Washington University Professor Brings Mystery to PBS' History Detectives

It started with an unusual find on eBay in 2006: a 1950s comic book that featured African-American characters, a rarity for its time period.

Next week, the comic book entitled Negro Romance will be the focus of the popular TV series History Detectives on PBS.

Intrigued by the unusual find, Professor Gerald Early, director of Washington University's Center for the Humanities, bought the book and started investigating its history.

Rarely would people find African-Americans as central characters in comic books during that era, explains Early.

"Blacks appeared in comic books and comic strips during this era largely as savage ‘jungle natives,’” said Early. "Having blacks in comic books in non-racist ways was very rare."

Early wanted to know who created the comic, and who was its intended audience. 

Not able to find the answers on his own, Early turned to History Detectives on PBS. The show explores historical mysteries.

Negro Romance will be the focus of an upcoming episode of History Detectives, which is slated to air Tuesday, July 12, on Nine PBS, at 8:00 p.m. locally. The episode will be repeated at 1 a.m. Thursday, July 14, and 4 p.m. Sunday, July 17.

This is Early’s second appearance on History Detectives. Last year, he was featured in an episode as an expert helping to solve a mystery about a Jackie Robinson All-Stars scorecard.