More Racefail: Cover Stories

[alexandraerin]

Racefail in comic fandom, found via ktempest's Twitter. For the linkaphobic, some portion of the fandom has apparently gone groddshit over the startling level of diversity of the current incarnation of the Justice League, especially during a crossover with Milestone characters.

(Interestingly, they're laying this at the feet of Dwayne McDuffie, who has since left the book after a run that was dogged by his utter lack of input over the team's roster.)

I could really go nuts analyzing this, but I think a few pictures might say it all.

Here's the cover of the first issue of the current volume of the Justice League:



Oh my God.

Are you lost amidst the sea of diversity yet?

Of course, since then, the roster's changed a bit. They've added the current Firestorm, Jason Rusch, who is an African-American teenager. Sometimes they deal with another Green Lantern, like John Stewart. So, you know, you can add two more heroes of color to that picture mentally.

You don't have to put them up front or anything, though.

And in case you're wondering, the guy with the red face is a robot. A robot who looks like a white guy when he isn't being a superhero. Of course, front and center is an alien who looks like a white guy. This is one of the few versions of the Justice League to not include a martian who, when he needs to not look like a martian, usually looks like a white guy. Canonically the martian has multiple identities throughout the world, of all races and both of the two major genders. We're told, occasionally, that he's the most popular hero in South America simply because he has "local" identities down there. Writers remember to tell us this sometimes, but when we see him being human, nine times out of ten he's John Jones, American everyman.

White default in action.

Now, one possible reason for the backlash is that fans who came of age from the mid 90s on may resent any dilution of the "big seven" version of the Justice League, the classic configuration of Aquaman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman that was revived at that time and impressed on the public consciousness through the Justice League cartoon. But that same revival was itself a groundshaking event, as it supplanted other versions of the Justice League that had their own popular followings. Two of them, Justice League International and Justice League Europe, were actually attempts to shake up the status quo and broaden the team's base to beyond characters who code as white Americans (even if they're Kryptonians, Amazons, or Atlantians).

We can maybe expect Justice League Europe to be a little eurocentric, but that's okay... they had Justice League International around to diversify things a little.

Let's take a look at their lineup:



Talk about a rainbow connection! I am dizzy with lack of breath from the whirlwind of ethnicities on display.

They did eventually gain a member from South America, a Brazilian hero named Fire.

Fire looks like this:



I apologize to any of my fellow white fans who I've made to feel marginalized and excluded by putting these images on display. Don't worry, some day comic companies will realize that people like us buy comics, too.

Comments

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

To be fair to DC, I think that's pretty commonplace for comic books. Personally I'm a fan of Marvel, but I'm hard-pressed to think of more than a couple black heroes from their lineup, and most of them have been pushed to the fringes. Night Thrasher, Black Panther, Power Man, Silhouette (not only biracial black/asian, but also handicapped), Midnight Fire...

[alexandraerin.livejournal.com]

You might want to check the first link at the top for context before you decide that DC needs your fairness... I'm not dinging them here, I'm responding to a backlash against the "diversity" in the current JLA.

(Although, you might also stop and think why "that's pretty commonplace for comic books" sounds like a defense in the first place.)

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

Ahhh- misunderstood. I'd read both your post and the link (following you on Twitter) but I didn't think to put them together that way. I'd use the four hours of sleep I got last night as an excuse, but actually I'm just being an idiot on this one.

Re: edited addendum

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

I'm being an idiot again. I don't quite get it. I'm not meaning to suggest a lack of diversity by other comic companies means any one of them should get away with it.

Unless you're suggesting that my point helps illustrate the idiocy of the people bitching about too many non-white characters in the JLA, and/or points out the racist tendencies of the entire comic book subculture. In which case I'm still a bit confused and yet... ah screw it I think I need a nap.

Re: edited addendum

[lizkayl.livejournal.com]

Have you followed RaceFail? It's mostly dealing with the racist tendencies of the entire fandom culture.

Re: edited addendum

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

Can't say that I have. Or that I'm terribly surprised such things exist- both RaceFail itself and racist tendencies in the fandom culture.

I'm familiar with the idea though; I'm a rather severe fan of the Iron Kingdoms, and race comes up now and again as a topic with regards to it. The Kingdoms are more or less akin to Europe without an age of exploration; the skin tones vary from pale to ruddy to olive, but there's no group that's wholly black. That's caused some people to raise concerns about a lack of racial diversity. There are a few black characters in the setting but of yet they have not had center stage.

That's invited some philosophical debates about race that have been interesting and largely left me with more questions than answers, particularly with regards to the creation of ficitional worlds and the inclusion, exclusion, sourcing, and development of race.

Re: edited addendum

[lizkayl.livejournal.com]

Then you get into the fact that most people writing these things are white men. So- how do they accurately portray other races and genders and do them justice, without relying on stereotypes and pre-conceived prejudices. And how do you get non-'white men' into the business without them being relegated to 'nitch' writers. Or the rare example that is hung out- see we're not prejudice, we've got this one good character.

Re: edited addendum

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

I get it and deal with it myself when creating characters; I generally avoid female characters simply because I don't think I could do them properly. And again, the IK has issues with this both in terms of gender and race. I don't know how much is perception versus intent; there's been cries of stereotyping but those stereotypes are ones I've never heard of (which may just mean I'm blissfully ignorant), and other things it seems mostly to be the player base rather than the creators.

For example, one of the factions has a single male character as more or less the leader (really more of a host to a the parasite-leader, but I digress) and the rest of the notable characters are all female. These women have displayed a variety of personalities and degrees of cunning, but the fandom tends to crack wise about how the leader is a pimp.

In another example, there's a black character who's the doctor and cook on a pirate ship. He also happens to be a cannibal, and along with his outfit people say he's a racist stereotype. I can't say I've ever heard of any sort of racist stereotypes that fit that, but again, blissful ignorance. There's another guy who is a minor but widely admired and respected character. People have objected to his being minor, but otherwise don't seem to have any complaints about his portrayal. By the same token, the playerbase will often make Shaft references- although they just as often modify Chuck Norris jokes to fit his name.

Past that, I don't know. I'm not in the business; all I know about any of these areas is that you do it because you love it, not because of the pay. Which would seem to suggest we need to remove the racist attitudes and assholes in order to make that possible. Which may also require more good non-white, non-male characters, which may require more non-male, non-white writers and designers. Which would be the sort of Catch-22 that life seems to like.

[akailaughingman.livejournal.com]

to write good characters, it helps to model them after people you know. (i know the guy who partially inspired for both Bun-Bun and Kiki).

For instance, I'm female, but often get mistaken for being male online. It's attitude, baby.

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

Actually I think the fact you've got 'man' in your LJ name might contribute to it. At least on LJ. I don't know what handles you use elsewhere.

[akailaughingman.livejournal.com]

ahh... that was with "RisingTide" as my moniker. I'm far more antagonistic (and thus likely to be mistaken for a teenaged boy) on political chats.

[akailaughingman.livejournal.com]

your butt-fuck average white man who's been tortured in DC, been shot at, befriended prostitutes, and otherwise been around that city in the early 90's should have A LOT less trouble empathizing and creating livable other races and genders.

Experience matters. Lack of experience is not an excuse for not getting some experience (lack of money, otoh...).

I've seen plenty of stories where you don't know what race the protagonist is. "white as default" is most prevalent/problematic in visual media. Then again, what sort of sci-fi wants to deal with race issues? Okay, maybe a damn good one.

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

Lack of experience may not be an excuse for not getting some experience, but with all due respect given the experiences outlined above (specifically being tortured and shot at) I'll stick with it anyways. It seems safer, in the general 'I've been doing this 32 years and I'm not dead yet' sense.

[akailaughingman.livejournal.com]

generally advisable to avoid being tortured, yes. not always possible.

For getting inside the head of someone who's been where you don't want to go... I suggest reading books, and interviews!

One of my roleplaying characters is a former child soldier (gang leader, actually). Blast to play, even if she is a bit of a coldhearted bitch (means well, but...)

Re: edited addendum

[alexandraerin.livejournal.com]

Certainly you're not meaning to suggest that, but have you ever considered what kind of dynamic is created when every time that discussion is held... whether by fans or within the editorial heirarchy of a media company... someone says, "To be fair, etc..."?

It's a derailing comment. I believe you when you say you don't mean it to be one. I believe that even without you saying it. It's not even a question*.

But that's what it does: it knocks the train off the rails. It changes the conversation from Here Is This Problem And What Can We Do About It to There Are Lots Of Problems And We Can't Really Control All Of Them So Really The Problems We Have Aren't That Bad.

That's what I meant by "how is it a defense?" The answer is it really isn't, it just shifts the focus from DC to the comic industry. And if we try to look at the comic industry, well, that's all a product of our larger pop culture. Which is all a product of our society. If we keep on "being fair", we go from tackling a single concrete issue to wrestling with an abstraction that's bigger than all of us.

Blogs and sites that regularly deal with racism in media also regularly see these kinds of comments being made "in fairness" by well-meaning folks. Again and again. Because no matter what manifestation or angle they're taking on, it applies equally well: after all, "Everyone's a little bit racist!" When you stop to point it out every time, that's a net drag on the conversation... and of course, it's not you who's stopping to point it out every time, it's a succession of people who each see it as a trenchant point applied to an individual situation.

If you're trying to talk about a racial disparity or racist situation, how do you respond to that? Acknowledge that it's true but then try to work the focus back to where it was? Ignore it and then have the next fair-minded person who comes along take umbrage that you ignored this very pointed point about how there's racism all over?

And that's where the * above comes in - can you imagine being an antiracist blogger and stopping to acknowledge a dozen or more times a day that yes, you do know that the commenter meant well and isn't a racist bastard and was only trying to offer up a fair point before you explain how their comment isn't helpful? And then have more than a few of them blow up and throw a fit because instead of being recognized for their fair-mindedness they're accused of furthering racism?

Please understand that I'm not trying to bite your head off... you expressed confusion about what I meant so I'm elaborating. The "to be fair" comment isn't really a helpful one to interject into the conversation. Who exactly is it fair to?

Re: edited addendum

[stormcaller3801.livejournal.com]

I understand what you're saying, now. And I think my intent was not quite so much to drag the conversation into a larger sphere as it was to be fair to DC by virtue of a different line of logic: if we're singling out a comic company among comic companies for monoethnic tendencies, there's other companies that may be more worthwhile to single out. I'm honestly not entirely sure and I know it's easy to reinterpret past behavior to make myself look better, even in my own eyes. But I'm fairly sure that's what I meant; I remember thinking about other companies I could mention instead or in addition to, but chose instead to focus specifically on Marvel.

That, and I think there were two other elements at work. The first was that, again, I read the link without realizing how it worked in connection to this post. And I wanted to stand up for DC because of it, as that guy seemed like a pretty good guy and for as much as it sounds like he got (gets?) shat upon by DC editing, his efforts are worth consideration. Thus, I figured there were other targets more worthy if only for his sake.

The second is, unsurprisingly, that I'm reflexively contrarian asshole at times. And the rest of the time I tend to just be reflexively contrarian.

[blizord.livejournal.com]

There is more. A lot I can not think of the name of.
Bishop, War Machine. Just to name two that come to mind not on your list.

[nomananisland.livejournal.com]

List of black superheroes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_black_superheroes from almost every major company.

There are some obvious well-knowns: Storm from the X-men, Black Panther from the Avengers, Blade (who has his own movies). Spawn from Image was black before he became undead.

I'm not as familiar with DC comics beyond its archetypes (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman) but that link has an extensive list. DC's biggest problem is that its most marketable assets have existed since the 1930s, where the culture was not only predominately white but less tolerant of diversity. Those characters are still their most popular, and fans would of course have an uproar with disruption. But, it's definitely a good idea to broaden their horizons. That's the only way to create change.

For instance, when the X-men first changed rosters in the 70s, they went for diversity: Storm was a strong black woman from Africa. At the height of the cold war, they included the Russian Colossus. Nightcrawler is a blue mutant who looks like a demon. Sunfire was Japanese, and Thunderbird was Native. They even included a Canadian. :P It was pretty groundbreaking at the time, and it's sad really that things haven't progressed much further.