Part One
SUPER DIVERSITY!
by Mogadishu Jones
There are three things that will always exist in comics. The first two are
racism and misogyny. The last is that fan-boys will continually try to argue
that the first two were things of the past and that they are gone from comics
today. Nothing could be further from the truth. Racism and misogyny are alive
and well in the comics world. The world of comics has a stubborn tendency to
resist the urge to portray blacks, gays, and females as anything except
stereotyped punchlines. Don't get me wrong, I love comics. I have loved comics
for about twenty years and I will probably continue to love comics. A big part
of this is the racism and misogyny. I just find that shit to be hilarious.
A few years ago, DC decided to make a few changes to their old superhero roster
with the intent of sprucing up their image in the minority community. Many
people saw this initial announcement as a positive measure. They received it
with hope and a sense that things were finally going to change. Minority
characters were going to be represented in the comic pages in a positive and
prominent light. What these people failed to consider is that they were dealing
with DC Comics. This was the company that employed Murray Boltinoff. Who was
he? He was an editor who allegedly ordered a colorist to change the dark skin
tone on a background character. There was no official reason was given for this
change of skin tone. However, writer/artist/former DC staffer Jim Shooter said
that all of his attempts to introduce black characters in to DC Comics in the
1960s were rebuffed by Boltinoff. Please note that I am not calling Boltinoff a
bigot. I am just allowing the
complete lack of black characters in the pages of the books he was in charge
of to speak for itself.
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