DIG, The Choice Negro Magazine (1955)

DIG, The Choice Negro Magazine was an underground Black comic and humor publication released in Detroit in early 1955. The magazine featured three original illustrated stories and a series of comic strips, most notably "Ace 'n Duce" by Rufus Gill, focusing on adult themes such as relationships, romance, crime, and tragedy. Blending drama and humor, the magazine captured moments of everyday life and Black culture during the mid-1950s—a period of profound social transformation and growing community self-expression. Although the publisher planned a bi-monthly schedule, only one issue was ever produced, making surviving copies exceptionally rare.

DIG is historically important as one of the earliest Black-owned and Black-created comic publications in the U.S., arriving just eight years after the pioneering All-Negro Comics in 1947. At a time when mainstream comics marginalized Black characters or relegated them to stereotypes, DIG offered authentic self-representation, highlighting the creativity, humor, and storytelling of African American artists. Its underground status, combined with extremely low production numbers, makes it a rediscovered artifact and a crucial record of early Black comic innovation, representing a bridge between Golden Age comics and later independent Black creators.