Herb and Jamaal is a comic strip by Stephen Bentley syndicated by Creators Syndicate. It is published daily and centers on the eponymous friends who own and run a diner together, inspired by the illustrator's experience at a high school reunion, ^[1] and a desire to provide increased representation for black people in comics. According to Bentley, "Some of the characters in 'Herb and Jamaal' partially come from myself and people that I know but the full story is just a fantasy..." ^[2]

Contents

• Story and characters
• References
• External links

Story and characters

The strip centers around the title characters and the diner they own and run together:

• Herbert Johnson, a former quality control technician at the gas works, a schemer, but not underhanded. ^[2]
• Jamaal J. Jamaal, a former NBA center for the Phazers ^[3] (a fictional team).

Other characters:

• Sarah Johnson, Herb's wife, whose cooking leaves a lot to be desired. ^[4]
• Uhuru Johnson, Herb and Sarah's daughter.
• Ezekiel Johnson, Herb and Sarah's son. ^[5] His middle name is Nicholas. ^[6]
• Eula, Sarah's mother, who never hesitates to let Herb know what she thinks of him. ^[7]
• Yolanda, the object of Jamaal's fawning affection. ^[8] The feeling is only somewhat reciprocated.
• Kim, a postal worker. ^[9]
• Mr. C, a blond customer who often visits the diner. ^[10] Bentley said that Mr. C's name began as Charles to honor a childhood friend. However, some took it to be a derogatory reference ("Mister Charlie" was used within the African American community to refer to an imperious white man or a man in charge), so he shortened it. He now thinks of it as C for Common. ^[11]
• Ed, a curly-haired diner patron. ^[12]
• Reverend Croom ^[7]
• Deacon Derek ^[13]
• Ernie, a taxi driver who also always wears sunglasses. ^[14]

References

External links

• Herb and Jamaal at GoComics

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