T Hedge Coke
02-25-2011, 06:57 PM
Comics can - sometimes - be behind the curve on presenting social realities, on being fair with representation on racial, cultural, gender, religious, political and other fronts. Especially superhero comics. Jack Kirby's Fourth World era may have been the first time hippies were present in the DCU and could be cool and sensible human beings, for instance. Hammy as that scene of a guy questioning Green Lantern (and, really, comics in general and the comics community) about inclusivity and representation, about involvement, it was kinda past due by the time it came.
Comics are full of hip on the move folks, though, so sometimes you get a comic shooting past the curve to actually be in their time, while other media are lagging.
You read Kirby's Mister Miracle, and Barda is unlike any woman in the DCU at that point. She's actually got depth and two feet she can stand on without swooning to death and no one was going to spank her for getting up in their business, you know? Her body language is unlike at other woman of that era in the DCU, even other superhuman women.
Batman and Nightwing have both been victims of rape, now, and were not for a second treated as weaker or lesser for it (even if some folks haaaaaate Damian, but whatev').
Arsenal, during Grayson's Titans run, was able to successfully clarify the difference between genetics and culture, so that it becomes clear that he is Dine, he thinks in Dine, counts in Dine, that's who he is. And she did it without having him suddenly sport a medicine wheel tattoo on his chest and half a dozen feathers poking out of his hair while he gained newly-discovered ancient NDN majikz.
Dwayne McDuffie got one great moment out of the JLA team he was sort of backed into, when it's clarified in dialogue how damn powerful that JLA team is that because it's full of women and nonwhite characters no one's going to care anyway; where's Superman and Flash?
What moments/comics have you read where you stop and kinda go, "It was time, but I'm surprised this comic went there when others weren't"?
Comics are full of hip on the move folks, though, so sometimes you get a comic shooting past the curve to actually be in their time, while other media are lagging.
You read Kirby's Mister Miracle, and Barda is unlike any woman in the DCU at that point. She's actually got depth and two feet she can stand on without swooning to death and no one was going to spank her for getting up in their business, you know? Her body language is unlike at other woman of that era in the DCU, even other superhuman women.
Batman and Nightwing have both been victims of rape, now, and were not for a second treated as weaker or lesser for it (even if some folks haaaaaate Damian, but whatev').
Arsenal, during Grayson's Titans run, was able to successfully clarify the difference between genetics and culture, so that it becomes clear that he is Dine, he thinks in Dine, counts in Dine, that's who he is. And she did it without having him suddenly sport a medicine wheel tattoo on his chest and half a dozen feathers poking out of his hair while he gained newly-discovered ancient NDN majikz.
Dwayne McDuffie got one great moment out of the JLA team he was sort of backed into, when it's clarified in dialogue how damn powerful that JLA team is that because it's full of women and nonwhite characters no one's going to care anyway; where's Superman and Flash?
What moments/comics have you read where you stop and kinda go, "It was time, but I'm surprised this comic went there when others weren't"?