Fifty years ago, Marvel debuted a character named Luke Cage. This particular character’s first appearance was in his own title. Luke Cage, Hero for Hire. In the Black comic book community, Luke Cage is either celebrated or honestly, misunderstood. Which is why the promotion of his 50th anniversary has been lackluster needless to say. However, I am a collector and Luke Cage has considerable space in my long boxes. Instead of pontificating over his existence in Marvel comics, I just rather give you some reading material to pour over in your spare time. Just so you know, there are hundreds of Luke Cage stories to pull from. I’m just going to hit you with few and take my seat.
1. Luke Cage Noir by Adam Glass and Mike Benson
If Luke Cage Hero for Hire #1 is beer, then Luke Cage Noir is 25 year old cognac. Truthfully, the cognac would be outlawed because in this story; prohibition is the law of the land. This story takes place in the 1930s. No, this isn’t for you MCU nerds. This story pulls you into the world of Luke Cage after a stint in Rikers Island. Its a nod to his origin story but has a few twists that make it a compelling read. You should add this to your collection because it feels original in that you could read this before you read Luke Cage Hero for Hire #1 and feel cheapened. After all, its 1930s Harlem, need I say more?
This comic book features the amazing tag team, Power Man and Iron Fist. Quiet as it is kept and as ridiculous as their uniforms were in the 70s, this duo was amazing. I like this book for its a fantastical elements. The team journey to K’un-Lun and it is a homecoming of sorts for the Iron Fist. Luke Cage supports his comrade but he is bugging on the scenery. He even experiences a little bit a racism. Black man cant even travel to distant lands and dimensions without a little hate. Nevertheless this story is quite the adventure for Iron Fist and as far as Cage is concerned. He doesn’t trust no one and wont even change out his threads. This comic is a fun book and should be treated as such. You wont get something deep from the book but what you will get as you always get when comes to Danny Rand and Carl Lucas is a friendship bond that is always solid, no matter where they find themselves.
This Luke Cage story is a modern tale. It was published back in 2018. The story centers around Luke Cage and his daughter. It is a simple tale of a father spending quality time with his daughter. The story is powerful in that it speaks to the misconception that all Black fathers are absent. It is a terrible stigma that Black men have had to deal with for a long time. According to research on fathers by the Pew Research Center, Black fathers at 70% are most involved in children’s daily lives regardless of martial status. The story is rooted in a Luke sharing a made up story with his child. It is a powerful story where both father and daughter’s imagination take them to a far away lands. Luke’s daughter shapes the narrative of the made up story, while Luke “tells” the story according to her. It is simply one of the greatest Luke Cage stories ever because it highlights Luke’s greatest power which isn’t bullets bouncing off him and knocking fools out. No, his greatest power is his love. We rarely get to see that which is why this story is one of my all time favorites.
This comic book is recognized as a key in comic book circles. This is the first appearance of Black Goliath. This book debuted in April of 1975. What is interesting is that this was one of the few times more than one Black superhero was featured in a book together. Cage is looking for his girl but runs into her while she is caring for her ex-husband who just so happens to be Black Goliath. The melanated was strong in this book. In fact, Black Panther, Falcon, and Power Man as well was named dropped in the issue by a fellow desiring to write about Black Superheroes. This book is significant for its key component and as well as its consciousness of Black Superheroes mattering in 1975.