* Kevin Grevioux (New Warriors, Underworld, Astounding Studios, DarkStorm Studios)
* Mike Sales (Type-Illy Press)
* Andrew West (Midnight Studio Comics (MSC))
* Adrian Wilkins (Metro, Supreme Knight Studios)

As we all know, it has been a long, hard and uphill battle through the years and decades, and even centuries for race issues and equality issues and civil rights issues to come as far as they have. There are still problems and racism, of course, but we are in a much better place than we were, say, 40 years ago.

In terms of media, while I don’t know the in-depth history of film or television as it relates to the topic, it still took a long time for African-Americans to gain prominence in such fields, let alone ordinary jobs across the country. More times than not in all popular media African-Americans were portrayed as gross stereotypical characters the way white people of the times viewed them. Eventually that would change, and it would lead us to today where good acting equals good acting regardless of race.

In comics the battle took a while longer. Maybe it’s because it was a smaller medium, or because the largest target market in the beginning of the industry were young, white males, or maybe there are other reasons beyond my knowledge, I don’t know. But the fact remains that it took a much longer time for comics to catch up to the rest of the world in terms of proper black representation with few exceptions.

Since superheroes are and have been for many years the dominant genre in comics let’s focus there. The history of black superheroes is hard to trace for several reasons. There is very little mention of early black characters back in the day, and now most companies would just as soon bury their mistakes to separate themselves from their past, understandably so. Most, if not all, of the black characters at the time were Uncle Tom type characters and portrayed in very negative lights. Take Marvel’s first black superhero character, named Whitewash of all things. He was constantly getting himself into trouble and had to have the white superheroes bail him out.

Fast forward several years and we have The Falcon, a pretty standup hero, until one issue of Captain America and The Falcon ruined the character’s history by revealing that he used to be a pimp suit wearing hood called “Snap” Wilson much in the fashion of Blaxploitation films of the day.

“It was probably the Living Mummy in Supernatural Thrillers #5,” said writer Kevin Grevioux of his first memory of a black character in a comic book. “I remember it was the first time I had seen a black man in a comic book. I can’t remember much, because he wasn’t exactly a superhero, so it didn’t really hold my attention. But the first black superhero that I became aware of was Luke Cage in Power Man #17. My brother brought a couple of issues home and they looked cool. After that I was hooked on the character. I still am to this day as a matter of fact. I really like what John Ostrander did with the character, and now Luke Cage is actually leading the Avengers.”

“My first impressions where wow, a superhero whose black, heck they are not even the bad guy,” said MSC owner and writer/artist Andrew West.

Writer Adrian Wilkins had a more typical reaction in terms of women in comics, specifically black women in this case. “When I first saw Storm I was like, "She's hot to be a comic book character". (Laughs) I was in high school so you know how any teenagers' hormones can go.”

Mike Sales, owner of and creator for Type Illy Press had a more impacting first experience though. “As a Marvel guy, I'd say Black characters have come a long way. I remember when TURK - the quivering snitch Daredevil used to harass for info - was the only black character I read on a regular basis,” recalls Sales. “In a genre built on HEROISM, back then it was hard for me to find a true black comic hero. Even when we weren't small time crooks like Turk, we were sidekicks or background players that never really RAN anything or controlled our own destinies.”

Sales still agrees that characters like Luke Cage have changed much for the better though. “Now Black Panther is seen as a global power in the Marvel Universe, Luke Cage has taken center stage on the Avengers, and Nick Fury is the black equivalent of the American Super Sheriff. That's a lot of progress in a very short amount of time, and I give a lot of credit to the new wave of writers like Bendis, Ellis and Millar, who brought a different, fresh perspective to comic book story telling, in my opinion.”

There are many reasons that can be attributed to the lack of strong black characters in comics ranging from a lack of black creators to simply poor writing or artistry. Kevin Grevioux believes it’s the former mostly.

“I think the biggest single reason for the lack of solid representation of black characters back then was the dearth of black creators. But as funny as this might sound, I don’t necessarily think that was anyone’s fault. In the early days of comics when Jim Crow laws were still in effect, not many whites saw that many blacks on a day to day basis, let alone actually knowing any. They weren’t necessarily racist. Part of being an artist or a creator is that you draw material from your own environment and your experiences. That’s what they did.”

Wilkins debates that point however, claiming that it’s not the lack of black creators that’s the problem, at least not in today’s market. “Many people want to know how a white man or woman can write about a black character. Research. Study. I mean look at Dwayne McDuffie, he's doing Fantastic Four and worked on Justice League Unlimited and many characters there were not Black. Last time I saw a picture of him, he was black. (Laughs). What I'm saying is that it doesn't matter if you're black or white (Thank you Michael Jackson for that line). The biggest setback would be the lack of good stories. Not to say that there are a lot of bad stories, but there could be some better stories out there.”

West agrees. “It’s the lack of good stories. I like Spawn, but spawn isn't a black character to me, he seems mixed. So that type of thing is a setback. Don't make a character who cannot be true to themselves just to please your audience. That’s not good story telling and it does the readers injustice. Yes I hate it when creators make stereo typical negative black characters; it’s not good representation for us or the industry.

“Well, there is a thin line between STEREOtype and ARCHEtype, since both are symbolic representations of something,” says Sales on the subject. “The difference - for me – is what you do with it. Most of the popular superheroes can be distilled down to simplistic symbols - Batman and Daredevil as sons mourning their fathers, Spiderman as the underdog turned Alpha male, Luke Cage as the brother convicted for a crime he didn't commit. They only become offensive and negative to me when I perceive that the intent isn't to tell a good story, but to perpetuate some negative ideology. Or, if the intent isn't there, but the execution continually reinforces that negative ideology.”

Sales continues, agreeing with Grevioux that it is in fact the lack of black creators however. “Honestly, 'negative stereotypes' are bad, but I think the thing that really holds back 'racial progress' in comics is that lack of writers, artists and editors of color that can make story-telling decisions about the directions of these characters. No, I'm not saying that non-ethnic folks can't create good stories about people of color. (My favorite show is THE WIRE, and most of the writers of that show are White.) I'm saying that there are TONS of talented comic writers and artists out here, and it only makes sense to let them write these stories, too.”

“We as blacks, didn’t have the same kinds of experiences that might’ve led to our looking at life from a fantasy or science fiction standpoint,” comes back Grevioux with more reasons. “Which brings me to my next point…”

“The other reason for the lack of racial progression in comics was that blacks, at least in the years from just after Reconstruction until the end of the Civil Rights Movement, had to struggle just to survive what is perceived as normal reality for the rest of the American populace. When reality is so depressing and oppressive, who can dream about the wonders of fantasy and science fiction? To frame it a little differently, it’s kind of hard to dream about flying through the air like Superman, if you can’t get a decent education on a day to day basis. Or how can you have these grand visions of soaring to the stars in a space ship, if you can’t get a decent job or even vote here on earth. You see what I mean? Consequently, our dreams tended to be based on the basic needs of real life, and not much else. Anything else was considered impractical. Now, this is by no means universal. There have been blacks in fantasy and sci-fi, but just not that many.”

“Another reason,” continues Grevioux, “for the death of black participation in speculative fiction could be the high geek factor associated with the medium. Comic books are already looked upon as an esoteric isolationalist geeky hobby to most Americans period…even whites. They create these stereotypes where they think those who indulge in them are usually fat, ugly social misfits who have no girl friends who can only engage reality through the window of a TV set. And to most blacks, being involved in something that is so steeped in white culture can brand you as either stupid, an “Oreo” or an “uncle Tom”. All of that is of course ridiculous, especially nowadays, but unfortunately perception does have its way of being king in most people’s eyes.”

Today, creators of all races are changing those stereotypical perceptions in favor of good, solid characters. As mentioned above, Luke Cage, who was the epitome of the stereotypical era of the 70s, has vastly changed in today’s comics. Nick Fury in the Ultimate Universe is an African-American. Mr. Terrific and John Henry Irons are strong, intelligent black characters in the DCU. And so on.

“I think the image has changed significantly over the years, but the evolution was slow in coming,” said Grevioux. “The first black characters that got any notoriety came into comics as stereotypical minstrel men to an extent. Then Stan and Jack created the Black Panther which was really cool. And Neal Adams, who did a fantastic job creating the John Stewart Green Lantern. But during the early 70’s I think we took a little step back as a result of the Blaxplotation era in film. Black characters then basically became afro-wearin’, jive-talkin’, weak-powered angry loud-mouths. However, today, I feel they are vastly more intelligent and enjoy some measure of respect amongst their peers. The Black Panther, Storm and Mr. Terrific are the best examples of that.”

“But even with all that progress, there is still more that needs to be made,” counters Sales. “While folks seem finally ready to accept BLACK LEADERSHIP, the recent white-hot debate on the BLACK PANTHER-STORM marriage shows some are still uncomfortable with BLACK SEXUALITY.”

But Sales is quick to acknowledge the progress creators are making. “Joe Quesada and Reginald Hudlin might be the literary Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson of Marvel comics. They were willing to take the heat for knocking down one of the last remaining cultural barriers in comics - namely, that ethnic characters and their romantic interest were just as valid and equal with that of their white counterparts.”

“I think they are doing the best they can.” West agrees. “Those writers do what is best for the story and try to be as real to the characters they convey.”

But the real question is have they progressed, and if so how much?

“Certainly they’ve progressed.” Offers Grevioux. “I was, and still am a HUGE fan of what Denys Cowan and Dwayne McDuffie did with Milestone Media. I also attended a cool little comic convention last year called the East Coast Black Age of Comics held annually in Philly. You’ll find a bevy of talented people there who are all trying to make comics and coming up with some incredible work.”

“Now we have more Black characters today and I think it has changed the market in a positive way. ”Adds Wilkins. “I mean how many times do you see Black characters be a top subject in the middle of a huge story line such as Marvel's Civil War like Storm and Black Panther's wedding did?”

When asked what more could be done to improve the use of black characters in comics, Kevin Grevioux had a lot to say.

“Hard question. I think it’s a little of both. However, I don’t think it’s anything that should be mandated. The NFL did that with the Rooney Rule in terms of interviewing black coaches for head coaching positions. I understand it there, because the league is over 70% black and over 80% if you’re talking about starters. So from that standpoint, it looked as if we’re smart enough to play the game, but not smart enough to teach it. Which made absolutely no sense. And then there was an “old boys” network that was hard to break because a lot of the coaching decision makers were just not accessible to most people period, let alone blacks. Regardless of what color you were, you had to “know someone”. The comic book industry is a bit different.

The comic book industry, much like the movie industry, on a certain level, is more about green than black and white. Meaning money and commerce rule the roost. You go with what’s familiar to the fans of a niche market. I think that’s what can dictate what kinds of stories get told, and by whom, more than anything else.