Shaft!

Who's the black private dick who's a sex machine to all the chicks?
SHAFT!
Right on.

I am quite sure you're having trouble getting the melodious sounds of Isaac Hayes out of your head right now.  You're welcome.  Come on, it won an Oscar.  If it doesn't suit you, blame Obama.  Everybody else seems to.

But I post this because Dynamite Comics has announced a new line of comic books based on the character of Shaft.

Shut yo' mouth.
Just talkin' 'bout Shaft.

For the uninitiated, John Shaft was a tough character played by Richard Roundtree in a series of "blaxsploitation" films in the 1970s (see the above poster for the first one.)  Shaft was a private detective of portent in Harlem.  In the first movie he gets hired by a mafia kingpin to rescue his kidnapped daughter.  Here's a trailer for that film:





If you're looking for a version of more recent provenance:




What I was unaware of until reading the Shaft post over at Dorkland! was that the character of Shaft originated in a series of pulp books.  The books were written by Ernest Tidyman.  Tidyman wanted to create an African American version of James Bond.  In the linked story at Comic Vine, Tidyman was quoted as saying on Shaft's origins: "It was time for a black winner, whether he was a private detective or an obstetrician."

It will certainly be interesting to see how Shaft's exploits play out in comic book form.  What may be especially interesting to see is if Dynamite Comics will crossover Shaft with any of their numerous other properties?  Can you imagine Shaft meeting The Green Hornet?  Or the Six Million Dollar Man?  Or even better...Vampirella?

Just talkin' 'bout Shaft.



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