A dazzlingly illustrated postmodern epic of social
commentary by ordained iconographer of the
Coltrane Church, Mark Doox, who explores the
story of Saint Sambo and Black existential wonder
through the prism of his Byzantine and early Italoreligious
style.
The N-Word of God is a literary graphic novel of interconnected
illustrated stories of social insight, cognitive surprise, wry mirth,
and Black existential wonder. Artist Mark Doox transports readers
back to the beginning of the universe when God fatefully
declared Light and Darkness as opposing forces. Doox then
follows this theme through a religious and societal retelling of
his own gospel-like myth. With a devil figure that advocates for
John Coltrane's philosophy of 'A Love Supreme,' The N-Word of
God challenges binary racial ideas making a case for the commonality
and the dignity of all human beings.
The striking art combines Christian iconography with caricatures and terms
that have been used against Black people through which Doox artfully recontextualizes
them as religious symbols of resilience, protection, counter-truth, agency,
and new and pertinent revelation.
With satirical wit and stunning illuminated manuscript-like illustrations, Doox
has created a metamodern masterpiece of African American storytelling and Black
signifyin' wisdom. While Doox's focus is always on the empathic center of his illuminating
truths, The N-Word of God challenges the reader with unexpected ideas
and connections in a must-have work of Black art and Black literature.
Mark Doox is a conceptual artist, writer, and long-time iconographer. He is interested
in exploring sequential art and issues of life, psyche, race, and spirituality. Born in
Columbus, Ohio, his work has been internationally exhibited, collected, and featured
in articles in periodicals such as The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The New York
Times Magazine, Oxford's Black Theology Journal, and Spin.
