Sanford Greene, whose art will appear in the new Spider-Man movie, is coming to Pensacola

The city of Pensacola is hosting a talk with Sanford Greene, whose Eisner Award-winning comic “Bitter Root” will be made into a movie and whose artwork will appear in the upcoming “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” movie.

Greene will visit the Voices Pensacola Multicultural Center on June 9 for a discussion and Q&A focused on his career in comic arts and his "Bitter Root" series. The talk will be a part of Pensacola’s Journey to Juneteenth events commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.

Greene noted that recent legislation in Florida creates opposition for certain groups and prevents their history from being told.

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The NAACP recently issued a travel advisory stating that “Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals," and has “criminalized protests, restricted the ability of educators to teach African-American history, and engaged in a blatant war against diversity and inclusion.”

Greene says celebrating Juneteenth helps us remember that anything that causes real progress also creates opposition.

“We celebrate July 4 as a holiday, Juneteenth can be celebrated in the same way," Greene said. "It was all about the history, the achievement of something that was the end of one thing and the beginning of something else inspirational.”

Greene was inspired by superheroes at a young age. The Hulk, Spider-Man and Batman gave kids like him life lessons and the inspiration to rise above tragedy.

But he was particularly drawn to brown-skinned characters like Luke Cage and Black Panther, heroes he could see himself in and who viewed life through the same lens as he did.

“They all seem to rise above those things, and they become heroes because of those things,” Greene said. “So a lot of times when you read those stories, you start to identify with those struggles first and that becomes the immediate grab, or not the immediate grab but the long term hold that a character would have on you.”

Greene went to Benedict College for visual storytelling and focused on sequential art best known in comic books. Afterward, he was able to go to graphic novel conventions where he showed his portfolio to small publishers and got his start.

Ultimately, Greene worked professionally in the illustration and related industries for over 18 years, including working for publishers such as Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and Image Comics. He ended up working on the books of many of the Marvel Comics characters he loved growing up, such as “Powerman and Iron Fist,“ “Black Panther” and “Luke Cage.“

Greene published “Bitter Root” in 2018, a horror, crime and mystery comic series set within the 1920s Harlem Renaissance that follows the adventures of the monster hunting Sangerye family. The family's generations fight to protect the world and their community from the evil plague of the jinoo — hideous creatures born out of hate and racism.

The series has won multiple Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books serving as the comics industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards or the Pulitzer Prize. Academy Award winning actress Regina King is set to direct a movie adaptation of the series.

Daniel Andreu is a local muralist who met Greene in Columbia, South Carolina, over a decade ago. Andreu looks at Greene as a mentor and inspiration in his own journey as a muralist and painter.

Andreu said its amazing that Greene has been able to create and share his own stories, while remaining humble and staying true to himself. Andreu said he's not sure even Greene realizes how much of an impact he's made.

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“When his book gets adapted into a movie — and who knows who will be in it — he'll be looking up there and Michael B. Jordan will be one of his characters or something, then maybe then he'll be like, ‘Oh, I did something,’" Andreu said.

Whether a story is told on the walls by cavemen thousands of years ago, told by word of mouth, or written in publications, Greene says stories will be told no matter what legislation is passed to stop it.

“You tell your stories however you can get your stories out, that's all that matters. I'm sure you will get inspiration to tell your stories, however they need to be told," Greene said. "Whether it's writing a book or writing a play, you can tell your stories in all kinds of imaginative ways.”

Want to go?

• When: Friday, June 9, 6:30 p.m.

• Where: Voices Pensacola, 117 E. Government St.

The event is free to the public.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola hosting Spider-Man, Black Panther artist Sanford Greene