Black Comic Book Creator Hopes To Promote Diversity With ‘P.B. Soldier’

NEWARK, NJ — It’s a frustrating experience to be in love with comic books but not to see anyone that looks like you on the page. That’s the childhood experience that inspired New Jersey native and comic book writer Naseed Gifted to create his independently produced graphic novel series, “P.B. Soldier.”

The series chronicles the adventures of African-American computer hacker Nat Cummings, who uses his abilities to help pay for college tuition until his activities are discovered and he becomes listed as an international terror threat. Cummings then becomes a double agent who attempts to bring down a system from the inside without letting those he cares about fall into harm’s way.

Learn more about P.B. Soldier here.

Hopefully, the book will help to promote diversity and teach kids about Science, Technology Engineering and Math (S.T.E.M.) programs, said Gifted, an electrical engineering graduate of the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.

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Gifted, a two-time Glyph Comic Awards nominee and founder of the African-American-themed comic book festival “Khem Comic Fest,” stated that a lack of minority characters fueled his desire to inject more diversity in the world of comic books.

In support of the book’s sixth installment, Gifted launched a Kickstarter campaign that has raised more than $9,000 as of Oct. 26. In addition, some of the proceeds are being donated to the Central High School Pre-Engineering Academy in Newark, a program that Gifted has taught and led for the past 13 years.

View the P.B Soldier Kickstarter fundraiser here.

Photos used with permission of Naseed Gifted

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