Morgan Hampton (Moellenial)
Current Writer for the Cyborg comic series in the "Dawn of DC" line of comics
What's going on, my brothers and sisters? Today, for "Black Writer of the Month," we have the one and only Morgan Hampton, popularly dubbed the "Moellennial."
Before making his debut as a comic writer, Hampton co-hosted a podcast called the "Melanin Minute" where, along with partner Shabaz Kazia, he discussed many topics that interested the dynamic duo. This lineup included comics, movies, and occasionally even some politics.
Hampton has since left his podcasting days behind and more recently has written for his blog called "Black Nerd Problems." Here, Hampton posted many articles about comic culture at the time, addressing some pretty famous moments. These include the cancellation of the Batgirl movie, the infamously terrible "What If, Miles Morales" series, and the return of Milestone comics. Even in Hampton's brief articles, you can clearly see the love that he has for comics and his excitement at being adequately represented in that media format. Despite not getting much traction, Hampton posted articles on this blog an average of once every 1-2 weeks. Even though the Moellennial has not had an active presence on the blog in just under a year, the blog is kept alive by other writers who post about current news in the comic world and how it connects to the black experience.
As of March 10th, 2022, Hampton revealed that he was in the inaugural class for the Milestone Initiative Talent Development Program. The Milestone Initiative is a nine-week course that DC provides for black and other writers of underrepresented demographics. (Fun Fact: I also plan on enrolling in this program after I graduate college with a creative writing degree). It was during these courses that DC took notice of Hampton's talent and recruited him to support the company's newest, and like the seventh, reboot "Dawn of DC" by headlining the brand-new Cyborg series. Hampton made his debut in comic writing by scripting a prequel Cyborg story for January's "DC Power" one-shot. "DC Power" is a hundred-page special containing many stories featuring black characters, making a point to exemplify DC's diverse cast of characters. Unfortunately, few of those stories are written by black writers which makes Hampton a breath of fresh, melanated air. Four months later, Hampton's first issue of Cyborg was released to positive acclaim. The second was released soon after with similar praise.
Despite Cyborg (2023) being a new series, I'd still like to give my personal thoughts on it, spoiler-free of course. Hampton's take on Cyborg is different than expected. Victor Stone is usually depicted as this brawny mechanical victim of his father's technology, with not much depth to his personality. Hampton changes that. He makes Cyborg feel like a complex and compelling character that I care to read about. There are also some relationships and issues from Cyborg's past that not only return but get expanded upon and adjusted to make the run feel fresh. Most importantly, Hampton makes this run feel authentic and fun. He expands the world, showing how the people of Detroit react to Cyborg's presence through both civilian focus and hilariously accurate social media depictions. Speaking of hilarity, I found myself genuinely laughing at a comic that I initially read with the intent of criticizing. Hampton found a good balance between making a comic comedic but not obnoxious, unlike some other comic media that I know featuring Cyborg. (Do the initials "TTG" jog your memory? No? Moving on then). With how Hampton's set up his story so far I'm really curious as to where it's going. All it took was reading two issues of a comic and I'm hooked and impatiently waiting for a third book.
I highly recommend this comic as well as any other writing that the Moellenial publishes in the future. If you are looking to get to know this writer better, follow him on Twitter or read some of his older articles on the "Black Nerd Problems" blog. He is also heavily active on Instagram with the fitting tag of "Moellenial."
If there are any black writers you'd like me to feature in future posts, DM the blog on Instagram and I'll respond within 24 hours. Keep reading and writing, Broncos!
- Obadele
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