The Block came as an answer to DBR Media’s request for a weekly strip featuring African American characters. I sat down with Carl Shelton, a friend who also happens to be a prison guard. We hashed out a cartoon family based on Carl’s idea to turn the idea of a traditional matriarchal African American household on its head. Here, the family is headed by Nathan Lee. His son Duane is a used car salesman and a bit of a lothario. Ray Lee is a limo driver. He has a daughter named Keesha, around whom the strip truly revolves. Across the street from the Lee household lives Sadie, the neighborhood snoop. Rounding out the cast is Rosa, Sadie’s granddaughter and Ray’s long suffering girlfriend and Menu, a Lee family friend who is kind of a fat slob. The strip ran as a replacement for the Suzy Q strip I also did for DBR, from 2002-2003. If you would like to see a new cartoon, refresh the page in your browser.
