Barbara Brandon
| Barbara Brandon-Croft | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 27, 1958 Brooklyn, New York |
| Occupation | Comic strip Illustrator |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable works | Where I'm Coming From |
Barbara Brandon-Croft (born November 27, 1958) is an American cartoonist, best known for creating the comic strip, Where I'm Coming From, and for being the first nationally syndicated African-American female cartoonist.
Brandon-Croft was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Brumsic Brandon Jr.. Her father was also a cartoonist and he was the creator of the comic strip Luther which was in circulation from 1970 to 1986 under the Los Angeles Times Syndicate newspapers. She and her father are said to represent the only occurrence of father-daughter newspaper cartoonists.
She attended the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. In 1982, she developed a cartoon feature for Elan, a magazine for black women. She later joined the staff of Essence magazine as their fashion and beauty writer. She also did illustrations for The Crisis, published by the NAACP, The Village Voice, and MCA Records.
Brandon Croft's illustrating talent had developed naturally. Growing up she helped her father with his comics in exchange for allowance. She was first recognized for the comic strip Where I'm Coming From. She later did other illustrations including Sista Girl-Fren Breaks It Down...When Mom's Not Around. Brandon Croft also created a line of illustrated greeting cards for OZ.
Brandon-Croft started publishing Where I'm Coming From beginning in 1989 in the Detroit Free Press. The comic strip traces the experiences of about twelve African-American women and gives insight into the challenges of being an African American woman living in the United States. It features characters such as Alisha, Cheryl, Lekesia, Nicole and others. The characters are based on Brandon and her real-life friends.
The artwork is minimalistic. There is an absence of backdrop drawings, with the focus solely on the characters who are represented by drawings of their upper torso. Speech bubbles are also omitted and the characters address the reader directly.
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