This month, celebrated alumnus Shawn Martinbrough (BFA 1993 Illustration) joins an illustrious lineup of writers, artists, and activists in the September issue of Vanity Fair. Entitled “The Great Fire,” this special edition of the magazine focused entirely on addressing the roots and realities of systemic anti-Black racism in the United States. Spurred by the ongoing protests initiated earlier this year by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, but encompassing a broader view of the struggles against white supremacy, the issue was guest-edited by award-winning writer Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me). It also features contributions from renowned Black artists and activists such as Angela Davis, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Deanna Lawson, Ava DuVernay, and Jesmyn Ward, among others.

“Of course I said yes,” Martinbrough says about being invited to join the project. His work accompanies two essays in the magazine: “Blue Bloods: America’s Brotherhood of Police Officers,” by sociologist and poet Eve Ewing, and “The Abolition Movement,” by legal scholar and journalist Josie Duffy Rice, both focusing on policing in America. Rice writes about the abolition movement and what rethinking justice might mean, while Ewing takes on the insularity and outsized power of police unions.

Martinbrough’s signature style defines his illustrations for both pieces—bold lines, dynamic action, moody tones, all hallmarks of his longstanding comics work. As Martinbrough notes, Coates, it turns out, was a fan of his “noir style” dating back to his Luke Cage Noir series for Marvel Comics. “He felt my approach to storytelling would complement the bold honesty of these pieces on police reform and the unions,” Martinbrough says. (Coates himself has written both a Black Panther and a Captain America series for Marvel.)

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