Storytelling's Power and Polysemy

A Note from James:

This is why I love doing podcasts—talking to people like Dr. Sheena Howard, author of Why Wakanda Matters. Wakanda is the country where Black Panther is from, and Sheena has written extensively about comics, including work on Black Panther itself.

We talk about comics, race, and storytelling. I asked a question I was almost afraid to ask—whether the Black Panther movie was racist against other Black people—and she gave a surprising answer. We also talk about a time she was abducted in Jamaica, along with a lot of other topics.

I loved this conversation. Please listen. 

Episode Description:

James sits down with Dr. Sheena Howard—scholar, comic book writer, and Eisner Award winner—for a conversation that moves between pop culture, publishing, and personal survival.

They use Black Panther as a lens to examine how stories shape identity, how representation evolves, and why cultural narratives are often filtered through systems that weren’t built to support them. Sheena breaks down the tension between nationalism and isolationism in Wakanda, and why audiences interpret the same story in radically different ways.

The conversation also goes deeper—into how gatekeeping works in publishing today, how creators can bypass it, and why building your own audience may be the most reliable path forward.

And then there’s the story she didn’t tell for years: being abducted at 19. What happened, why she stayed silent, and what it reveals about psychology, fear, and resilience.

This episode is about storytelling—but also about control: who has it, who doesn’t, and how to take it back.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why “Black superheroes don’t sell” is a myth—and how the industry perpetuates it anyway
• The real gatekeeping mechanism in publishing today (and why audience ownership matters more than ever)
• How subtle bias shows up now—not in obvious barriers, but in shifting goalposts
• What makes a story resonate across audiences (and why Black Panther worked at scale)
• The psychology of abusive situations—and how awareness and boundaries are built over time

Timestamped Chapters:

• [03:04] A Note from James
• [03:53] Favorite Superheroes: From Captain America to Black Panther
• [04:27] Why Black Panther Connected Culturally
• [04:43] The $1.2B Question: Why So Late for Black Superheroes?
• [05:17] Luke Cage, Netflix, and the “Myth” That Black Stories Don’t Sell
• [05:39] Tyler Perry and the “Outlier” Problem
• [06:23] Pressure on Black-Led Films to Be Perfect
• [07:00] What Wakanda Represents (Uncolonized Possibility)
• [07:53] Killmonger: Anger, Oppression, and Relatability
• [08:23] MLK vs. Malcolm X Parallel in Black Panther
• [09:00] Identity Formation: African vs. African American Perspectives
• [09:47] Are Black Superheroes Designed to “Feel Safe”?
• [10:28] Gentrification, Stereotypes, and Media Influence
• [11:50] Media Isn’t “Just Entertainment”
• [12:00] Early Representation and Cultural Messaging
• [12:28] Who Created Black Panther—and Why That Matters
• [13:07] Rewriting History: What Would She Change?
• [13:49] Designing a Modern Black Superhero
• [14:47] Why a Modern Hero Might Be “Invisible”
• [15:44] Publishing Barriers and Gatekeeping Conversations
• [16:36] Social Media vs. Traditional Publishing Access
• [17:26] Building 163K Followers—and Still Not Enough
• [21:47] The Instagram Post: “I Was Abducted at 19”
• [22:11] How It Started: Cheap Tour, No Money, Bad Decision
• [23:05] The Trap: Locked House and Escalation
• [25:00] Refusal and Survival Strategy
• [26:02] Car Crash and Escape Attempt
• [27:00] Walking Away and Getting Home
• [28:30] Why She Stayed Silent for Years
• [29:20] Abusive Relationships and Self-Blame
• [30:26] Leaving Abuse: The Role of Her Son
• [31:06] Love Bombing and Early Warning Signs
• [33:02] Recognizing Red Flags in Relationships
• [35:45] Teaching Kids Boundaries and Self-Worth
• [37:21] “Is Wakanda Racist?”—The Big Question
• [38:00] Nationalism vs. Racism Explained
• [39:00] Isolationism vs. Imperialism
• [41:00] Why Some Black Superheroes Don’t Break Out
• [43:00] The Loss (and Survival) of Great Storytelling
• [46:14] How She Got Hired by Marvel (Cold Email + PI)
• [48:29] Why Pitching Ideas to Marvel Often Fails
• [50:00] Cold Outreach: Being Seen Before Heard
• [52:00] Do You Need Social Media to Sell Books? (Yes.)
• [55:01] Building an Audience vs. Waiting to Be Discovered
• [56:00] Email Lists: The Real Asset for Writers
• [59:00] Should You Niche Down or Stay Broad?
• [01:09:36] Do Podcasts Actually Sell Books?
• [01:12:00] Why Publishers Don’t Care About You (At First)
• [01:14:18] Choose One: Money, Readers, or Prestige
• [01:15:10] Quantity vs. Quality Writing Models
• [01:23:56] Success Beyond the New York Times List
• [01:24:25] Owning Your IP vs. Writing for Marvel
• [01:26:18] “Survive the Gap” Concept and Film Project
• [01:27:00] Turning Ideas Into Franchises
• [01:28:44] Why Ownership Beats Gatekeeping
• [01:30:34] What’s Next: Hip Hop and Comics

Additional Resources

• Home | Dr. Sheena C. Howard | Creative Entrepreneur
• Why Wakanda Matters by Dr. Sheena Howard
• Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation by Dr. Sheena Howard
• Nina's Whisper by Dr. Sheena Howard
• Marvel’s Black Panther (film)

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