Before the Black Panther: The First Black Comics Heroes—plus Two Early White Heroes with Black Mentors

While there were many Middle-Eastern heroes in the early days of comics (perhaps because Middle-Easterners had been legally white since 1909), black characters tended to be assistants or comedy relief or both. The most famous—or egregious—examples:

1. Lothar, created in 1934 as a servant for…