First Black Woman Comic Book Store Owner Appears on New Marvel Comic Cover
Arielle Johnson now has two super-cool titles: first black woman comic book store owner and first black woman comic book store owner to appear on the cover of a Marvel comic.
Johnson is all set to appear on a variant cover of “Invincible Iron Man #1.” On the cover, she’s chatting it up with Riri Williams, the new Iron Man, while Tony Stark fends off fans in the background. The Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse logo can clearly be seen on the ladies’ coffee cups and Johnson is pictured smiling from ear to ear.
Take a look at the cover, next to the original reference photo, below:
Johnson credits her colleague Randy Green with taking charge of the project and making the cover happen.
“When the email went out about potential variants for stores, he was really excited and took it upon himself to work out the [details]. It was really his hard work,” she told ABC News. “I knew what it was supposed to look like, but having the actual art in front of you is so much different. It’s really exciting.”
33-year-old Johnson took over Amalgam when the coffee shop that was there before it, one where she was a regular, closed down. It was then that she decided to turn the shop into “an inclusive geek space.” “The goal is to be an inclusive geek space,” she says. “So it’s not just comics; it’s gaming, it’s sci-fi, it’s horror, whatever you geek about, we want to make room for you!”
Photo Credit: Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse/ Instagram
