Fans of DC Comics were mystified when it was first announced that film, stage, and television superstar Tyler Perry would be coming to comics with a weekly four issue mini series to help commemorate African-American heritage month. But the highly acclaimed writer/producer/director/actor has quickly won over the hearts of fanboys young and old with his stirringly emotional revamping of the classic Kirby skier of the afterlife, the Black Racer.
“Willie Walker has always been an exceedingly mufti-faceted character,” said Perry in a recent email interview. “I think most of today’s audience can too readily identify with an injured police sergeant forced by the gods to use his skiing abilities to outrace death for others. And I am overwhelmingly elated that Joe Phillips, my artist for the series, completely identified with my desire to return Willie to the original costume as designed by the great Jack Kirby.”
“But clearly, what has sparked the most attention is our modernization. Not of a nifty aerodynamic redesign, but of making Willie a single father struggling against the odds to keep his extended family together- and finding happiness along the way. And family is key. Can Willie reconnect with his teenage lesbian daughter Aaliyah? Can Willie help his coke-addicted uncle Floyd find God again? And will Willie’s mom forgive her own past so the family tree won’t lose their chance at one last reunion?”
These questions and more will be answered with a little laughter and a lot of love as ‘Diary of a Mad Black God’ concludes February 28th.
