But... Mr. HUDLIN: No, because - but I emphasize that only to say that one of the most frustrating things is that there's this so-called convention of wisdom about black superheroes, that black comic books don't sell and black superheroes don't sell. And a lot of the battle for black creators is overcoming these really erroneous presumptions. And, for example, look at Blade. Blade has had three movies, each of whom who have made over $100 million. But Blade comic books don't sell. So you go, well, is there a problem with the character? Well, no. Is there a problem with the audience? No, clearly there's an audience. There's a disconnect between getting the audience that wants to see it access to this character. And that is the frustrating thing when you do a - something like the Black Panther, because, you know, you know there's an audience, and when the audience does get a chance to grab it, they're very enthusiastic. I've talked to parents who actually, when I wrote the comic book, as well, they would read the comic book to their kids at night, like a bedtime story. I know adults who said, look, forget my kids. I just want to watch this. And it's not a male/female thing. It's not black, white, Latin, Asian thing. I have talked to 40-year-old white men who said, I dressed up as Black Panther when I was seven years old for Halloween. So it's a very broad audience. Whatever you think might be the stumbling blocks aren't really there. MARTIN: So we know what your costume will be for this Halloween. (Soundbite of laughter) MARTIN: But before we let you go, you mentioned that when the original Black Panther came out, it came out at the same time - the original comic, it came out at the same time that the movement - the political movement was born, and it clearly was some of a resonance. What is it you think people are responding to now in your series? Mr. HUDLIN: Well, I think, you know, the idea of an uncompromised, unabashedly heroic black man. I mean, black men get a lot of bashing in the press. At the same time, there's so many heroes from - in popular media, from Sidney Poitier to Denzel Washington, to Will Smith. And I think there's a tremendous hunger from all audiences for a black superhero - not an anti-hero, but a hero, a guy who is independent, who stands on his own feet.
The same way we cheer for the independence movements that's happening throughout Africa and the Middle East, because you see people standing up and fighting for what's right. The Black Panther represents those ideals played out on a big, fantastic scale. MARTIN: Reginald Hudlin is one of the creators of the animated series "The Black Panther." He's a filmmaker. He's also the former president of entertainment for the UTP CAT6 cable network BET. He was with us from NPR West. Reginald Hudlin, thank you so much for joining us. Mr. HUDLIN: Thank you. MARTIN: If you want to find out more about the "Black Panther" series, we'll have a link on our website. Just go to npr.org and click on the Programs tab, and then on TELL ME MORE.