The Minority Report! Diversity In DC and the Nu52

[Desh]

Heheh. Yeah, DC's history with minorities isn't stellar, by any means, and they could still improve in a lot of ways, but I'll give them credit where it's due. They do a great job with GLC, from both a pure quality perspective and also on how they showcase PoC characters.

[Desh]

I'll venture a guess but the majority of the people who probably buy comics are white males and the vast majority of that sample set prefer to read about characters that are more like them.

This is true, but that's likely because the content of superhero comic books has a history of not speaking to and/or alienating people outside the White male demographic. I always find it interesting that manga has such a wide range of different sorts of fans (speaking of their gender and background), but American super hero comics don't. I think that goes to show that comics aren't a White male medium, but the content of American superhero comics doesn't often connect with many other different types of people. I think the only people who can change that are people in the industry. By this point, it is a tough thing to change, but I think they got themselves in that situation.

Here is an interesting video on the subject:


As for Batwing, I never read it because, from what I know, I don't like the concept of the character. I like Batman, but Batman from Africa and then young Black Batman just don't interest me at all. It's just conceptually a silly idea to me, personally.

[Sodam Yat]

It's sad that Batwing is being cancelled, but it's not surprising though. Batwing, I believe, started off well since the new 52 started. I believe the book loss it's popularity due to Winick leaving the title including an wonderful artist, Ben Oliver no longer involved with the book.

It seems like John Stewart is the only character that has the highest selling title for a minority in DC.

[Double 0]

DC is close to getting 52 cancellations post New 52

"DC couldn’t find an audience for these books. That may be because that audience couldn’t find these books, rather than because the audience isn’t there. DC’s monolithic house style and devotion to event-driven storytelling do not create an inviting environment for new or diverse readers. That would be fine if DC’s old familiar readers could support a 52-title line (or something close to 52 titles), but the rate of cancellations suggests this isn’t the case. DC’s core audience can’t support such a sprawling line, but DC’s editorial approach can’t reach a wider audience."

If DC wants to change this, they need to stop half-assing this. They can't do "Show don't tell" because nobody's watching. Nobody even knows where to look.

[Marvell2100]

It's sad that Batwing is being cancelled, but it's not surprising though. Batwing, I believe, started off well since the new 52 started. I believe the book loss it's popularity due to Winick leaving the title including an wonderful artist, Ben Oliver no longer involved with the book.

It seems like John Stewart is the only character that has the highest selling title for a minority in DC.

I liked the original Batwing and the plot points they had there. I stuck with the changes because I hoped this book would eventually go somewhere like it did in the beginning. Sadly, I don't know what kind of direction they were headed with this. Same with the Mr Terrific title.

Once they made the change, they should have put Fox Batwing on a team. His solo was getting lost behind all of the other Bat titles. Vixen and Bronze Tiger are wasting away right now. Hopefully they'll be apart of the new Suicide Squad relaunch. Mr Terrific is going to appear in the Earth 2 weekly but which Mr T are we going to get? Hopefully not the one from the last solo series.

[skyvolt2000]

It's sad that Batwing is being cancelled, but it's not surprising though. Batwing, I believe, started off well since the new 52 started. I believe the book loss it's popularity due to Winick leaving the title including an wonderful artist, Ben Oliver no longer involved with the book.

Batwing- you can still tell his story. You have the Batman & (Blank) book, Batman Eternal and even backups in annuals. He can even reoccur in Batman or Detective Comics. So while it's sad and understandable (based on sales) for it to get axed (later than it should have). He can be active in DC.

I'll venture a guess but the majority of the people who probably buy comics are white males and the vast majority of that sample set prefer to read about characters that are more like them.

1) Budget will always come into play. How some guy scan spend $200 a week on books is beyond me. Especially those with kids and wives. I hate spending more than $10 on books that's why I hunt down books at con and used book stores for the lowest price.

2) Availability. This is where we have the issue. It's not that minority books don't sale-they do. What they do that most books don't is SELL OUT.

How can a person try out a minority lead book if they sell out quickly? And don't get reprinted? Static, Miles Morales, I Vampire, Vibe and until recently Batwoman sold out constantly in my city.
You can't find those guys in the back issue bins or used bookstores. Unless someone sold their set. Your only choice is the trade and it might be too late.

There is your difference. If I run a comic book store I can get a person to try Aquaman because I have plenty of issue in stock. I would say the majority of your minority lead books (Marvel too) and Swamp Thing, Animal Man and a few others-fit that boat.

So if you are DC what do you do?

Do you put a jumping on issue for those books online for everyone to read for free?
Do you put an online code to a digital copy (sample issue) of that book in your top sellers?
Do you make some issues a dollar? If you want to get readers instead of do cheesy gimmicks why not do a dollar issue in September? Or half price?
DC Digest? 256 pages with 4-5 stories? Like Archie?
Do you forget the single issue comic and do one shots every 4 months or a complete graphic novel each year?

Or do you bring back DC Showcase?

[Lucette]

I've pointed out this before, but DC is publishing the most diverse book on the stands at the moment, Federal Bureau of Physics, which features Indian-American and Latina leads, an Asian-American transwoman, and whatever the hell Stu Cicero is. It's also a very, very good book. Now, like most people, I would like to see DC do better with representation, and I think supporting a book like FBP sends a message that these kinds of books can sell. If a book like FBP can gain some traction specifically because it's well-done with a diverse cast, DC may get the idea that a superhero book along those lines could be something people want to see. Talent seeps in from the margins these days.

Has there ever been a trans character in superhero comics - I mean including either the hero or their friends/family?

The DC universe has a lot of diverse characters that they just don't use, or they just don't stick. Like OMAC for instance, it was actually pretty good, it's just a shame people didn't recognize it until after it was cancelled, and Kevin Kho was asian, that's what DC should be doing more of. Justice League United has equinox, and in addition to her, has supergirl and stargirl, two more women than the justice league. .

Alanna Lewis seems to have at least some black ancestry (you don't say African American in Canada) - though Lewis is usually a Jewish surname. We don't know enough about her background yet - though she does seem very feisty to the point of almost taking on Lobo. In the original 50's version she was the damsel in distress, something that would not play well in the present, so I think that it gave the author more of a license to reinvent her.

Equinox's friend Helen and grandmother have been introduced so far - the latter is Cree for sure.

1. It would be great if that worked, but it's been shown that readers don't care for new characters all that much. They don't buy the books they are in. So in terms of achieving success and getting the black characters in front of readers, having it be someone tied to or a remake of an existing character seems to be more effective.

3. It's unclear whether it does or doesn't, but the opposite notion "we should just have straight white male characters because they sell better" is not something anybody wants to stand behind in today's world.

If one accepts the premise that old characters sell better than new characters, then probably the best strategy is to introduce secondary characters in solo books who can later become primary once they become more known - or new characters to team books. Batman might be a white straight male which people buy because they know him, but whose to say who will be the characters whose faces are familiar in the future.

I'm going to wait for sales numbers before I say anything about the current Ms. Marvel book (although it is very good and I've enjoyed it).

For JLU, Lemire tried to make up for the fact that he was a straight white male by going up to the communities where the comic would be set and talk to the people there taking in their advice so that he could get the culture right. Although it is hard to tell at present one way or the other, the pre-launch was full of stories with him trying his best to get the culture right and also familiarize himself as much as possible with Cree legends before writing the story. I am saying this because both Lemire's Equinox and Ms Marvel are teen girls who are not white - which does invite a certain amount of comparison between the two - though maybe there needs to be a few more issues on the latter first. Both girls come from traditional environments. It is not just that they are younger, more female and less white than the average superhero, but there is also what the writer does with their cultures that are important. There are some kids who want to escape their culture and become more mainstream - and comics may be an escape for those who feel too burdened by the expectations at home. However, for the Cree, they went through the whole experience with residential schools where they tried to 'kill the Indian in the child' so maintaining one's culture is seen as an act of defiance against that and something worth either holding onto or rediscovering.

Think that such an article, once written will probably leave out media comparisons between Muslims and First Nations people.

[Kasper Cole]

Has there ever been a trans character in superhero comics - I mean including either the hero or their friends/family?

Yes, courtesy of the people at Milestone comics. Masquerade of Blood Syndicate was a trans man.

[FanboyStranger]

Yes, courtesy of the people at Milestone comics. Masquerade of Blood Syndicate was a trans man.

Also the lead character in the Deathwish mini written by Maddie Blaustein, who was born Adam Blaustein.

Peter Milligan explored it in Shade, but it was caused by the M-Vest and Shade's subconcious urges.

Rachel Pollack had a trans character in her Doom Patrol run, but I can't remember the name.

[ed2962]

Marvel had a character called Cloud in the Defenders, but I'm not sure if that character counts as trans.

[Prime]

Well...I would like a Latino or Indian Superman....

[SilverZeal]

This is true, but that's likely because the content of superhero comic books has a history of not speaking to and/or alienating people outside the White male demographic. I always find it interesting that manga has such a wide range of different sorts of fans (speaking of their gender and background), but American super hero comics don't. I think that goes to show that comics aren't a White male medium, but the content of American superhero comics doesn't often connect with many other different types of people. I think the only people who can change that are people in the industry. By this point, it is a tough thing to change, but I think they got themselves in that situation.

Here is an interesting video on the subject:


As for Batwing, I never read it because, from what I know, I don't like the concept of the character. I like Batman, but Batman from Africa and then young Black Batman just don't interest me at all. It's just conceptually a silly idea to me, personally.

U definitely shd read d 1st 12 issues....just were SUPERB den it hobgobbled downwrds frm der.

Zavimbe(African) was/is d tru batwingin our/SZ eyes, NOT interestd in Fox.jr.

Pls explain wats "silly"abt d idea of Batwing? Hw was it any diffrnt frm mking a solo on any of d xcters frm Batman.Inc?

[SilverZeal]

Well...I would like a Latino or Indian Superman....

.....& Asian & Native American supaman.

We/SZ were VERY displsd 2 c yet anothr blk supaman in E2 whose supes suit is going 2 b modelld aftr Blu Marvl frm Marvl comix.

Der's alrdy a Blk supaman frm Earth 23 who also happns 2 b a president & faaaar mo interestg, it mk u wanda y didnt dey just go with ICON instead if dey wntd a blk pwrhse in E2 but if it had 2 b anothr version of supes den he shd hv bn any other non-Caucasian race/ethnicity but blk in order 2 feel fresh & actual diverse.

Der is alrdy Mr.T in E2 who is nt getting any devlpmnt in E2 & we all knw d limit rgrding blk xcters on teams in DC soit wud hv bn superb 2 Asian, Latino or Native American supaman & Mr.T side-by-side.

[John Venus]

I liked the original Batwing and the plot points they had there. I stuck with the changes because I hoped this book would eventually go somewhere like it did in the beginning. Sadly, I don't know what kind of direction they were headed with this. Same with the Mr Terrific title.

Once they made the change, they should have put Fox Batwing on a team. His solo was getting lost behind all of the other Bat titles. Vixen and Bronze Tiger are wasting away right now. Hopefully they'll be apart of the new Suicide Squad relaunch. Mr Terrific is going to appear in the Earth 2 weekly but which Mr T are we going to get? Hopefully not the one from the last solo series.

I don't like to come up with imaginary titles but I always liked the idea of a 'Bat Family' title ala the one we had in the 70's that starred Batgirl and Robin. Now that the Bat Family has become so huge, I think a title like that is needed more than ever. You could have Batwing regularly teaming up with characters like Robin, Batgirl, Batwoman and it could be a haven for Bat characters who can't support their own ongoings.

I haven't read the Batwing title yet but I like the idea of Luke Fox: son of Lucius Fox who is a more tech-focused superhero in the vein of Batman Beyond. He certainly has potential.

Now that you've mentioned Bronze Tiger, does anyone else feel that the Martial Arts world of DC has been neglected? Bronze Tiger, Lady Shiva, Richard Dragon, Connor Hawke, Cassandra Cain, Renee Montoya and various other characters are either neglected or unrecognizable now. I don't know, it feels like in the late 90's and early 00's, DC has a bustling martial arts world in it with various characters undergoing rigorous training of both mind and body. There was a diverse group of characters who fit under that bill.

Speaking of Shiva, I hope to god if a writer decides to revert her to her classic self they don't do the old tired plot line of her challenging X character and either losing or that character being an equal to her or that we get a repeat of the Huntress vs Shiva bs again. Powerful characters shouldn't have more than a handful of people who can challenge them. Yes, a big part of her character is the fact that she develops her skill but even more interestingly she is a very morally gray character. She even teamed up with Batman to stop Ras Al Ghul from destroying the world during the 'Legacy' event. There are more facets to her than being a challenge seeker.

[John Venus]

U definitely shd read d 1st 12 issues....just were SUPERB den it hobgobbled downwrds frm der.

Zavimbe(African) was/is d tru batwingin our/SZ eyes, NOT interestd in Fox.jr.

Pls explain wats "silly"abt d idea of Batwing? Hw was it any diffrnt frm mking a solo on any of d xcters frm Batman.Inc?

I can't speak for Desh but I've seen more than a few folks who say they don't like spin-off characters: Supergirl, Superwoman, Batwoman, Batgirl, etc, etc.

As for me, after seeing characters like Barbara Gordon, Kate Kane, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd and the other Robin's, I am fine with 'spin off' characters so long as they manage to stand on their own as characters and bring something new to the table. Afterall, every single superhero was inspired by Superman. Without him there wouldn't be any Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Captain Marvel or any other superhero comics.