Minorities in Comics and Other Media, etc

[Anthony Shaw]

He had his moments in EMH and Avengers Assemble, too.

I gotta laugh at myself....I knew I forgot another example during my rant.

Thanks for the reminder.

His moments with Hawkeye were gold.

BP spoke little words, but was highly competent.

BP had two scenes with Wasp & Hulk that was very funny.

[Agent Z]

With Outsiders and JLO ending in October, besides Far Sector, DC won't have any POC lead books come November and as far as I know they haven't hinted at any new upcoming ones. I know there's plenty of time between then and now to announce something but, I'm still wary considering that would mean immediately giving new books to characters whose series just ended and that's really only something that the really big characters get regularly. I mean if they're not immediately giving any of the characters a new book that means nothing with Black Lightning, Mr. Terrific, Katanna, Jessica Cruz, Duke Thomas, or Cassandra Cain. I know there's Justice League but they haven't treated Cyborg very well and I haven't heard anything particularly impressive being done with John Stewart.

From the previous page:

John Ridley's Epic Exploration of DC's Marginalized Heroes Is Finally Coming Out This November

DC confirmed that The Other History of the DC Universe—written by Ridley, and featuring art from Giuseppe Camuncoli and Andrea Cucchi, and colors by José Villarrubia—will kick off in November, releasing as a five-issue bi-monthly series in the company’s Black Label line. Camuncoli will also do cover art for the series with Marco Mastrazzo, alongside variants by Jamal Campbell.

As the name implies, The Other History will go back into iconic moments from DC’s past, putting aside the ephemera of your Batmen and Supermen to re-examine them through the lens of disenfranchised characters often left on the sidelines. Those characters include Jefferson and Anissa Pierce, a.k.a Black Lightning and his daughter/fellow hero Thunder, as well as Mal Duncan and Karen Beecher (Herald and Bumblebee), Renee Montoya’s incarnation of the Question, and Tatsu Yamashiro, Suicide Squad regular Katana.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/john-ridleys...roe-1844700803

[Agent Z]

He's King of the Dead.

Dead Avengers (remember that old mini) may come back, including swordsman. Plus I imagine they'll bring She-Hulk back too.

https://www.gamesradar.com/black-pan...rvel-variants/

She-Hulk is among the characters in Phoenix costumes in these variants so maybe she'll be back as a Phoenix host.

[Agent Z]

Surviving R. Kelly's Majority-Black Editing Team Resigned After White Producers Ignored Their Notes

In June, the harrowing documentary series Surviving R. Kelly took home a prestigious Peabody Award for exposing the decades of abuse perpetrated by the singer against underage girls and young women, all with the complicity of the music industry and his fans.

But according to a new report from THR, the road the the Peabody was not a smooth one, with the entire original editing team—the majority of whom are Black, with one Latinx editor—quitting the project on the basis that their notes were being ignored. And yet while much of their work was ultimately included in the final cut, the team was not listed in the credits.

A team comprised entirely of BIPOC editors is a rarity in the film world, and such a lineup indicated that the production leaders recognized the importance of Black input in the production process. The editors began to assemble the series’ first two episodes, wading through hours of interviews with survivors as they worked to introduce Kelly’s background, like his marriage to 15-year-old Aaliyah and the allegations that were revealed in a Chicago Sun-Times exposé, and other topics: But then:

After the editors shared their first internal cut with colleagues at Bunim/Murray, Surviving R. Kelly EP and Kreativ Inc. CEO Joel Karsberg (Celebrity Wife Swap, Dropped) returned to them with notes asking for significant changes. Karsberg, who is white and Swedish, alongside EP Jesse Daniels, an American who also is white, had partnered with creator Simmons to bring the show to Lifetime. The notes asked to spend more time telling the story of Kelly’s rise to music stardom and materially increase the use of his voice and image while emphasizing his talent and celebrity. The notes also asked to change up sequences that cut between survivors by adding in more narrative with Kelly because, the notes suggested, the audience might stop paying attention to the series without interruptions. The notes further argued that the show should be crafted more like a true-crime series and include reminders of Aaliyah’s greatest hits, several sources say.

The editors pushed back, arguing that “the proposed edits would center the alleged perpetrator and his talents instead of the survivors’ stories.” They also said that the changes would sensationalize the show, disregard its Black audience, and be insensitive to survivors and the Black community.

But these concerns were seemingly ignored, and the editors were never given the chance to discuss the changes. Ultimately, all five editors, plus an assistant story editor, resigned en masse. Assuming the final product would not include their work, they also asked to be removed from the credits.

https://jezebel.com/surviving-r-kell...gne-1844707346

[Robotman]

I’m concerned about the long term viability of many of the minority characters that have been created recently. I’m concerned that not enough energy has been put into creating compelling and interesting supporting casts and villains around them. I’m of the conviction that an interesting hero can make for an interesting story here or there, but it’s really interesting villains and supporting casts that make ongoing franchises. It’s why Batman and Spider-Man are the most popular Superheroes by far with Superman coming in third. Some heroes seem to temporarily jump up into that echelon, but their stay their only seems to be as long as the influence of their movie ( or other media appearances) is present.

I’m also concerned that it might be to late for some of them. I’ve noticed that their tends to be a ten year rule with many superheroes. Anything added to the franchise within the first ten years of the characters creation have a good chance of actually sticking around, but after that it becomes real difficult to add anything that has any staying power. You might get one or two elements every decade afterwards. It’s like cement. When the cement is wet you can still manipulate it to a degree, but once it hardens changing it becomes difficult.

I see this happening with Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes. DC, and comics in general have a horrible track record with Latino characters. Fans have pointed out that DC seems to have a "one hispanic character at a time" rule. It seems conspiratorial but history kinda proves it valid. Vibe's book gets canceled, then Jaime gets pushed and eventually shelved so that Sideways can get a series. I like GL Jessica Cruz but it really seems like having her float far behind Hal Jordan is enough to check the Latino diversity box.

They really haven't been able to make this work?!?



Cool design and a character that has shades of Spider-Man, Green Lantern, Venom, and Ironman. Still, DC is scratching their heads.

Seems like money just waiting to be made. According to a recent report published by the Motion Picture Association of America, Latinos went to the movies in 2018 way more often than other ethnic groups in the U.S. relative to their population. Latinos make up 18 percent of the population but accounted for 32 percent of frequent moviegoers (that is, folks who went to more than one movie a month).

As a Latino comic book nerd who is friends with many others like myself, I can tell you that we are desperate for some freaking representation.

[ed2962]

I see this happening with Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes. DC, and comics in general have a horrible track record with Latino characters. Fans have pointed out that DC seems to have a "one hispanic character at a time" rule. It seems conspiratorial but history kinda proves it valid. Vibe's book gets canceled, then Jaime gets pushed and eventually shelved so that Sideways can get a series. I like GL Jessica Cruz but it really seems like having her float far behind Hal Jordan is enough to check the Latino diversity box.

They really haven't been able to make this work?!?



Cool design and a character that has shades of Spider-Man, Green Lantern, Venom, and Ironman. Still, DC is scratching their heads.

Seems like money just waiting to be made. According to a recent report published by the Motion Picture Association of America, Latinos went to the movies in 2018 way more often than other ethnic groups in the U.S. relative to their population. Latinos make up 18 percent of the population but accounted for 32 percent of frequent moviegoers (that is, folks who went to more than one movie a month).

As a Latino comic book nerd who is friends with many others like myself, I can tell you that we are desperate for some freaking representation.

Jaime actually was optioned for a TV show at one point. I might be remembering wrong, but I think they even shot test footage.

[MindofShadow]

The other thing I forgot to mention...T'Challa is unintentionally hilarious. T'Challa is so literal, yet posses dry humor. Priest, Liss, McDuffie (RIP), Geoff Jones (Ugh), & Hudlin have highlighted how unpredictable, and thus funny, BP is. Granted, I have not seriously followed T'Challa since his daddy made him cry.

Black Panther has a lot in common with various incarnations of Doctor Who.

Chadwick followed the same formula in the films.

Modern writers are just no bueno.

T'challa plays off loud, constant chattering characters quite well.

So in the comics and cartoons, he plays off Stark, Hawkeye, Deadpool, Namor, and such quite easily.

IN the movies, it is his sister or even okoye and nakia. And hopefully later... Strange, Parker, Lang, ect. One of the shitty parts of the MCU is that T'challa never got to interact with Stark, even though they were in the same movies 3 times.

Coates never got that side of him at all. Just doom and gloom and depression. Coates just never got it because he doesn't like him.

[ed2962]

[Surf]

WTF is wrong with me and time management, I have GOT to sit through GET OUT properly at some point real soon. I think Daniel Kaluuya is cool as hell, I mean I've seen Sicario like half a dozen times if it counts.

^Speaking of chick, I think we missed a piece of news.

Guardians of the Galaxy actress Zoe Saldana addressed the controversy surrounding her casting as Nina Simone in the 2016 biopic Nina.Saldana sat down with Pose creator and executive producer Steven Canals Tuesday for a conversation about diversity, activism and identity on Bese’s Instagram page. When the question about the Nina casting came up, Salanda, who is of Puerto Rican descent, answered that she should not have ever agreed to take on the role.
...
“Nina had a life and had a journey that should’ve been and should be honored to the most specific detail because she was a specifically detailed individual about her voice, her opinions and her views and her music and her art,” she said to Canals. “She was so honest so she deserved better.”
https://deadline.com/2020/08/zoe-sal...ne-1203006639/

I mean... I feel it's a quasi-sincere apology, on it's face... Unlike that nose in the movie but she went so hard about it.

[KOSLOX]

I see this happening with Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes. DC, and comics in general have a horrible track record with Latino characters. Fans have pointed out that DC seems to have a "one hispanic character at a time" rule. It seems conspiratorial but history kinda proves it valid. Vibe's book gets canceled, then Jaime gets pushed and eventually shelved so that Sideways can get a series. I like GL Jessica Cruz but it really seems like having her float far behind Hal Jordan is enough to check the Latino diversity box.

They really haven't been able to make this work?!?



Cool design and a character that has shades of Spider-Man, Green Lantern, Venom, and Ironman. Still, DC is scratching their heads.

Seems like money just waiting to be made. According to a recent report published by the Motion Picture Association of America, Latinos went to the movies in 2018 way more often than other ethnic groups in the U.S. relative to their population. Latinos make up 18 percent of the population but accounted for 32 percent of frequent moviegoers (that is, folks who went to more than one movie a month).

As a Latino comic book nerd who is friends with many others like myself, I can tell you that we are desperate for some freaking representation.

Blue Beetle and Static should be the new Blue and Gold and both should be staple member of the Teen Titans.

[Agent Z]

While I like Static in the main DCU, I don't think he or every other teen hero needs to be with the Titans. To be honest, I don't think Jaime should be with them either.

[KOSLOX]

While I like Static in the main DCU, I don't think he or every other teen hero needs to be with the Titans. To be honest, I don't think Jaime should be with them either.

I just want them high profile. If they brought back All-stars I wouldn't mind them being the JSAs protégé team.

Toss Jakeem Thunder, and Cass Cain on that team too.

I'd have her switch her mentor to Wildcat.

[Overhazard]

While I like Static in the main DCU, I don't think he or every other teen hero needs to be with the Titans. To be honest, I don't think Jaime should be with them either.

I mean, there's always the Legion. Then again, Bendis would be writing him, Lightning Lad and his sister, are both black now, which is fine, Cosmic Boy is asian now, I don't know who else got raceswapped, but then I look at Dawnstar, who looks like Chief Wahoo's Great x8 Granddaughter, and I just shake my head.

[skyvolt2000]

Jaime actually was optioned for a TV show at one point. I might be remembering wrong, but I think they even shot test footage.

Yes there is test footage. I think some show's dvd has it.

I see this happening with Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes. DC, and comics in general have a horrible track record with Latino characters. Fans have pointed out that DC seems to have a "one hispanic character at a time" rule. It seems conspiratorial but history kinda proves it valid. Vibe's book gets canceled, then Jaime gets pushed and eventually shelved so that Sideways can get a series. I like GL Jessica Cruz but it really seems like having her float far behind Hal Jordan is enough to check the Latino diversity box.

It's been done to black characters too.

I mean all one has to do is look at when books come out.

Not to notice it.

Jessica & Simon held a book for 50 issues. Like Steel it did not matter.

Meanwhile every other company does not have this issue. Good or bad at least they try.

[KOSLOX]

I've been thinking for awhile that they should do a story that ties Shango to all the black lightning users. Since he's the orisha of lightning it would make sense that so many black characters tap into him. It could also be something Wally West has to help give him extra differences to the other speedsters.