>> I am going to have to ask for some time in replying- <<

No problem!

>> I know you are busy too (fine work BTW) and you mention "wasting time" more than once in your response. If you would rather drop this I understand. <<

I don't want to put any preconditions on our debate. But a lot of it seems to be your saying that things have improved greatly since the beginning of comics. Of course they have and I acknowledge that.

Apparently you're looking at the glass as half full while I'm looking at it as half empty. Let's not spend too much time debating this when we're looking at the same glass. If all comics were as inclusive as, say, X-FORCE or GENERATION X, I wouldn't have much to complain about.

Those are good examples, because Moonstar is as likely to lead as Cannonball, or Jubilee as likely as Husk. In other words, the diverse characters all have a chance to shine. The power doesn't devolve to the WASP figure, as it does in the original Star Trek, The Next Generation, or Voyager.

I'll say only that I think we have a ways to go—that we're only halfway there, roughly. Sure, there are minority characters in most comics—but if you subtract urban, New York-style blacks, the number decreases noticeably. My point, again, is to wonder where are the 26% of Americans who are minorities. Where are the Vietnamese, the Russians, the Swedes, the rural blacks, the Armenians, the Central Americans, the Iranians, the Appalachian hillbillies, the Orthodox Jews, the Indians (both kinds), et al.? We simply don't see much of the rich tapestry that is America.

If you think characters like Appalachian hillbillies are unlikely subjects for comics, I have to ask...why? Look at how successful The Beverly Hillbillies, The Waltons, and The Little House on the Prairie series were. Why couldn't a Green Lantern or a Captain America operate out of the boonies?

I think an acquaintance once proposed a series in which a ninja Eskimo came to New York on some quest. Why not? The "fish out of water" theme has worked countless times...so let's see more of it in comics.

Instead, comics operate like TV and the movies. They give us urban blacks...Irish cops...Italian mafiosos...and that's about it. Racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented, as are gays, the disabled, people of different faiths, and so forth.

About the only people who aren't underrepresented are WASPs. Can we agree on that much, at least?

>> If we do stop now though, I would ask that you keep me on your mailing list <<

Sure! You're welcome to join my Indian Comics Irregular e-mail newsletter, in which I address these issues every couple of weeks. And you're welcome to keep checking my site for new postings. I'm adding items every week.

>> I do plan to sit down this weekend and order those first two issues of Peace Party. <<

Good show! If you like them, tell your friends. And tell your local shop to order a few copies.

Rob

Related links
More evidence of Rob's thesis
Another take on this argument:  PEACE PARTY #2's Author's Forum (extended version)
Culture and Comics Need Multicultural Perspective 2000
Why write about Native Americans?

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