More than 30 years after its debut, Lathrup Village resident Todd C. Johnson and former Detroiter Larry Stroman are reuniting on their creator-owned comic book called “The Tribe.” Johnson (who once co-owned the Comics Café in Ferndale) and Stroman (who illustrated Marvel Comics’ “Uncanny X-Men,” “X-Factor” and “Ghost Rider”) reunited for their first comic book convention appearance in 25 years at the Great Lakes Comic Convention at Macomb Community College in February.
They announced they were relaunching “The Tribe” this summer and they will self-publish. It is undetermined how long the series will run. “We want to get the first issue out and after the fan reaction decide if it will be a one-shot, a mini-series, or ongoing,” said Johnson, the writer and co-creator, who is an alumnus of Cass Technical High School in Detroit.
“The Tribe” debuted in 1993 and ran for four issues. It was initially published by Image Comics (which was founded in 1992 by seven prominent artists at Marvel who wanted to own their creations), then the next two issues were published by Axis Comics and the final issue by Good Comics (both publishers are now defunct). Despite the creative team switching companies and an inconsistent publishing schedule, “The Tribe” No.
1 sold more than 1 million copies and holds the record of being the best-selling Black comic book produced by Black creators of all time. “It is an honor that this milestone still stands after three de.
