Comments on: Dark Stars: Black Superheroes and Villians http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/ Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:42:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: Bahlactus http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-48952 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:20:37 +0000 http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-48952 <i><b>Karsher</b></i>, 'preciate you stoppin' through (and thanks for the clue as well) -- Suicide may have been overlooked. I'm sticking to mainstream DC/MARVEL continuity (i.e. no alternate universe characters of any sort). If he's in the regular mix, he'll definitely get added to the list at some point. Good lookin' out on that. Be easy! Karsher, ‘preciate you stoppin’ through (and thanks for the clue as well) — Suicide may have been overlooked. I’m sticking to mainstream DC/MARVEL continuity (i.e. no alternate universe characters of any sort). If he’s in the regular mix, he’ll definitely get added to the list at some point. Good lookin’ out on that. Be easy!

]]> by: Karscher http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-48817 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:53:51 +0000 http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-48817 There was a black sort-of-villian in Ghost Rider named Suicide. I wouldn't concider him an example of a strong black male in any sense of the phrase other than physically, though. But then again, concidering his origin, why would he be? Anyway, since he's something of an embarassment to claim (regardless of race or sex), I could see why you may have intentionally left him off your list if you knew he existed. You seem to have this comic stuff down, so I'm probably not telling you anything new, but if I did, that's just one more thing for you to check out. Excellent work on the page, by the way. I was going to bed about two hours ago when I stumbled across it and started reading. There was a black sort-of-villian in Ghost Rider named Suicide. I wouldn’t concider him an example of a strong black male in any sense of the phrase other than physically, though. But then again, concidering his origin, why would he be?

Anyway, since he’s something of an embarassment to claim (regardless of race or sex), I could see why you may have intentionally left him off your list if you knew he existed. You seem to have this comic stuff down, so I’m probably not telling you anything new, but if I did, that’s just one more thing for you to check out.

Excellent work on the page, by the way. I was going to bed about two hours ago when I stumbled across it and started reading.

]]> by: Always Bet on Bahlactus » Blog Archive » Dark Stars: Bloodsport http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-1432 Wed, 17 Jan 2007 06:05:39 +0000 http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-1432 [...] Dark Stars is about Black superheroes (and supervillians) that have appeared in MARVEL/DC mainstream history. It all started with a challenge to some friends at the Comics shop that they couldn’t name twenty Black characters between BOTH houses along the superhero & supervillian line. Like ABSOLUTE GALACTUS, I’ll be sharing the Dark Stars of MARVEL/DC appearances as they are added to my collection. [...] […] Dark Stars is about Black superheroes (and supervillians) that have appeared in MARVEL/DC mainstream history. It all started with a challenge to some friends at the Comics shop that they couldn’t name twenty Black characters between BOTH houses along the superhero & supervillian line. Like ABSOLUTE GALACTUS, I’ll be sharing the Dark Stars of MARVEL/DC appearances as they are added to my collection. […]

]]> by: Always Bet on Bahlactus » Blog Archive » Dark Stars — “Bucky” http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-1242 Wed, 03 Jan 2007 23:17:36 +0000 http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-1242 [...] Dark Stars is about Black superheroes (and supervillians) that have appeared in MARVEL/DC mainstream history. It all started with a challenge to some friends at the Comics shop that they couldn’t name twenty Black characters between BOTH houses along the superhero & supervillian line. Like ABSOLUTE GALACTUS, I’ll be sharing my finds within the Dark Stars of MARVEL/DC with each appearance of one of these Black characters added to my collection along the way. [...] […] Dark Stars is about Black superheroes (and supervillians) that have appeared in MARVEL/DC mainstream history. It all started with a challenge to some friends at the Comics shop that they couldn’t name twenty Black characters between BOTH houses along the superhero & supervillian line. Like ABSOLUTE GALACTUS, I’ll be sharing my finds within the Dark Stars of MARVEL/DC with each appearance of one of these Black characters added to my collection along the way. […]

]]> by: Zamaron — A Green Lantern Femme-Site http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-69 Mon, 09 Oct 2006 02:28:29 +0000 http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-69 [...] Always Bet on Bahlactus has started a weekly feature on black superheroes called Dark Stars and the first one features none other than the severely underused John Stewart. [...] […] Always Bet on Bahlactus has started a weekly feature on black superheroes called Dark Stars and the first one features none other than the severely underused John Stewart. […]

]]> by: b http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-55 Sun, 01 Oct 2006 00:37:01 +0000 http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-55 I spelled 'various' wrong. I spelled ‘various’ wrong.

]]> by: b http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-54 Sun, 01 Oct 2006 00:35:20 +0000 http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-54 I couldn't resonate more with Stan Lee's comments about 'telling a story.' My own experience has been that when I DO want to represent an ethnicity other than the one I own, I come across some problems. Some of them are the direct result OF things like "Diversity Training"-like activities combined with good (but ignorant) intentions. For example, I was asked to create a Mural for the side of a Boys and Girls Club building. I needed to SHOW that ALL kids were welcome here, which means boys and girls from varios ethnic origins... WHICH raised the issue of stereotypes! In order to avoid stereotypes of race and gender, the characters got really watered down, and ultimately, this mural looked like one of those forced-mix families you see in bad commercials and sitcoms. All intentions were good, but I took my name off the mural and it was so bad (once they had it put on the wall) they painted over it a few weeks later. It would be really interesting to write your auto-biography as IF you belonged to a different race. How would that change your interpretation of the events in your life? etc.. I digress. um... Bahlactus Rules? b I couldn’t resonate more with Stan Lee’s comments about ‘telling a story.’
My own experience has been that when I DO want to represent an ethnicity other than the one I own, I come across some problems. Some of them are the direct result OF things like “Diversity Training”-like activities combined with good (but ignorant) intentions.
For example, I was asked to create a Mural for the side of a Boys and Girls Club building. I needed to SHOW that ALL kids were welcome here, which means boys and girls from varios ethnic origins… WHICH raised the issue of stereotypes!
In order to avoid stereotypes of race and gender, the characters got really watered down, and ultimately, this mural looked like one of those forced-mix families you see in bad commercials and sitcoms. All intentions were good, but I took my name off the mural and it was so bad (once they had it put on the wall) they painted over it a few weeks later.
It would be really interesting to write your auto-biography as IF you belonged to a different race. How would that change your interpretation of the events in your life? etc..

I digress.
um… Bahlactus Rules?

b

]]> by: Jacob http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-53 Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:24:27 +0000 http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-53 In response to this posting by b: "I’d be interested to know the race/ethnicity of those who are writing and penciling these characters as well!? Mainly to validate the representations of the characters as having an ‘authentic source’ and not the result of some in-house diversity training (slash marketing strategy) to make the Big Boys ‘look’ like they are sensitive to ALL peoples!" I'd be interested in your perspective as well. For instance, some of the more popular black characters (T'challa, Luke Cage, Storm, Jon Stewart, Black Lightning) I think were all created by white men. But, I don't think they were created during a time of diversity training. With the exception of Storm who was created to fit into a truly international superhero team, I think they were more a result of the civil rights movement and a greater awareness of black people in the United States as having their own cultural identity. Were they trying to exploit a market to sell more comics? Yeah a little bit, sure. But were they also trying to create greater stories with different perspectives? Yes, I think they were. Does it invalidate the attempt to give a different perspective because the creators were white? I don’t think that it does completely, although it leaves much room for misinterpretation and misinformation. Plus, it is tough to judge the original intent and impact by our modern perspective. I remember an interview with Stan Lee once where he was asked if he had ever tried to teach anything in his comics. He said that for the most part he never did. He was more concerned with telling stories. However, he went on to say, if there was something that he wanted to get across to people, it’s that he did try to tell people not to be racist. This may have been born of his own exposure to anti-Semitism, but a good writer would be able to take those experiences and apply them to stories about other ethnicities. The story is universal, whereas the details may be lacking. Sorry for the long post In response to this posting by b:

“I’d be interested to know the race/ethnicity of those who are writing and penciling these characters as well!? Mainly to validate the representations of the characters as having an ‘authentic source’ and not the result of some in-house diversity training (slash marketing strategy) to make the Big Boys ‘look’ like they are sensitive to ALL peoples!”

I’d be interested in your perspective as well. For instance, some of the more popular black characters (T’challa, Luke Cage, Storm, Jon Stewart, Black Lightning) I think were all created by white men. But, I don’t think they were created during a time of diversity training. With the exception of Storm who was created to fit into a truly international superhero team, I think they were more a result of the civil rights movement and a greater awareness of black people in the United States as having their own cultural identity. Were they trying to exploit a market to sell more comics? Yeah a little bit, sure. But were they also trying to create greater stories with different perspectives? Yes, I think they were. Does it invalidate the attempt to give a different perspective because the creators were white? I don’t think that it does completely, although it leaves much room for misinterpretation and misinformation. Plus, it is tough to judge the original intent and impact by our modern perspective.

I remember an interview with Stan Lee once where he was asked if he had ever tried to teach anything in his comics. He said that for the most part he never did. He was more concerned with telling stories. However, he went on to say, if there was something that he wanted to get across to people, it’s that he did try to tell people not to be racist. This may have been born of his own exposure to anti-Semitism, but a good writer would be able to take those experiences and apply them to stories about other ethnicities. The story is universal, whereas the details may be lacking.

Sorry for the long post

]]> by: Luke Cage http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-52 Tue, 26 Sep 2006 01:16:45 +0000 http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-52 Man, you've got some old school cats on here I haven't heard in years! I'm glad that your plan to get this off the ground is beginning to reach fruition. Job well done..! Man, you’ve got some old school cats on here I haven’t heard in years! I’m glad that your plan to get this off the ground is beginning to reach fruition. Job well done..!

]]> by: b http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-50 Mon, 25 Sep 2006 04:54:15 +0000 http://bahlactus.com/2006/09/dark-stars-intro/#comment-50 So...what do these characters and/or their stories have in common? What are they doing right for the Black character and where are they missing the boat? I'd be interested to know the race/ethnicity of those who are writing and penciling these characters as well!? Mainly to validate the representations of the characters as having an 'authentic source' and not the result of some in-house diversity training (slash marketing strategy) to make the Big Boys 'look' like they are sensitive to ALL peoples! Anyway. I'd like to see a Native American-Latino-Asian-Caucasoid hero (or villain) struggle with his identity AND his arch nemesis at the same time... which could be anyone who KNOWS where he/she has come from! So…what do these characters and/or their stories have in common? What are they doing right for the Black character and where are they missing the boat?

I’d be interested to know the race/ethnicity of those who are writing and penciling these characters as well!? Mainly to validate the representations of the characters as having an ‘authentic source’ and not the result of some in-house diversity training (slash marketing strategy) to make the Big Boys ‘look’ like they are sensitive to ALL peoples!

Anyway. I’d like to see a Native American-Latino-Asian-Caucasoid hero (or villain) struggle with his identity AND his arch nemesis at the same time… which could be anyone who KNOWS where he/she has come from!

]]>