A HUMBLE proposal FOR COMICS DEPICTING racism
- apkos
- 0
- on Aug 16, 2023
thank you fellow GC writer Ryan Kirksey for asking the question, “What ought to We finish with Comics Depicting Racism?” I’d like to offer an answer.
Censorship of Comics Depicting Racism
As Americans, a lot of us see censorship as the most harmful risk to freedom. There are also strong correlations between oppressive governments, in the form of North Korea or China, and the numerous human rights violations taking place in those countries. Censorship and oppression go hand in hand.
I hadn’t thought about censorship in terms of comic books until I read What ought to We finish with Comics Depicting racism last week, so I thought about it. then I started writing a comment, and then I realized it was getting so long I ought to probably just flesh it out into a blog all by itself. What ought to we finish with overtly racist depictions of non-white characters? how can we address a medium that began in an era where these harmful stereotypes were plentiful? and how do we navigate these objects as collectors and speculators?
Keep Them All
That’s always an option. What’s past is past and these are simply artifacts of those past moments, right? who cares as long as they’re solid condition golden Age goodies? Maybe. While it is true that these objects come from a historical past and should be understood within a particular historical context, the racist content is still racist and causes division. These comics still perpetuate the stereotypes initially drawn and written decades ago.
As a collector, you can do whatever you want. but do you really need crack Comics #1 in your collection? The Spirit #10? Does taking a look at them make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? will you be able to survive without it? Is it an inconvenience to disregard these types of depictions and NOT purchase them?
Burn Them All
We could always burn them. and after looking through a couple Captain marvel books with the racist portrayal of Steamboat in them, I was about ready to lead a comic burning crusade. but I took a breath and entered back to reason and logic. As a society, we can’t burn things we don’t like. It sets a precedent for censorship and opens the Burj Khalifa-sized can of worms of what to burn and what not to. It’s anti-free speech. It’s dangerous. and it’s a fire hazard.
We’re not going to burn or destroy them.
Then what can we do?
I’m happy you asked.
Our Community
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to see comics with racial stereotypes displayed at conventions. I don’t want children seeing terrible and harmful depictions of non-white people in our beloved medium. and I don’t want these types of books set as examples of quality golden Age comics. because they’re not. The comic community is an inclusive one (although it can always be much more so) and we simply don’t have space for that kind of stuff in it.
But wait A Second, Does This actually Matter?
Yes. At the time these comics were made, black men were hanging from trees. children attended segregated schools. African Americans weren’t allowed to enter certain premises. These objects represent a zeitgeist of a time. The continued preservation of these objects in decontextualized settings perpetuates this zeitgeist. This is not a matter of being politically correct, this is a matter of black men still hanging from trees.
And no, this is not like Nazis depicted in comics. Nazis have never been depicted as the “good guys” or as “normal.” Their morality has always been constructed as wrong. African Americans depicted in comics, however, are represented as “normal.” THAT is the problem. These are not normal representations. They are caricatures of “regular” people in a superbly racist fashion. African Americans in the golden Age are often intellectually, physically, and morally inferior than their white counterparts.
They could No longer Be Comics
As a speculator, these are the LAST comic books in the world you want to invest in. There is nothing redeemable about them. They don’t have essential characters, aren’t essential storylines, and offer nothing but stereotypes and prejudice. In a way, these objects ought to no longer be considered just comic books.
Instead, they ought to be delegated to the dark realm of objects that includes Nazi and KKK memorabilia. maybe that’s harsh, but they’re in the same ballpark. They’re objects representing violence, prejudice, and discrimination. I can’t think of a good reason to covet these types of comics.
They’re historical? So is a Klan member hood or a Nazi general’s armband. So is a Eugenics manual.
Can you think of why YOU would want them in your collection?
No. because we don’t need these books in our community and we don’t need them in our collections.
But there are people that do.
A Humble proposal for Comics Depicting Racism
What can we actually finish with them? first of all, there aren’t that numerous out there (Although there are reprints of these pnull