In terms of race, comic books certainly offer stereotypes. In the comic book timeline, we have seen a prevalant source of stereotypes. During the 1910's and 1920's, when the comic book industry was essentially started, racial stereotypes were excepted as the social norm, which is why they were often seen in comics during this time. As with most other issues in America, the comic book industry followed the culture and changes. As time progressed, the stereotypes changed, giving African Americans, in particular, a continuously changing image. At first, the comic writers were very blatant with their stereotypes. But as the times changed, they tried to be more liberal with their projections of racial stereotypes. Although the writers started to make a conscious effort to rid the comics of these stereotypes, they found it quite difficult. So although the comic industry has tried to rid itself of the negative image of racial stereotypes and has done a decent job in doing so, stereotypes have been and essentially always will be a little piece of the comic book industry.
A blog for and about the intersection of comic books and American history.