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.
The ruminations over new activity to bring Wonder Woman back to the small screen once again remind me of the unique place DC Comic characters occupy in our collective mind’s eye. The struggle to produce a Wonder Woman film says much about the challenge represented by the Amazon Warrior/Princess who does not need to be rescued. Despite the growth of women’s role in society, we still assume a paternal and maternal model for men and women's in society. While Wonder Woman is not barred from motherhood, she is not seeking to place herself within the familial framework in an obvious way. Indeed, the recent runs of Wonder Woman have been better in part, because they have embraced the character as who she is--warrior, diplomat, and leader. Wonder Woman is one of the key characters from DC, yet she has not had the iconic stories similar to Batman (The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, or Year One) or Superman ( Greatest Stories or Red Son) in print. Instead, many people know abo…
Comments