I can't quite remember when I found FLARE online. But she reminded me so much of Dazzler, that I loved her instantly thinking of her as a combination of Dazzler & Wonder Woman. Recently with Wowio.com I've had a chance to peruse issues and back issues. I've made another go at the Herioc Publishing website.
I ended up sending this letter in their feedback form:
Is there any particular reason you have an all white universe?
Will you ever have characters of colour and specifically black characters among your heroes?
I think I saw one mention after much searching of your site of a possible heroine but I could not figure out what super powers the afro-ed, short shorts wearing, wiggling her backside to the camera, individual was supposed to have. And I certainly couldn't find any book layouts or panels of her interacting with others.
Is Heroic Publishing, pro Apartheid, pro Segregation?
Do you simply not want blacks and other minorities to buy your products?
As a little girl, Alison Blair and Tandy Bowen were my heroes, they could light up the dark. They made nightime not scary. I adored them, totally adored them. I still adore them. Except I'm old enough now to realize I've never seen a brown or black person with those kinds of powers. They tend to get shadow powers.
Terri Feran could join the first two in a heroic triad of characters that make my inner little girl get up and sock'em rock'em punch'em.
But it's incredibly demoralizing to me, to look at the comics produced and see no people of colour at all. Maybe here or there in the backgrounds, especially when one of the reformed Nazi characters is having a moment 'These people, these savages, these non pure bloods' but not heroes.
One would think that in a universe where there are heroes who were raised secretly in Brazil by Nazis to be the ubermen who'd rule the world, who then turned against their masters, there'd be some importance in showing a black or brown or red or golden face among the heroes and their new allies.
Heroic's website is partially confusing however, so maybe there are wonderful characters of colour in their universe that I just can't find with a site map.
I followed the old Champions series published by Heroic. The only character I can think of was unfortunately a villain -- Dark Malice. I'm not too familiar with their recent publications.
ReplyDeleteHm. Interested in their reply, if indeed there is one.
ReplyDeleteTigress is Egyptian...? Not that she's not a stereotype, but she seems to be of color. (Maybe.) Not sure if that's good or bad.
Marvel's Storm can technically command both light and shadow things (dark clouds and bright lightning), if that counts.
(No, I'm not defending anybody. Just, um... hm.)
Superhero of colour with light powers? Marvel's Monica Rambeau aka Captain Marvel II aka Photon aka Pulsar would fit that definition, but I'm not sure when she last appeared. Before she got her powers (in her origin story, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 (1982)), she was a police officer with the New Orleans harbor patrol.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while, but I recall that, originally, the Champions comic book was affiliated with the Champions role-playing game. After the two parted ways, I think the Champions write-ups included a black woman codenamed Quantum (she had energy powers of some sort). The current roster includes a Hispanic woman, I think. (I play the RPG, but I use my own universe, so my knowledge of the official setting is a little fuzzy).
ReplyDeleteThere's some compounding effect, I think, of the publishing industry and the additional demographic of pencil-and-paper roleplaying games.
Menshevik:
ReplyDeleteThank you! Even though I do feel embarrassed for having forgotten. Trying to find Monica is what led to me starting a comics blog in the first place. Every time I mentioned a black Captain Marvel, people used to look at me strangely. Finding her and entering the comics blogsphere were parallel tracks for me.
Thank you again for reminding me. I need to put her up in my tags lists and/or find another way to continually jog my memory. I think it got far too easy to forget her since everyone knew Dazzler and Dagger.
Note to self: BUY NEXTWAVE. You know you love it!
Karmakaze said:
I'll look up/into Quantum, thank you. Maybe if someone actually responds they'll mention her to me. Though if someone officially responds with 'Our demographic doesn't include...' I may lose it.
I'm not knocking your point. But that is one serious ass blind spot of privilege all the same.