Dwayne McDuffie on the realities of the Black writer in the comic book industry

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[citronm1]

Mr. McDuffie is right on.

What is sad, but also amusing :), are the comic fans that conform to the stereotype and act exactly as Dwayne is describing.

It is laughable how very butthurt, or should I say sore throat :), some white fans get at the thought of non-white heroes in this very thread.

Anyway, Dwayne's Justice League Unlimited was the best incarnation of the team I've ever seen. He should have had free reign to do WHATEVER he wanted on the comic.

R.I.P. Maestro.

[megalon84]

Your comments here (e.g. "RIP dumbass" at Dwayne) have made it clear you're both racist and aggravated (and backpeddling since to seem otherwise) . You hate that anyone would dare argue for diversity that matches the changing racial makeup of the country. Were you furious over the non-white Spider-man? Your kind would be the first to lose their minds and throw tantrums if near 40% of American superheroes = nonwhite. You will probably suicide in a couple decades if/when less than half are white.

[citronm1]

Exactly megalon.

This fool is defending the absurd practice of racial exclusion in COMIC BOOKS! An industry whose publishing arm is on deaths door in part because their characters don't resemble the people they are ostensibly trying to sell their product to, young Americans.

You'll note the movies tend to insure there are black people in there, though the "rule-of-three" is still in effect.

The FAKEST thing about American comics are their overwhelming whiteness.

[citronm1]

You shouldn't be worrying about people worrying about minorities in comics.

Do you understand where Mr. McDuffie is coming from?

The "fictional job" statement was made in the context of white readers complaining about black characters like they are losing "their" job despite the fact that 99% of comic characters are white.

If you are "Hispanic" and you don't care about seeing yourself in popular culture (and I know Hispanics that do care) then fine, but don't bring that dumb shit here.

[megalon84]

You're badly misinterpreting his words. He said white male fans reacted poorly to the inclusion of a few black heroes and brought forth absurd arguments about demographics. The argument vs. lack of minority superheroes has to do with a growing minority readership that's tired of crappy minority representation in comics (in quality and quantity) and wants writing and artistry that does justice to all of us, not just white readers. This is stuff that impacts young readers, unlike "fictional jobs."

[Rafael Moreno]

You shouldn't be worrying about minorities in comics. More so minorities being able to get jobs. Dwayne said himself that it's ridiculousness that people act as if they're losing "jobs." These are fictional characters. So why act like we need to give more fictional Afro-Americans more fictional jobs?

[megalon84]

Plenty of us have complained about overall lack of minorities in comics, whether black, Hispanic, etc. Why the dumb unrelated examples? In fact, it proves one of the points made about lack of comics' diversity: the default hero is "straight white male," but make him/her a minority and suddenly it needs to be a gimmick/stereotype, embodying the narrow-minded stupidity of entertainment that prefers a Jew-hating Muslim radical vs. an intelligent, level-headed hero who happens to be Muslim.

[megalon84]

Bullshit. Diversity on television and film has actually decreased from the peak of diversity seen in the late 70s to early 90s. There are no major, primetime high-quality equivalents to yesteryear's Good Times, Jeffersons, Diff'rent Strokes, Sanford and Son, Cosby Show, A Different World, Living Single, Family Matters, and Fresh Prince. Your typical TV show now is an all-white cast of twenty-somethings with minorities in small roles, despite the fact the country is more diverse now than ever.

[Rafael Moreno]

There's hardly any Latino super heroes, but no one's crying or moaning.

Asians got their own but y'know.

Fuck, besides, it shouldn't matter what the character's ethnic origin is. What's next? Make Batman a Muslim that fights against Zionists? And then make Superman a Mexican so they can say he's an illegal alien? ROFL

[matthewlane]

If it helps i was furious over non white Spiderman... not because he was non-white, but because he was non-interesting. He lacked for any versimilitude or depth as a character.

So yeah, i'd have disliked this version of spiderman even if they had made him white. Because it kind of jumps into the overused cliches bucket & goes swimming.

[Bane Iwillbreaku]

I know this is an old post as a black man I agree with everything you've said.I'm an up and coming independent creator and I choose to let art imitate real life and represent all people of color.

[redxsage]

Very nice perspective.