Well, Stan Lee did recently intimate the "revolutionary" concept for more Black imagery in comicdom due in part to the emergence of President-elect Obama. Perhaps we are finally getting to see Lee's prediction come to fruition. I just happened to peruse Newsarama yesterday, when they highlighted a story revolving around the subtlety by which the current New Krypton storyline has infused minority representation in Superman's mythos. Here's a snippet from the Newsarama piece in question:
For those keeping their eyes open, there was a welcome return in last week’s Superman #683 in Part 9 of the “New Krypton” storyline (featuring 100,000 Kryptonians like Superman coming to earth) – non-white Kryptonians were clearly shown.
There had been some “squint and you can see them” individuals in group shots earlier in the storyline, but the Sergio Leone-style “showdown” page (extreme close-ups of faces and eyes looking at one another) showed Kryptonian African and Asian analogues. (Preview of Superman #683 here)
Big deal?
Well, kind of. Without opening the larger can of worms in regards to how, by and large, superheroes are still the domain of the idealized white man (and woman), for the first thirty or so years of its existence (shown in flashbacks and time-travel stories), Superman’s homeworld of Krypton was all-white. It was only in 1971’s Superman #234 - 33 years after his debut in 1938 - that the first non-white Kryptonian was seen. A few months later in issue #239, the idea of non-white Kryptonians was expanded upon.
“In issue #239, a two-page map showed that Kryptonians Of Color had an island all to themselves, which is pretty embarrassing,” says Mark Waid, Boom! Studios Editor-in-Chief, occasional DC Comics writer, and pretty much expert in all things Superman. “I cringe to tell you this, but the Kryptonians of Color were all on ‘Vathlo Island, Home of a Highly Advanced Black Race.’ It wasn't until the mid-70s, when more ‘World of Krypton’ back-up stories ran more regularly, that we really saw any ethnicity whatsoever on the planet.”
Isn't it peculiar (or primitive or shameful-whichever euphemism you may want to choose) that in this day and age, minorities still have to fight for diversity of imagery? Pardon me as I go into geek mode but if we can imagine humanoids on different planets-why is it a stretch to assume that there wouldn't be racial stratification on another human analogue planet. This idea was addressed more than a decade ago when Star Trek introduced Tuvok, another Black other worldly character into that franchise's mythos. What do our readers think about this issue? Is this a matter of legitimate plausibilty or political correctness? And while we await your answer, click on the link below for the Newsarama article in its entirety:
Supermen of Color: The Non-White Kryptonians
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