Black Cotton reverses racial roles when a black cop shoots an innocent white girl. Check out how Zion, Elizabeth, and their respective families handle this crisis in Black Cotton #3 by Scout Comics!

BLACK COTTON #3 (OF 6)

Writer: Patrick Foreman and Brian Hawkins
Artist: Marco Perugini
Letterer: Francisco Zamora
Editor: Andrea Lorenzo Molinari
Publisher: Scout Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 9th, 2021

Previously in Black Cotton: Zion shot an unarmed Elizabeth in the middle of the street when he thought she was pulling out a weapon. Now the media is demonizing the Cotton family and Zion is trying to determine his own racial bias of the situation. The whole Cotton family is in turmoil and strife as they try to handle this tragedy both publicly and personally.

REGRET

Zion decided to try and visit Elizabeth in the hospital and explain that this isn’t a race issue. He made a mistake, but it was not because she was white. This didn’t go over very well, and Elizabeth has a panic attack, and the family throws him out. Zion then is scolded by his own family for his actions, where Zion put his own feelings in front of the feelings/needs of the family. Meanwhile Xavier, Zion’s brother, is caught by his uncle after graffitiing a bridge and the Cotton family looks for dirt on Elizabeth to try and villainize her. Lastly, it looks like the Cotton family’s business rivals are in town from Japan. And they are looking for revenge.

PRECARIOUS SITUATION

This book continually puts a light on the racial issues by trying to reverse the roles of whites and blacks in the United States. Throughout the whole issue, the writers really wanted to emphasize word choice. Many of the black characters uses very harmful language in regard to whites. Language that they are lazy and if they only do the work, they will get out of the situation. It intrigues me because I can recollect that kind of talk in my own friend group about people who don’t succeed regardless of skin color. Which makes this issue all too real for me. Great work really putting a spotlight on the issue of systematic racism. I am a little bit curious about the inclusion of murderous Japanese business partners at the end of the story. As a multiracial part Chinese man, orientalism is a difficult topic for me. I hope they approach it with the same care that they have been in the rest of the story.

BOTTOM LINE: DECENT MIDDLE ISSUE

Black Cotton is a hard read and it is designed to be that way. There is an important message here and I am hoping that people will pick it up to try and understand certain modern day issues. I admit I am a little concerned about how this will all ends. But this is still good writing and engaging black and white art. A 4 out of 5 for this issue from me.

Dear Spoilerite,

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.