In the 1940s, the comics pages of America's weekly Black newspapers were filled with characters both inspirational and aspirational. In addition to the life stories of great African Americans, there were fictional tales of Black reporters, Black detectives, Black government agents, Black aviators, Black people rising in the ranks of society, even Black superheroes, all to give their audiences the sense of the best that was possible.
Then there was Bootsie.
Bootsie was a liar, a womanizer, a layabout, a scammer, a cheat, and an all around disreputable dude. Among the denizens of Harlem he was scorned, threatened, detested... and yet nonetheless loved as a part of the community.
>Selected as one of the "Best Books of 2022" by Panels & Prose.