When it comes to animation, there aren't many black people involved in the art. For whatever reason we haven't broken into the animation industry like we have in music, film and other art forms. Because of this, its really something special when a show like The Boondocks comes along. The show had a lot of African Americans involved and, because of it's anime style, alot of Asians were involved. Specifically Koreans and Japanese people. One of the guys who worked on the first two seasons of "The Boondocks" was LeSean Thomas. This man also directed "Black Dynamite," helped out on "Legend of Korra" and worked on shows like "Ben 10" and "Kim Possible." In a nutshell, he's been around the block. Another property that he worked on was a comic called "Cannon Busters"

While I have never read it, I have been told that it its very "east meets west". You have muscle cars, gunslingers, wizards, androids and samurai all on the same page. But what intrigued me more than the comic was its creator. LeSean left his job at Warner Brothers and traveled to Korea in order to learn animation straight from the source. He had his experiences documented in a short web series called the Seoul Sessions. I remember watching them in high school and being so inspired. This was a man who was so invested in his craft that he went to the source to learn more. When he returned we got "Black Dynamite." A few years later we got this.

That shit resonated with me on a molecular level. This man took what he learned from Korea, and gathered people he knew to help him create an animated adaption of a creator owned property. As a black person, I can tell you that this kind of stuff is practically unheard of. And to see how far LeSean has come really is inspiring. I think we need more people like him in the creative arts. We need more black people carving their own paths, and bringing black stories into their mediums. And while I'm sure "Cannon Busters" isn't a black story in the fullest, its definitely a start. There have been other primarily black cartoons like the "Proud Family," or "The PJs" and whatnot, but we haven't seen any black fantasy shows. I think that once we start imagining ourselves to be more than regular we can actually do extraordinary things. Why can't black people be immortal outlaws or androids y'know? I hope that made sense.