[View the story "Coloring outside the lines" on Storify ]Coloring outside the lines Do comic books have the power to influence readers? Storified by AJAMStream · Tue, Feb 04 2014 14:31:52
Harlem Hellfighters, a graphic novel by
World War Z author Max Brooks, tells the story of the 369th Infantry Regiment, an African-American regiment from New York that fought in France in World War I.
The upcoming release of the comic has come amidst
discussion about minority representation in comics. The
majority of characters in lead roles in comics are white. For years, the only minority characters were
represented through racial stereotypes. Many say that minority characters and staffers should have a greater role in the billion dollar industry.
Timeinc
Representation of minority characters in comics has been
on the rise . Some popular characters have even been redrawn, such as Miles Morales, the new Puerto Rican/African-American Spiderman.
Denofgeek
Some comics with minority leads have made it to television, including
Boondocks , a comic-strip-turned-cartoon about an African-American family living in a wealthy suburb in Chicago, Illinois.
The Boondocks - Season 1 Episode 14 - The Block Is HotThe Boondocks Official Channel©
Comic book authors face challenges both as minority artists (there are
no black writers working on a monthly series for either DC or Marvel Comics) and in
attempting to write minority characters. Many
accuse artists of tokenizing minority characters, saying these characters are written in only for the appearance of diversity.
There have also been
accusations of racism in screen adaptations of comics that feature minority characters, namely when they are cast as white.
Bane , originally of Caribbean descent but portrayed as white in the Batman film series, is one example.
Denofgeek
The comic book industry has
featured some notable minority characters, though
many say these are not enough. One of the most iconic is Black Panther, a black character who was
introduced during the American Civil Rights movement.
Complex
So is the trend headed in an inclusive direction? Marvel has
recently announced their new Miss Marvel, a Muslim-American teenager of Pakistani descent. The creator of the series
commented that this was an important step toward diverse representations.
The move received both praise and criticism from the online community, who commented on Miss Marvel and diversity in comics in general.
You can't forget about Dust from the X-men either! Or Sabra. There are so many worthwhile and diverse characters in comics that it is understandably difficult to give each of them the attention they deserve. I love Carol Danvers and I'm excited to see how this new Ms. Marvel lives up to her legacy.Mikey Barnum
oh Marvel, I love you but a launching a title featuring a teenage muslim girl called 'Ms Marvel' smells like an appeasement move.Chris Hill
I feel like commenting on Ms Muslim Marvel. It's a great idea, I love inclusion and diversity. That said, I liked blonde ms marvel.Randombullseye
The Stream community added their thoughts on the topic of minority characters in comics.
@AJAMStream Comics are part of mainstream culture now and need to represent the diverse audiences they are read by. We need fresh ideas.Josh Trujillo!
@AJAMStream need more minority heroes. Even changing a pre-established hero’s race is better than nothing at all.Justin
Many commented on the idea that diversity among writers facilitates inclusion of minority characters.
@AJAMStream #AJAMStream traditionally, in superhero comics, character ethnic diversity preceded writer diversity by many yearsdarrylayo
@AJAMStream A few artists & creators of color have blazed trails but still dominated by white ownership & overrepresentation of whitenessandré carrington PhD
@ajamstream Yes, b/c apparently the lack of diversity among comic book writers & publishers hasn't done enough/much to diversify characters.mic?
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