie about a black Dracula and named it Blacula.  You gotta read about this. 

We also cover Dolemite and Shaft, which are probably our two favorite 70s movies.  Finally, we have one more movie that will knock your socks off.  Want to know what it is?  Check back!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Why fight the power… When you can make the power laugh?!? Show your love for Conan’s funky new look with this bad ass CONAN afro shirt (Click right here to purchase) – and revisit the start of the Coco Revolution by watching his new commercials for black people HERE and HERE!

So snatch up the CONAN Bad Ass Afro Shirt today! THE WHITEST DUDE IN TOWN JUST GOT THE REDDEST AFRO AROUND. WORD.

I’m going to go finish my vanilla almond yogurt now. Word up.

http://teamcoco.com/blog/new-conan-bad-ass-afro-tee-shirts-now-available/

Popularity: 7% [?]

We fixed a few broken links on the old archive of magazines.  Click through them if you want. 

 1)  Heather Harmon Issue
 2)  Oasis Interview
 3)  Missy and Mandee Taylor
 4)  Kirsten’s Room Interview
 5)  NinjaPimp Game
 6)  Cand’s Issue
 7)  International
 8)  Rosenbud Twins
 9)  Amy Nguyen Issue
 10)  Abdullah’s Issue
 11)  Cougar Issue
 12)  Teri’s Issue
 13)  Kami’s Issue
 14)  Wrestling Issue
 15)  More Twins
 16)  Jasmin’s Issue
 17)  Corina’s Issue
 18)  Hull Twins Issue
 19)  Julya Ried Issue
 20)  Latina Issue
 21)  M.Carey Issue
 22)  M.Mounds
 23)  Myla Leigh Chenoa
 24)  Bella Issue
 25)  Carmella Issue
 26)  Ivan’s Issue
 27)  Amber’s Issue
 28)  Cindy Issue
 29)  More Twins    
 30)  Ginger’s Issue
 31)  KrazyMan    
 32)  Jenni Issue
 33)  Jessica Issue    
 34)  Valentine Issue
 35)  Lisa Issue    
 36)  Omega Issue
 37)  Darcy Donavan    
 38)  Bomb Twinz Issue
 39)  No More Kings    
 40)  D-Ray Issue
 41)  October Issue    
 42)  More Twins
 43)  Jordin Issue
 44)  Missy Issue
 45)  Pimp of the Year
 46)  Randy West Issue
 47)  2008 POTY Issue 
 48)  Government Bailout

Popularity: 7% [?]

The archive of our old magazine issues draw about 1,000 visitors a day, but they currently generate no real advertising revenue.  That’s because Google has blocked them. 

Archive:  http://afro-squad.com/blog/magazine-archive/

So we are thinking of pulling those pages down. 

Any thoughts on us doing that?

Popularity: 6% [?]

Our homey Seth asked us to help design a “Bag of D!cks” as a bar snack. Here is what we came up with.

Popularity: 9% [?]

For all the scholarship devoted to Mary Shelley’s English novel Frankenstein, there has been surprisingly little attention paid to its role in American culture, and virtually none to its racial resonances in the United States. In Black Frankenstein, Elizabeth Young identifies and interprets the figure of a black American Frankenstein monster as it appears with surprising frequency throughout nineteenth- and twentieth-century U.S. culture, in fiction, film, essays, oratory, painting, and other media, and in works by both whites and African Americans.

Black Frankenstein stories, Young argues, effect four kinds of racial critique: they humanize the slave; they explain, if not justify, black violence; they condemn the slaveowner; and they expose the instability of white power. The black Frankenstein’s monster has served as a powerful metaphor for reinforcing racial hierarchy—and as an even more powerful metaphor for shaping anti-racist critique. Illuminating the power of parody and reappropriation, Black Frankenstein tells the story of a metaphor that continues to matter to literature, culture, aesthetics, and politics.

Popularity: 8% [?]