Blacks in Comic Books - My Comments II

DC comics, in my opinion, has had an abysmal record on characters that are not white. There was, very briefly, a black man as Green Lantern. Black Lightning has come and gone a few times. Even aliens from outer space (e.g. Superman, Lobo) are white in the DC universe(s).

DC's most recent ventures into black characters are Steel, who came on to the scene during the "Death of Superman" story line. I do like this character because he is highly educated, takes care of his family, and, when he feels he has been treated badly by employers, goes out to start his own business WITHOUT FEELING BITTER! An important lesson in today's society, in my opinion. There are no other noteworthy black characters in the DC universe that I can think of. Other DC Charactes like Icon (DC — Milestone) failed due to lack of readership.

(Place large gap here for black comics and characters in the 1980s. Nothing noteworthy tht I can remember. Your comments??)

A comment on the comic book industry. I must point out that within the last five years, blacks are getting more opportunities in the comic book industry than ever before. London Nights is a publisher that is mostly black. Brian Stelfreeze, an independent artist that did the painted covers on "Batman, Shadow of the Bat" is a black man. (It should be noted here that Brian produced the cover art continuously for about four years — quite an accomplishment!) There are more independent studios who self-publish or publish under the "Image" comics logo. There are more black characters than ever before!

I read recently about Alonzo Washington, a black man who wrote and created a comic called "Omega Man." The comic book features "socially conscious super heroes of color." (Mr. Washington;'s words, not mine). The comic is published by the company he founded five years ago called "Omega 7 Inc." Alonzo says" At a young age, I used to take my action figures and paint them. I'd get some clay and change their features, give them an Afro or something and turn them into superheroes I'd make up — a black Superman or something"

The big question is, "Will this translate into black readership? Only time will tell. While the artists and writers, even publishers, have a greater percentage of blacks than ever before, where are the readers?

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