About the Isaiah Bradley Project and the Artist

Know the History

The Isaiah Bradley Project is a creative initiative featuring original art, exclusive merch, and a new comic series in development celebrating the origin of Marvel’s first Black super soldier. 

The character Isaiah Bradley was first introduced in the 2003 comic Truth: Red, White and Black, and has gained rising recognition having been featured in recent media over the years.

Project Inception

The inception of this project took place at the 2 Rivers Comic Con in St. Charles, Missouri which was held May 23rd - 25th. Among the honored guests was Carl Lumbly, the actor who portrays Isaiah Bradley in the MCU. With graciousness, Lumbly not only signed autographs on various merch, he took time to get to know select fans, among which was my father Wade Wheelington II and his best friend Anthony Allen. 

Carl Lumby at Comic Con with Wade Wheelington


Carl Lumbly autographed Truth: Red, White, and Black

During lengthy discussion, Lumbly revealed that it was the first time anyone had ever asked him to sign a copy of Truth: Red, White and Black which debuted his groundbreaking character and his origin. As the conversation continued, riding on the significance of such a symbolic character, the idea to produce an updated version of the 2003 comic was born!

The original 2003 comic, though innovative at its time, is poised for an updated comic republication with updated artwork and a closer look into the forgotten and tragic heroism of Isaiah Bradley and his fellow fallen soldiers. Acknowledging the original 2003 publication, this updated comic series endeavor is under the working title: Truth: Red, White & Black - Know the History. 

About the Artist

nagano summer festival

My name is Wade "Cito" Wheelington III, an upcoming artist born in St. Louis, Missouri. I have been creating artwork ever since I was a young boy in elementary school. I was always so fascinated with superheroes and comic books. I also had a very keen interest in the Japanese language and culture, so my family and I would always go to the annual St. Louis Japanese Festival. There, I had the opportunity to meet numerous staff and performers from Japan and experience Japanese food and culture. It wasn’t long before I became enamored with anime and manga, including such titles as “Sailor Moon” and “Yu Yu Hakusho." Following this, I soon began studying the Japanese language in my junior year in high school, hoping that I would one day be able to move to Japan and produce my own manga. 

Japanese TCA degreeEnglish TCA degree

Finally, I was blessed with the opportunity to move to Japan in the autumn of 2012. I furthered my language study at the Nagano Kokusai Bunka Gakuin and upon graduation in 2014, I was accepted into the Tokyo Communication Arts Specialty School, where I majored in Creative Design with a focus of honing my skills as a manga artist. During my time there, I won first place in the school’s annual Manga Grand Prix. Additionally, numerous Japanese TV shows scouted me and featured my work on their programs which continued to fuel my passion. Finally, after much hard work and memorable experiences, I graduated in the spring of 2017 with a degree in Creative Design and Manga Composition.

Projects

Thanks to much effort and support, I published my first short manga series, Blue Crisis Love in 2016 and in addition to working full-time, I have continued juggling multiple new ideas along with working on my shoujo manga passion project Love or Duty. To see more about the series, and more of my original art and fanart, check out my main website ShugoPro, where you can also check out a portion of my portfolio. 

Love or Duty manga written by Cito Wheelington

Season 1 of the "Love or Duty" 10-chapter manuscript was fully completed in 2022 and was published in 2023 following a successful Kickstarter campaign! After a short print run, focus has been shifted to the digital edition which in available on Kindle. There is still work to be done for the outreach of Love or Duty as season 2 is in the works, halfway completed!

Resolve

It has been a long road, filled with hardships and memorable opportunities. I hope that my story inspires all to go after their dreams too!

Currently blessed with the chance to work on the Isaiah Bradley Project, I am excited to breathe more life into the origins of such a inspiring character. Please follow and support this work-in-progress which will serve to highlight the theme of hidden figures in history.