Friday Foster

It All Started With The Comic Strip…

The Friday Foster comic strip debuted on January 18, 1970 and ran until 1974. Friday Foster was the first mainstream syndicated comic strip to feature a Black woman in the lead role. Prior to this, other than a handful of broadly stereotyped caricatures from the industry’s very early days and a few series distributed through Black newspapers, no mainstream American comic strip had ever borne the name of a Black lead character.

Friday Foster was a former fashion model who became an assistant to a world-famous photographer, and the strip was about her comings and goings in the modeling and magazine / publishing worlds. The strip was created by writer Jim Lawrence, illustrated by artist Jorje Longeron, and syndicated by The Chicago Tribune Syndicate to twenty-five newspapers across the country.

Which Then Became A Comic Book…

In 1972, Dell created a one-of-a-kind Friday Foster comic book edition, as no further comics were issued for this character. In the comic, Friday Foster is an assistant to world famous fashion photographer Shawn North.

The Museum Of UnCut Funk has acquired the merchandise rights For Friday Foster Comic Strips and the Comic Book. New merchandise featuring Friday Foster will be available in the Museum Of UnCut Funk Store later this year.

Then Came The Movie…and Pam Grier

In 1975, Friday Foster was made into a feature film. The film was written and directed by Arthur Marks and starred Pam Grier in the lead role. Yaphet Kotto and Eartha Kitt also co-starred.

The Plot:

Friday Foster is a magazine photographer who refuses to heed her boss’s admonitions against becoming involved in the stories to which she is assigned. After witnessing an assassination attempt on the nation’s wealthiest Black and then seeing her best friend murdered, Friday finds herself targeted for death. She teams up with private detective Colt Hawkins  to investigate, and soon, the two are hot on the trail of plot to eliminate the country’s Black political leadership.

In addition to the standard blaxploitation plot elements, the film also dealt with the themes of the power and importance of Black political unity and the potential threat posed not only by the perceived white power structure, but also by those Blacks willing to betray that goal in search of reward from that establishment.

Tagline: Wham! Bam! Here comes Pam!

And Finally There Is The Doll…

In 2009, Robert Tonner created a doll collection based on the Friday Foster comic character. The collection includes five different versions of Friday Foster, marking the first time that Robert Tonner has explored the style of the 1970s in a primary fashion doll collection.

The Friday Foster Comic Book, Comic Strips, Movie Poster and Doll are a part of The Museum Of UnCut Funk Collection.

© 2015 Tribune Media Services Inc.: Friday Foster ®