Why Black people are less likely to be comic fans

Let's all be real, comic books are racist and sexist. From normally half naked superheroines to sterotypical Black characters being "tough guys" from the 'hood to Asian superheroes being almost always linked to martial arts. African Americans were excluded from comic books in the 30s, 40s and 50s but in the late 60s that changed. With the exception of Black Panther pretty much all the Black superheroes were sterotypical "blaxplotation" characters (like Luke Cage) or token Black characters or lame sidekicks (like Falcon). But back in the 60s and 70s Black folks were so happy to see themselves in comics that they bought them almost just as much as White folks. But what changed? Black people changed...they started to see that Black superheroes were pretty much nobodies in comparison to their White counterparts and they started to lose interest. Even today in 2016 we pretty much have Black superheroes still in the same place as they were 40 years ago. The Big 2 (Marvel and DC) try to give Black heroes more important roles by having them replace their White mentors for a period of time but this tactic doesn't much interest the Black comic community. Not only that but Black superheroes are rarely, if ever really that powerful (or interesting) and if they are they're not used much. So would White folks still buy comics if all their White heroes were Cyborgs, Luke Cages and Batwings? Hell no. Most Black comic fans have a White hero as their favorite and it's mostly because of the reasons i've stated. Yes, most of the most popular superheroes were created during Jim Crow but they've had 40 plus years to make Black and other non-White superheroes the right way. But what do you think? And do any non-Black people have a favorite superhero who's Black?

are you serious

Wut

There are comic book references in Rap and Hip Hop going back to Enter the 36 Chambers. You're insane if you think black people don't read comics. They're just more low key about it.

@kar-el said:

Nice. White pride worldwide, 14/88, all that good stuff that pisses you off.

@thepreface: No. White, Asian and Hispanic people are way more numurous in being comic book fans. I've been going to comic book stores since 1992 and i'm usually the only Black dude in there. From the late 60s to early 80s i'd agree with you though but not in the past 30 years, no.

White people this. Black people that. God damn I get tired of hearing this shit.

@kar-el: Fair enough. But a couple brothers I know read their shit at home instead of posting up in the comic book shop like it's a street corner. You there's a "nerd" or "lame" stigma associated with comic books. That's not exactly a good look if you're trying to bag ladies. That was the mentality coming up anyway. Ironically, when you're a grown ass dude you tend not to give a shit.

I remember reading that the majority of people on this site are black, so... no.

You have this chip on your shoulder. You can't fathom the idea that anybody - especially a black person - would like a black superhero, when that is hardly the case. People like John Stewart, Black Panther, Static, Cyborg, Mr. Terrific, Blue Marvel, Bishop, Luke Cage, etc. but they can like white characters, just like I can like black/Asian characters. Just because you don't like these characters doesn't mean that others don't like them.

Not everything is a racial / gender dispute.

@jedixman: What this guy said.

@silkyballfro94: Me too. But i'm a realist and i just tell it like it is. If people actually addressed and fixed these problems then people like me would have nothing to say. Blame society. A great poet by the name of Tupac Shakur once said: "I was given this world, i didn't make it".

Sighs. You are right for my point of view.

@thepreface: Really? I think that thinking is outdated now with movies like The Avengers and Ironman making over a billion dollars. Ever since the first Spiderman movie came out in 2002 most people see superheroes as a cool thing. Now back in the 90s you'd be called a nerd but i'd still be the guy sportin my Green Lantern and Superman shirts. Most people respected my "comic fanboyness" especially people who knew that i draw. I tell girls i'm into comics and they never seem to mind. But i never acted like a real nerd or super square. I have a diverse personality which most people gravitate towards whether their ghetto/thug/hood or educated/conservative/upper middle class

Let's be honest unless black people start taking an active interest in writing and drawing comics it'll always be like this.

@jedixman: I respect your opinion but i highly doubt most people on here are Black. I want to like Black superheroes and i want non-Black people to like them as well. But you gotta be real with yourself...if characters like John Stewart, Icon and Steel were White they would suck. The only thing that makes half of Black characters good is that they're Black. As an African American myself i have all the right to critique Black superheroes, especially since 95% of the time they aren't written by other Black people. Black superheroes that're wrtten well and are positive role models (as far as fictional characters are concerned) are Black Panther (an African king), Mr.Terriffic (the 3rd smartest man on Earth), Night Thrasher (millionare/CEO/crimefighter). Now what about Black superheroes who are poorly written that're negative role models: Rage (a boy in a grown man's body with anger issues [sterotype]), Luke Cage (an ex-con tough guy with a bad attitude [sterotype]), John Stewart (originally he was depicted as an angry Black guy who challenged authority [sterotype] but later became a more grounded character). You seeing my point yet, bruh?

@gokuss4z: I completely agree, but even back in 1993 when it did happen with Milestone Media they made the same mistake Marvel & DC did: they made most of their characters look like them, which turned off most non-Black comic fans and Milestone was forever dubbed a company that just made "Black superheroes" instead of just superheroes

@kar-el: Dang that sucks.

TL;DR.

Black comic fan checking in!

Also, Luke Cage is a hardworking FATHER too and faithful husband. Not sterotype.

While I agree that over sexualizing of women might be the reason why more guys read comic then girl even though there exist plenty of comic that are for both female and male audience, it seem like they tend to direct it at males.

That being said, racist? Not alot of black people read comic? Please show me something to back that up because frankly there lots of black people reading comics.

You just going forgot Milestone Comics.

@jgames: Where? Detroit? Washington DC? I've lived in L.A. and The San Francisco Bay Area all my life and have went to dozens of comic book stores and a few conventions and i hardly ever saw other Black folks other than myself

Well this country was taken over by white people, so you can't change the past, however I agree there needs to be more diversity in comic books, and we need more comic book characters that represent racial minorities as well as racial problems.

How did it turn-off most of there fans, if anything the main concept of milestone was minorities it did it's job very well it wrote Blacks,White,Gays,Lesbian,Bisexual all well. Some characters are a play on other characters but it worked Icon and Rocket are very notable

Spawn and Blue Marvel I guess were steps in the right direction?

I am going to guess this is bait.

@staticdwanyemcduffie: I gotta be real: Milestone comics sucked, bruh. Icon was a boring Superman rip off who got his ass whupped by bang babies, Hardware was an Ironman rip off, Blitzen was a Flash rip off. The stories and lessons were good because they showcased the struggles of African Americans but the heroes weren't that special and all their villians extra sucked. I tried to like Milestone, especially Icon, but i had to finally admit to myself that compared to other Superman rip offs like Hyperion, Apollo and Mr. Majestic that Icon wasn't that good of a character. Static is really the only good original character from Milestone but he's not my cup 'o tea..never was into any heroes with electric powers.

I'd read if it was punctuated better.

@kar-el:Very interesting points however most of them are not true.

@jedixman: Well Done.

So we just going forget Blood Syndicate, Rocket, Shadow Cabinet, Heroes. I don't agree with a lot of what you said but pretty sure if you didn't like it atleast some african amercians can relate to what was going on for these milestone heroes

@staticdwanyemcduffie: Rocket was actually ok. Never read Heroes though. I mostly own issues of Icon and Hardware. Don't agree with me if you want but it's the truth. It's the reason why Milestone comics are mostly found in the dollar racks of your local comic shop

@guardiandevil83: Yes he is, now...after only 30 plus years of being a sterotype

@hyper_temporal_shift: Spawn was good (he wasn't really my cup 'o tea though) but his popularity and interest level was short lived.

Blue Marvel is who i'm rootin for but he's already been tarnished when he resigned and retired from superheroics just because he could've potentially started a race war because the early 1960s wasn't ready for a Black superhero so he went into hiding for 30 years while the rest of the Marvel heroes risked their lives everyday. Now in his new team comic "The Ultimates" he barely if ever uses his vast powers. And then people wonder why i started this thread

We prefer to be called "The Blacks."

shut up tumblr

i'd say Spawn (Al Simmons) GL John Stewart or Bp are the best.

No powerful Black superheroes?

Spawn literally told god and satan to sit the **** down and be quiet as he remade the universe without them.

The problem is, you're equating strength with being a good character.

Black Manta is driven, focused, deadly, and pretty much awesome. But, I'll never back him vs. Superman.

Static was modern, fun, relatable, and his villains were pretty cool. He was an entertaining character to watch.

Cyborg is among the most powerful beings on the planet. Did you see his comic, While in stasis, he stopped fires, stopped a terror attack, and contacted emergency personelle without moving and told Superman to his face he could kill him easily.

Just to name a few.

He made another thread asking "why isn't there more powerful black characters?" Yes, he does think strength = a good character. At the end of the day, that's what this is about.

In comics, and in life, we need less division and more unity.

@opthomasprime1: I agree. But they made the division by having so few good Black superheroes, not me. I'm just tellin it like it is

@maverick_6: Really? After issue 10 or 11 i kinda lost interest in Spawn so i'm clueless of what happened afterwards