Can a Brother Be from Krypton and not Compton?

I was just perusing the Racialicious blog and happened to come across an article that originated from the Toronto Star. The piece centered on the current state of Black and minority representation in the comic book industry. In a nutshell, the more things change the more things stay the same. As expected, we are seeing more heroes of color but not without controversy. The article seemed to focus on what I have dubbed the replacement hero effect as it relates to minority super-heroism. This replacement effect essentially entails a Black or minority character taking on the identity of a hero that was already established and formerly White. Examples of this form of characterization would be (Black) Goliath, Mr. Terrific, Firestorm, Blue Beetle, The Atom and Nick Fury(Ultimate Universe version). In many respects this is a form of laziness on the part of the writer and perhaps a form of liberal racism. Instead of creating a new hero and having his/her race be an incidental factor, putting a Black face in an old costume is simply patronizing in the guise of diversity. Just as in any other industry, only will the development of stand alone minority based companies insure that we get the representation and fairness that people of color desire. Don't expect a fictional(or real) otherworldly White hero to save your imagery-create your own. For more on the state of Black characters in comics check below.

Hero deficit: Comic books in decline