Artist and storyteller John Jennings had three library cards when he was growing up in Flora, Mississippi.
“My mother encouraged me to read a great deal. We would frequently go to multiple libraries. I fell in love with the bold images in comics; and not just superhero comics. I love the medium,” Jennings told Today in Mississippi recently.
The formative experience for Jennings stuck.
Jennings grew up to become a New York Times bestselling graphic novelist, Harvard Fellow, and Hugo and Eisner Award-winning artist.
Jennings, who worked on Marvel Comics’ Silver Surfer series, has also had work featured at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, appeared on “CBS Sunday Morning,” and been part of multiple Marvel Comics documentaries.
Between now and March 27, 2027, Mississippi residents will have a chance to experience Jennings’ creative worlds at The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) in Meridian.
The “John Jennings: Build Your World” exhibit opened June 20.
The exhibit uses sketches, storyboards, and finished art to demonstrate how creators of color use the medium of comics to reclaim history and design the future.
The effect of Mississippi on my work is pretty immeasurable. It’s so odd that, when you’re growing up, you long to leave a place and no one tells you that home goes with you.
The exhibit will feature creative projects that explore how Jennings imagines richly layered settings that center Black characters and Mississippi culture.
Those four projects are “Silver Surfer: Ghost Light,” where Jennings reinvents a forgotten Black character as a cosmic guardian using African American culture; “Blue Hand Mojo: Hard Times Road,” a solo piece conceived, written, and drawn by Jennings blending history and folklore; a new coming-of-age Southern Gothic horror graphic novel called “Kenny Dreadful and the Hainted Hoodie,” and Jennings’ graphic novel take on legendary science fiction author Octavia Butler’s novel, “Kindred.”
Jennings said there’s not an art work that’s he’s been involved in that doesn’t touch on his upbringing in Mississippi.
“The effect of Mississippi on my work is pretty immeasurable. It’s so odd that, when you’re growing up, you long to leave a place and no one tells you that home goes with you. So, my heritage and culture directly shaped not only how I move through the world as a Black southern artist; it shaped my ethos and process directly,” Jennings said.
Born in Brookhaven before moving to Flora, Jennings grew up with his mother and grandparents.
“Flora is a small agricultural town. It’s now almost become a suburb of Jackson since it’s so close. My mother was a literature major at Alcorn State University. My love for reading and art stemmed from her. She bought me my first comics. My grandmother worked as a domestic until she retired. My grandfather was a professional caretaker and would hire his services out to local landowners,” he said.
Jennings said he was curious about everything when he was a child.
“I collected insects and folklore like an anthropologist.”
Jennings graduated from Jackson State University in Jackson. He later taught at JSU and created the school’s graphic design program.
“Being a JSU alum gave me a sense of pride, belonging, and self-confidence that I didn’t know I needed. To this day, I am friends with classmates who have become something closer to family. Teaching at JSU was a honor; being able to give back to a space that helped shaped who I am…I can’t tell you how much that means to me. It’s one of the most important things that ever happened in my life. I love JSU and I still try and give my time and expertise there whenever I can,” Jennings said.
Today, Jennings is a professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside.
He is also the co-founder and organizer of the Schomburg Center’s Black Comic Book Festival in Harlem, the NorcalMLK Foundation’s Black & Brown Comix Arts Festival in San Francisco, and SÕL-CON: The Brown and Black Comix Expo at The Ohio State University.
Comics storytelling was always a powerful touchstone for Jennings.
“It sort of called to me. I’m a storyteller and I think the immediacy and power of the medium speaks to me,” he said.
For more information about Jennings and the exhibit, visit msarts.org/johnjennings.
