
Canadian Comix News & Culture
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Sunday, March 18, 2007
Fear of a Black Superhero Planet
:: Posted by Bryan @ 3/18/2007 10:02:00 AM  Writing for the Toronto Star, Brad Mackay traces the decline of superhero comics and investigates the dearth of black heroes in U.S. comic books. If, as the director and Black Panther writer Reginald Hudlin states, "black culture is popular culture," then why are the superhero comic books published by Marvel and D.C. so lily white? Several comics writers and collectors are interviewed, with one of the most succinct explanations coming from Peter Birkemoe:
"Everything that these companies do is in complete isolation from true market forces. They are not now, nor have they been for 30 years, part of the mass media," says the co-owner of Toronto's most discerning comic shop, The Beguiling. "Companies run by fans with comics drawn by fans rarely think of catering to anyone but themselves, which unfortunately means comics aimed primarily at adult men who still want to read comics featuring characters suited to children's entertainment."
(above image: The Black Panther by Jack Kirby, 1967)Labels: comics history, floppies, Ontario, publishing, Toronto
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