It’s not a traditional comic--it uses augmented reality, through a phone app, to bring out the real barbarity of slavery on a Maryland plantation. And not your traditional comic superhero: this is a 19-year-old enslaved African-American who wins immortal powers. Jupiter Invincible is the concept of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa and graphic artist Ram Devineni. Devineni is already known for a heroine who fights for those society scorns:

“The Superhero doesn’t have to fight an asteroid that’s about to collide into the earth. You can have superheroes fight basic problems that everyone deals with and understands, but through their heroic acts really challenge us and hopefully become better people.”

Links: Books in Bloom Festival Sun. Oct. 10 at 12:30pm; Filmmaker magazine interview, In Conversation at ComicCon Africa, video.

Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472