The Darker Image
Encyclopedia
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
female swimsuit calendar
Wall calendar
A wall calendar is a calendar intended for placement on a wall. Wall calendars can serve as reminders of holidays, important events, and company events. They typically consist of a collection of images on a given subject....
to break into mainstream bookstores across the United States, such as Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
and Waldenbooks
Waldenbooks
Waldenbooks , operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain and a subsidiary of Borders Group. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware as well as a children's edutainment chain under Walden Kids...
, in 1994-1997.
Before King
King (magazine)
King is a monthly men's magazine geared toward African American and urban audiences. It features articles about hip-Hop and R&B, as well as articles covering sports and fashion. The magazine is published by Harris Publications, and was a spinoff from XXL. It ceased publication on March 31, 2009,...
, Smooth
Smooth (magazine)
Smooth is a bimonthly magazine, published by Sandra Vasceannie geared toward young urban men that includes a mix of news, entertainment, urban fashion, music, movies, books, sports reporting, as well as feature articles on the hottest stars in black entertainment. Smooth covers feature photos of...
and BlackMen magazines ever existed, black calendars such as The Darker Image were among the first to usher hip hop models into the mainstream print media (other than perhaps Jet magazine
Jet (magazine)
Jet is an American weekly marketed toward African-American readers, founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois...
). The Darker Image was particularly well distributed and sat on shelves in Borders Books & Music
Borders Group
Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....
and Barnes & Noble nationwide and was featured on "Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
," "Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
," and "The Jenny Jones Show
The Jenny Jones Show
The Jenny Jones Show is an American syndicated daytime tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. It was produced by Telepictures and was distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
." The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
quoted Barnes & Noble calendar buyer Bill Costello as saying, "The market is crying out for it. It's rare that you can say in the business, `This is needed, there's nothing else like it.' In this case, it was true." The Darker Image's distribution records for a minority-themed swimsuit calendar remain unbroken.
The Darker Image calendar became a small part of the cultural zeitgeist of the time, particularly in the urban world, with the calendar prominently featured in John Singleton’s movie Higher Learning
Higher Learning
Higher Learning is a 1995 American drama film, starring an ensemble cast. It also featured Tyra Banks' first performance in a theatrical film...
, and The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
writing: “‘Phat Beach,’ the first Hollywood beach blanket-type movie featuring blacks, has just wrapped principal photography.... Coolio and Paperboy will provide the rap tunes for the models from Darker Image '95 Swimsuit Calendar.”
The Darker Image calendar did not feature any big name models or actresses at the time, although many of the models in the calendar went on to impressive careers, including Traci Bingham
Traci Bingham
Traci Bingham is an American actress, model and television personality who is best known for playing Jordan Tate on the television series Baywatch between 1996 and 1998.-Personal life:...
, Melissa De Sousa
Melissa De Sousa
Melissa De Sousa is an American actress. De Sousa was born in New York City, New York of Panamanian descent. She is an Afro-Latino.-Early life:...
, Amy Hunter
Amy Hunter
Amy Hunter is an American actress and model. She has had roles on a number of television series and daytime soaps, co-hosted The Comedy Channel's Night After Night, and went on location for ESPN's Women in Sports. Amy was a special guest host on Soul Train, the weekly series where she met her...
, and Mari Morrow
Mari Morrow
Mari Morrow is an American film and television actress and real estate agent.-Life and career:Morrow grew up in Miami, Florida. She made her television debut appearance in 1992 as Wendy Mallow on the popular television program, Baywatch. From 1995 to 1996, she portrayed Rachel Gannon on the ABC...
.