In Terms of Race Do Comic Books Offer Stereotypes? In terms of race comic books do offer stereotypes. But when the comic book characters were first created it was not intentional. The creators were well intentioned liberals, trying to make progressive steps for minorities in comic books. The exaggerated characters created became offensive in most characters. Comic books are very concentrated versions of society. Stereotypes of minorities aren’t created by comics but they were enforced, perpetuated and emphasized. Comic books accent certain characteristics of the character being created. Most often when it is an African American character the comic creator may accent the elements that construct the subject as “Black”. When the creator does this, they exaggerate the elements making the character not only look African American but then also creating the character to “act black” this then creates the “super black.” Because of the heavily embellished elements of the African American character a generality is made. The generality is made because when a black character is created and defined he then represents the race creating or enforcing a stereotype.
A blog for and about the intersection of comic books and American history.
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