In other news…later this summer I will be re-issuing Darius Logan: Super Justice Force with an all new cover, and a slightly different title. To your left you can see a little bit of the new cover, which should answer any questions as to why there is a new cover in the first place. This new art is amazing, and it will blow people away. Part of the reason for this new image is that too many people were looking at the older cover and thinking DL:SJF was a graphic novel. I wanted something that looked more like a traditional book cover and, to be honest, that was a bit more dynamic. As for the new title, it will be The Adventures of Darius Logan, Book One: Super Justice Force. I’m not going to get into the long, boring explanation for the name change, other than to say that I think with the new cover, slightly re-branding the title of the book, and therefore the Darius Logan series itself, is a good idea.

And finally, with the new cover and the slightly changed title, I will transition to using my full name, David F. Walker, as opposed to D.F. Walker. There were too many people who didn’t realize that D.F. Walker the YA author was the same person as David Walker the comic book writer, as well as David F. Walker the filmmaker. I’m just trying to make it all easier for my dozens of fans to find my work.

Elladia Ortiz stared out the living room window of the house she shared with her uncle and tried not to think about how much she hated her life. Every moment of every day she tried not to think about it—about how much she hated her life and what had become of it—but it never did any good. Even if she thought about something else, something she loved, like her boyfriend Darius, or the Rekker family who lived across the street, those thoughts always led back to one simple fact—Elladia Ortiz hated her life.

Darius stared down at the planet Earth from the orbiting space station located near the moon. Up until recently, the station had been owned and operated by Super Justice Force, but with the recent financial problems faced by the superhero team, the decision had been made to sell the facility. Darius had no idea who had purchased the space station, and he really didn’t care. Below him was the planet he called home and on it was the woman he loved. He just wanted to be back on Earth.

That said, I want you all to know that Book 2 is coming along. The working title is Darius Logan: No Man’s Land, and as of the current draft, it is very different from the first book. As you may imagine by the title, much it takes place in No Man’s Land, which was established in the first book. Much of the new book is actually about other characters introduced in Super Justice Force, and their lives. And then there are the new characters, who will really add depth and dimension to the world Darius lives in. The big problem I’ve been facing, which has slowed the writing process considerably, is that right now more than half the book doesn’t have Darius in it. Trying to construct the narrative so that there is a better balance between what is happening with Darius and what is happening with the other characters has not been easy. And more than anything, I don’t want to write a second book that is just like the first book.

I hope to have Darius Logan: No Man’s Land out by the middle of next year. Again, I apologize for the delay, but trust me when I say, the wait will be worth it. Until then, I’ll also work on having more frequent updates on the site.

To say that I’ve been waiting my entire life for a hero like Miles Morales may sound like a bit of an exaggeration, but I’ve definitely been waiting for him for a long time. I felt the need to see someone like Miles the moment I became painfully aware of the fact that there were no superheroes that looked like me. That’s to say there were no superheroes that were black. Sure, Marvel had Falcon, Black Panther, Black Goliath, and of course Luke Cage, Power Man (the only superhero who charged money), but none of those characters were Spider-Man, and perhaps more important, none of their secret identities were like Peter Parker. Peter was a poor kid, from a broken home, who struggled to make ends meet while neither him nor Spider-Man ever seemed to catch a lucky break. Compared to the African kings and ex-cons that made up Marvel’s black superheroes, Peter Parker was more like me and my friends than any of the heroes of color.

Over the years I have argued and championed and stood upon a soapbox and preached to anyone within the range of my voice about the importance of diversity in popular fiction—including comic books. Especially in comic books. The number of American kids who develop an interest in reading through the medium of comics is impressive, and these kids come in a variety of colors, yet they are represented by an disproportionate number of white men in weird costumes, who protect predominately white populations, in a multitude of universes that are overwhelmingly white. Now, before anyone mistakes what I’m saying as being anti-white, please know that this isn’t the case. But we absolutely must face the fact that the world of superheroes does not even come close to representing minorities and women in a way that is healthy to the development of any young people, no matter what their racial or ethnic background may be.

Throughout the course of human history, every culture has developed its own mythology that serves to convey the human experience through fantastic tales. In the ancient world, these tales were of gods and goddesses, told by humans sitting around campfires all over the world. In the 20th century, in America, these gods and goddesses took the form of the modern superhero. Characters like Superman, Batman, the Lone Ranger, and Wonder Woman became the new embodiment of old archetypes, and a new mythology was created with these colorful characters. Unfortunately, the American superhero has rarely reflected the actual diversity of the population, and as a result many people have been excluded from this mythology. And it isn’t just in comics, all forms of popular entertainment in America has been deficient in creating heroes that reflect the larger population.

You might not notice these types of things if you’re white, and you probably can’t articulate it if you’re a young kid who is black, or Latino, or Asian, or Native American, or a girl—not because you lack the intelligence, but simply because not being included is “normal.” You just know that something doesn’t feel right. You grow up watching TV shows and movies, and reading comics, and wondering why there are so few characters that look like you. You play with action figures—the physical representation of your heroes, which are, in fact, the gods and goddesses of modern mythology—and you wish deep down inside that just one of them looked like you. That just one had your skin color, or hair like yours. And this eats away at you, and as you grow older, and try to talk about it, far too many people respond in ways that betray an underlying racism that crushes your soul. But then along comes Miles Morales, and even though this one character doesn’t make it all better, it is a step in the right direction.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of Spider-Man. I’d argue that Peter Parker and Spider-Man are the most important characters in the history of the comic book, just behind Superman, and right in front of Batman. And Spider-Man is definitely the most important comic superhero of the second half of the 20th century, period. In his own way, Miles Morales is just as important as Peter Parker, and most definitely the most important superhero of the 21st century thus far. He is the character that I have been waiting for my entire life.

With the second volume of Guerillas hot off the press, Revel picks up where the first volume left off. John is still stumbling through the jungle following the chimps led by alpha male Goliath, and uncertain of his ability to function in war. Meanwhile, the sinister side of Dr. Heisler and his baboon Adolph begin to emerge, posing a deadly threat to Captain Stewart and his men. And of course, there is a brutal war waging all around.

Drawing a considerable amount of inspiration from comics creators Alex Toth, Bruce Timm, Will Eisner, and Wally Wood, Brahm Revel has crafted a comic story dense with detail. At times Revel manages to pack two or three pages of storytelling on to a single page, but he does so without making the pages or the panels seem crammed or over-crowded—even when there are seven or eight panels to a page. Quite simply, this is incredibly well crafted comic storytelling. Guerillas, Volume 2 is an excellent follow up to the first installment, and Revel has done an amazing job of building tension within the story as it moves toward its conclusion in the third volume. NOTE: This books contains violence and profanity that may not be suitable for younger readers.