William Mwazi Turns Black Celebrities Into Superheroes

William Mwazi is an artist with an active imagination and a social conscience. In his artwork, he depicts Black celebrities, politicians, and academics as superheroes from popular comic books, and the results can be both hilarious and touching.

We never thought we'd see Colin Powell as the Green Lantern, Cornel West as Blade, or Condi Rice as Storm -- but we're certainly glad we did. On his website, Mwazi earnestly writes, "With my illustrations of heroic images, I would like to inspire strength in the African-American community." It's a simple message, but one that we need to combat the negative portrayals we often receive of young Black men and women in our country today.

When it comes down to it, how many comic books are centered around Black protagonists? (An intrepid Wikipedia member put up a list here, but it looks like many of these characters only appear a few times in each series.)

Click through the slideshow to reveal some surprising figures, and let us know your favorite comics in the comments section below.