I’m starting to understand why there aren’t many Black female
superheroes or comic book characters. The obstacles a creator has to face in
presenting a Black woman in a solo book can be frustrating and even
overwhelming at times.
As a creator of Black female superheroines like Isis and
E’steem, I’ve run into so a lot of resistance. And sadly, most of it comes from
Black people.
One of the big challenges I run into is when some Black
people try to turn things regarding Black female superheroines into a
lightskin/darkskin debate. Instead of judging characters like Isis by the
content of their character they only look at the color of their skin. And they
use skintone as an excuse to not read any of the material I’m presenting to
them. For them a character like Isis or E’steem just isn’t “Black” even though
they’re created by a Black man and are rooted in African-American history and culture.
However, a Black character like Storm and Black Panther
created by Jewish and White men are considered “Black” by those same Black
masses.
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After telling me that Isis isn’t “Black” these same
people launch into shaming tactics and ad-hominem attacks telling me that I’m
colorstruck. Some will even go on to say I prefer light-skinned women in real
life. A few will tell me I even hate Black women.
Even though the White haired blue-eyed Storm doesn’t look
anything like any of the Sistas on the block. Nor does she act like them.
Because many never give Isis a chance they never get past the
surface to learn about the substance of the character. If they stayed to read
the stories, they’d come to understand that Isis’ golden skintone is supposed
to symbolize or reflect on her Heliopolitan heritage. In Ancient Egypt and
Nubia statues of the gods were made of gold and adorned with precious stones to
show how much they valued their relationship with the gods.
Moreover, Isis’ golden skintone is to add a little diversity
to the ranks of Black heroines. In comics and fantasy Black comes in more than
one shade and that’s not really reflected in genre fiction and comics. Almost
every Black character is the same shade of brown. And when it comes to the
genre someone needs to make the statement that we all don’t look alike.
And if they stayed to read the stories they’d find that the
goddess next door is a lot like them and has their experience in her
adventures. I make every effort to incorporate not just Heliopolitan mythology
into the Isis series but African-American history and Black culture into the
stories. Much of what’s unique about being a Black woman is featured in every
Isis series story, and many miss out on some great stories because they judge
the character based on a skintone instead of judging the content on its merits.
A few Black people I’ve encountered who don’t “get” fantasy try
to project their reality into the life of the character. Many Black people just
can’t allow themselves to suspend their disbelief about a Black female heroine existing.
Instead of just reading the story and enjoying it as is, they start trying to
pick apart the concept. Saying this wouldn’t happen. Or that wouldn’t happen.
Some even start getting angry and start talking about what they’d do in a
particular situation.
Some will tell me that Isis can’t be the daughter of Osiris.
However, these same Black people will go out and buy Monster High Dolls for
their kids and have no problem believing it’s actually biologically possible
for undead creatures like vampires and dead beings like mummies can have
daughters like Draculaura and Cleo De Nile. Again, because Monster High comes
from a White Corporation, Black people have no problem accepting the concepts
as believable in the realm of reality.
However, these same Black people will have a problem
accepting a concept of Osiris having a daughter. Or that Osiris’ daughter would
identify as a Black woman. A few would even dare to call her a White woman
based on an image.
Even though in the first Isis story she clearly says that the
people with skin her color and hair her texture were Negroes. Even though she
says in Chapter 15 of the first Isis story that she experienced racism and
White Supremacy first hand in the 1800s’ during her travels in the North, had
her home in the South burned to the ground by the Ku Klux Klan and even witnessed
her husband being lynched and saw her son murdered before her very eyes before
these same urban terrorists before they tried to rape her.
If that’s not Black enough for some of these Negroes I don’t
know what would be considered “Black” for them.
What I’ve run into with Isis with some Black people regarding
Isis and E’steem are the clearest cases of cognitive distortion I’ve ever seen.
Because the concepts are coming from a Black man they have a hard time
believing it.
Because Isis is a Black heroine not sanctioned by the White liberal
mainstream media many Black people just have a problem dealing with the ideas
presented to them. For many Black folks, unless a White liberal in mainstream
media approves of a Black concept it’s not safe for some “Black” people to
embrace.
Another challenge I run into is Black people trying to
project their values on the characters. With the E’steem series some will complain
about E’steem still having a demonic visage.
However, these same people will have no problem embracing a
White demonic character such as a Ghost Rider, the Demon Etrigan, or Chaos!
Comics Purgatori. And most people of all races will embrace Todd McFarlane’s
Spawn without thinking twice about it.
On E’steem some will say I’m trying to promote Satanism.
Others will say that I’m trying to promote devil worship.
When it’s not any of those things. E’steem was inspired by my
love of Salli Richardson Whitfield’s acting. Back in 1995 when I was watching Gargoyles, I learned she was the first
Black woman to land a lead in a Disney project. Inspired, I wanted to create a
character that I believed would show her acting range. With bad guys being more
memorable than heroes in Disney movies, I thought E’steem could be on the same
level as the Ursulas and Malefecents. Besides, what better villain to take on a
Heliopolitan goddess than a she-demon?
As the character evolved, she became her own person. And as
she changed I tried to give readers a more balanced picture of the character to
make her a bit more multidimensional than your standard Disney villain. That
was one of the reasons I brought the character into The Temptation of John Haynes and put her through her own character transformation arc.
What’s even sadder is that many of these same people will get
upset about E’steem becoming a Christian at the end of The Temptation of John Haynes and grouse about her still having her demon powers a the conclusion of
the story. Not understanding that I’m crafting a second character
transformation arc, where the character changes and grows over time, they
insist that the character turn into some Maude Flanders type character who
bullies and shames people into seeing the same light she’s discovered.
What’s even stranger is that these same Black people will
look at a White character such as a John Constantine who deals in occult, magic,
demons and religion like E’steem does and praises him as a complex
multidimensional character. And they’ll have no problem embracing a White woman
like Zatanna who also uses magic and deals with the same issues E’steem faces
in her adventures.
When it comes to Black male heroes I don’t see half the
obstacles I’ve run into with trying to create Black female superheroines. With
a Black male character, readers will embrace them without question. However, when
it comes to creating a Black female heroines, I’m finding there’s a huge wall
that I’ve had to climb to try to reach readers of color to show them what the
sistas have to offer them.
Black women are strong and courageous. And we rarely see that
strength of character and courage depicted in the pages of comic books and
fantasy fiction. Over the past few years I’ve been trying to balance that
picture out by presenting those stories of strength and courage in the Isis and
E’steem series.
I’d like to think Black women could do better than being a
supporting character like Storm, Rocket or Misty Knight or an ancillary
character like Bumblebee or Vixen. I’d like to believe that a Black heroine had
the richness and complexity to carry her own book the way Isis and E’steem do
and tell their own stories about being a Black heroine the way Isis and E’steem
do right now. I’d like to believe that little girls can imagine themselves as
goddesses and see themselves as taking the lead in their own world than being
in the background of someone elses’. That’s how I imagined the world over 15
years ago when I created Isis and E’steem, but I don’t know if any other Black
people share my vision for the future.
I believe there is an audience for a Black heroine in comic
books and the fantasy genres. And that’s why I’ll keep persevering in the face
of all the obstacles in front of me. The more I struggle, the more progress I
believe I’ll make.
To get readers into the adventures of Black heroines, I’m
offering the Isis/E’steem crossover on Kindle Unlimited and in paperback this
summer. In both stories readers will see what makes Black heroines great and
what makes their stories distinct. And I’m planning a major story in the Isis
series that will be completely immersive in Black culture and the Black
experience. Something I think will get readers to think about what’s truly
distinct about the experiences of Black women in genre fiction and comics.
Shawn,
ReplyDeleteYou falling into.the super talented, but a bit hard headed category.
Dont you understand ? Blacks are extremely color sensitive when it comes to portrayals of themselves and justifiably so. White supremacy has had centuries of tell Blacks that they are unnattractive and.can only.be attractive if they are"light, bright, near white".
It is interesting that you say the Esteem was based on Sally Richardson and your admiration/desire for her. In case you didnt notice, Sally Richardson is Mullatto !. She does not in any way shape or form look like most Black women. You have merel6 confirmed what
many suspected.....you have a 'thing' for the light skinned women and use them as inspiration.
Clearly you must understand that this is clearly unsettling to Black people, but Black women in specific. How can you ask them to overlook that when that issue is one of the main ones Black women and Black girls deal with ?
You are being myopic and insensitive to your target market. They perceive it as disrespect. What you intend in your mind is irrelevant. The recipients of the message are offended.
As a businessman and a conscientious person you should make some changes....even as a experiment just to see it works to increase sales.
Dont cut off your nose to spite your face.....pennyqise and pound foolish.
Shawn,
ReplyDeleteYou falling into.the super talented, but a bit hard headed category.
Dont you understand ? Blacks are extremely color sensitive when it comes to portrayals of themselves and justifiably so. White supremacy has had centuries of tell Blacks that they are unnattractive and.can only.be attractive if they are"light, bright, near white".
It is interesting that you say the Esteem was based on Sally Richardson and your admiration/desire for her. In case you didnt notice, Sally Richardson is Mullatto !. She does not in any way shape or form look like most Black women. You have merel6 confirmed what
many suspected.....you have a 'thing' for the light skinned women and use them as inspiration.
Clearly you must understand that this is clearly unsettling to Black people, but Black women in specific. How can you ask them to overlook that when that issue is one of the main ones Black women and Black girls deal with ?
You are being myopic and insensitive to your target market. They perceive it as disrespect. What you intend in your mind is irrelevant. The recipients of the message are offended.
As a businessman and a conscientious person you should make some changes....even as a experiment just to see it works to increase sales.
Dont cut off your nose to spite your face.....pennyqise and pound foolish.
Deek Salli Richardson calls herself Black. And she has done more for Black women than some so-called Dark skinned women. In addition to getting that lead in Gargoyles, she has helped numerous Black Causes and has worked with directors like Ava DuVerunay when she was obscure and unknown. I go by her record in the community and that's why she's a major inspiration for me.
ReplyDeleteThat whole lightskin/Darkskin nonsense is one of the reasons why Black people can't grow. Black is Black IMO, And these color issues keep people from seeing the quality of content because there's so much focus on skin color.
Here is a suggestion.
ReplyDeleteHow about you do a KICKSTARTER campaign for some new cover art featuring Black women.
This way it wont affect your profits...
Guess you're not gonna buy a book.
ReplyDeleteI contributed to one of your prior kickstarters.... but it didnt work out....
ReplyDeleteI would love to buy your books for my girls and nieces etc.....but in good conscious i cant....not with those images....