Cheryl Lynn isn't quite sure who she is, but she's pretty sure of what she wants to be. A warrior woman. A bad-ass mamajama. Perhaps an earth goddess extraordinaire. She spends her days abusing keyboards and screaming at computer screens while she waits for her cult following to finally show up.

She changes her mind more often than extras in rap videos change thongs.

Remember: save to your own server, sweets!

Reading So Yesterday.

Writing Code. Endless code!

Hearing B R Right.

Watching Sons of Anarchy.

Building Websites.

Eating A hamburger.

Drinking Water with lemon.

Buying A new printer.

Thinking "This year went quick!"

Playing Grand Theft Auto IV.

Adoring Cute animals.

Saying Just enough.

Abhorring Ignorance.

Feeling Happy.

Hoping To stay healthy.

That silver lining.

Okay, so after all the gloom and doom of my first Trinity post, I thought it would be a good idea to let you know about some fantastic black female characters appearing in recent or upcoming comics. Honestly, I think there are more successes than problems when it comes to black female characters in comics. It's just that the problems seem to get the most coverage because they almost always show up in high profile books that sell in much greater numbers than the ones that contain successes.

Aya.

Oh. My. Goodness. A story about a young, smart and witty black woman growing up in Yop City? Written by a black female author from Abidjan? No way! The Aya series of books is simply fabulous. And you know something that I find a bit weird and wonderful? Visually, the characters do not reflect the diversity found in my own home or the neighborhood where I grew up. All of the characters have fairly dark skin. However, Oubrerie was skilled enough to provide a variety in tones even with a more limited range of hues than those found in mainstream American comics. That's pretty damn refreshing, actually. Most comics usually depict black characters by making everyone of the same race the same exact color or by taking only the female characters and making them really light to provide contrast. The fact that the artist took a third route artistically is pretty neat.

The Perhapanauts.

Aya a bit too low key for you? Are you the kind of reader who wants to see monsters and ghoulies and all kinds of craziness? And you want to see a black woman kicking ass, taking names and running ish on top of that? And not just any ol' black woman, but one with a supernatural power that will make the baddies run for cover? I got you, baby. I got you. Arisa Hines. Team leader and telepath. God, they have a character that looks like people related to me and has the same last name as people related to me? Now, that's just blatant pandering.

Hooray for blatant pandering! Is it wrong? Yes. Do I care? No, not really.

Adrenaline.

Okay, so you like the whole action dealie, and a black woman running ish and taking charge is great, but you want things to be grounded in reality? But you still really need to see some bad guys getting kicked in the nuts? I still got you. Like a magician, she draws a rabbit out a hat, son. Bam! Dr. Saida Nri: Action Hero. Get in on the action by checking out previews of the series for free over at Wowio. Like what you see? Buy it. Single issues not your thing? Don't worry, the trade will be out later this year!

The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury.

You're still not happy are you? I've given you a slice-of-life story set in the Ivory Coast, a world class telepath and a doctor who kicks people in the nuts and sees more action-packed adventures than James Bond. What more do you want from me? Oh? An exciting saga involving space exploration? Hmmm. Okay, if you're patient and can wait a few months, I can get that for you. Actually, I won't be getting that for you. Creator Brandon Thomas will be getting that for you this fall. Can't wait? Get the back issues or check out the free preview available at the Miranda Mercury website.

Fungus Grotto.

I see some of you out there still have screwfaces firmly in place. And I know why. You want something manga influenced, right? But yet you still desire a story featuring a black female character. And not Bugnug, either. Well, I'm sorry, baby. I don't have anything like—

SIKE!

No, I am not going to spell it the proper way. The third grader in me just won't allow that to happen. But I do have a comic for you. Fungus Grotto. Gah! Ms,Shatia Hamilton's art is just lovely. Lovely! I'm kind of stunned that a mainstream company hasn't snatched her up yet. Anyway, the main character of Fungus Grotto, Vielle, is awesome. How awesome? So awesome that the character has been nominated for a Glyphs Comics Award for Best Female Character! I strongly urge you to check Fungus Grotto out. The series is available online for free. All you have to invest is a few moments of your time. And it is so worth it.

Bayou.

Yes, I pimp this webcomic all over the web and I'm doing it again. Too bad. Lee Wagstaff is amazing and I'm going to let you guys know that. Repeatedly. She may be a great deal younger and smaller than the rest of the characters listed here, but I don't think it would be a stretch to say that she might be the toughest out of all of them. I like the character and the series because both are simply quite good. However, it's the bond between Lee and her father that really hits home for me. You don't see too many bonds between black men and their daughters like that in the media. And to see it here means a lot to me. I'd do whatever it takes to keep my father safe too. Luckily, watching CNN all day and eating bacon sandwiches doesn't require him to need much protection.

Okay, that's it for this round, folks. There are other fantastic characters out there (Martha Washington, Destiny Ajaye, Rocket, etc.) but I wanted you to have a nice little selection of things that you can check out for free right now and then buy at your local book or comic shop. I'll do a round up of older stuff you can find in back issue bins or hunt down over at Amazon a bit later.

Cheryl Lynn @ 12:59 PM EST Link