How Diversity Writing Is Ruining Diverse Characters

If you think I’m somehow “against diversity”, read this article. And this one. And this one here, Oh, here’s another one. Want more? I have them. My host will love the ad revenue and I will prove that not only am I in favor of diversity but I grew up with it. Modern writers, either due to their own egos or their own worldview, only remember something old existed if they can convince Hollywood to make their movie and the script they’ve been pushing can rename characters to give it a squint connection to the prior work (as in if you squint you can see how this is totally that old thing on the surface even if the details don’t match up at all). The reason I don’t fully, and note I said fully, subscribe to the “looks like me” mentality is that I have connected to many characters who don’t look like me, even if you lump all white people together. Black characters, women, Asians, robots, aliens, dogs…they resonate with me because of how I see elements of my life story and personality in those characters.

That said, I do understand wanting to see someone of your race and gender doing all the cool things and being awesome doing it. And if that’s what was happening this article would be about the story behind some old song or a pro-Superman article or something. I’m sure I’ve written on this before but I’m still seeing it and I’m still driven to mention that the METHOD at which writers, showrunners, directors, and so forth are actually HURTING the cause of diverse characters rather than helping. You’re shooting yourselves in the foot. Let’s break it down.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Galactic Guardians #1

This isn’t a Super Powers Team comic! I feel jipped!

Galactic Guardians #1

Marvel Comics/Marvel 3000 (July, 1994)

WRITER: Michael Gallagher

EDITOR: Craig Anderson

“Amid The Circling Doom!”

PENCILER: Kevin West

INKER: Steve Montano

COLORIST: Tom Vincent

LETTERER: Kenny Lopez

“Future History!” part 2

PENCILER: Yancy Labat

INKER: Scott Koblish

COLORIST: Lia Pelosi

LETTERER: Loretta Krol

It should be noted that this takes place not with the Guardians Of The Galaxy you know but in the Guardians comics from the 1990s, taking place in the year 3000 though I think this is now considered an alternate Marvel universe.

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BW’s Daily Article Link> At Least They’re Talking About You, Honest

I’ve heard a handful of creators in the mainstream saying something to the tune of “I don’t care if they trash me, as long as they talk about me”, but I didn’t think that was Hollywood’s actual strategy. Well, if Bleeding Fool’s Chris Braly is correct you can blame one New Zealand analytics firm that has convinced Hollywood that all the negative comments are still engagement and thus positive. Not out of the same reasoning as the aforementioned creators but because they’re too lazy to separate “this is great” and “this is garbage”. Succeeding in Hollywood is easy. You don’t even have to care about what you’re doing anymore.

Chapter By Chapter> Batman: Knightfall chapters 14-16

Chapter By Chapter (usually) features me reading one chapter of the selected book at a time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

Yep, we’re back to three chapters.

This is more about my format than anything else. The story is enjoyable and unlike Op-Center this is an adaptation of a run of comic stories so there may be good reasons for the short chapters. Plus even though we had a full chapter last time it was a villain I’m not really a fan of.

While this and Death And Return Of Superman are largely responsible for the current case of Eventitis in major comic book companies (not the earliest events but I’m talking about a never ending stream of events that disrupt stories other people are working on) this is also when they were good. It wasn’t the event itself that mattered but the themes and NOT destroying the characters in the process. Crisis On Infinite Earths killed off Barry Allen and Supergirl but both were noble sacrifices to save the universe. Now a character dies for shock value and to weaken the heroes’ status as heroes. This is what happens when surface viewing takes over from understanding WHY a story worked. So let’s see if we can figure out what works in this story.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Tandy Computer Whiz Kids: The Community Action Program

In keeping with these last few comics I’m betting it isn’t a computer program.

Tandy Computer Whiz Kids “V2 #3”

FINAL ISSUE

Archie Comics Publications (1992)

WRITER: Mike Pellowski

PENCILER: Stan Goldberg

INKER: Mike Esposito

COLORIST: Barry Grossman

LETTERER: Bill Yoshida

EDITOR: Victor Gorelick

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BW’s Daily Article Link> What Is A Meme?

You’ve seen them. You’ve been amused by them. You’ve been confused by them. You’ve gotten bored the over 9000 times you’ve seen the same meme reconfigured…but can you explain to the internet unsavvy what a meme is? Well, it’s no rickroll to send someone this article from Grammarly explaining what a meme is and how to make one of your own. Though it doesn’t explain if a rickroll is actually a meme.

BW’s Programming Note> Free Comic Comedown

As part of my inability to get out or do a lot of physical stuff until recently my time out yesterday really drained me. I went to the comic store and two grocery stores, and I wasn’t even up to checking out the other comic store (or see if it’s still open) because I was too tired. Today I didn’t get to finish this week’s Jake & Leon because panel 3 is going to need a bunch of characters. So I missed that deadline twice in a row and I’m not happy. I’m also too tired to care; apologies for my apathy. And I’ll be going out again later this week because I’m going to be selling off a big bag full of comics hopefully and I have to bring it to the comic book store. Still, I’m determined to get this comic done finally. Right now I’m so drained that I didn’t even do anything for The Clutter Reports this week, not even as a non-report.

Over the coming days I’ll continue the Chapter By Chapter review of Batman: Nightfall and in the Blue Beetle’s Saturday spot (because I don’t want to do TWO Golden Age anthologies in the same week) I’ll look at Detective Comics #38, which includes among other stories the debut of Robin The Boy Wonder. I managed to get the reprint yesterday and I’m looking forward to reviewing it. There will be non-Batman stuff as well, and I think I finally have a format for that article I wanted to do last week. We’ll see how all that goes, hope you had a great Free Comic Book Day, and have a great week.