During The Atlantic’s New York Ideas seminar in May, Ta-Nehisi Coates interviewed Marvel editor Sana Amanat about — what else? — diversity, and this led to an invitation for Ta-Nehisi Coates to write Black Panther:
Diversity — in characters and creators — is a drumbeat to which the comic book industry is increasingly trying to march. Marvel recently announced the December start of “The Totally Awesome Hulk,” whose title character is Amadeus Cho, a genius Korean-American scientist who will find himself transforming into that emerald behemoth. The book is written by Greg Pak and drawn by Frank Cho, both of whom are Korean-American. (“My wife is Korean, so I scored massive points,” Mr. Alonso said.)
Over at DC, Cyborg, who is black, is starring in his own series (and a film in 2020), and Beth Ross is the first female (and teenage) commander in chief in the biting satire “Prez.” This month Image Comics released “Virgil,” a graphic novel by Steve Orlando and J. D. Faith, about a black, gay cop in the not-so-inclusive Kingston, in Jamaica. “Showing different faces under the masks is very important for everyone,” Mr. Alonso said.
Wasn’t there already a “prez” back in the 70′s?
Not sure why there needs to be an asian Hulk, but Frank Cho is a phenomenal artist–so at least it will be nice to look at.
Never had any interest in Black Panther–the character was always a glaringly obvious attempt by Marvel to pander to a black audience.
Cyborg’s blackness was never addressed as much of an issue that I can remember (Titans fan from the George Perez era), and I did like the character, but his own series? And why a movie of his own when the Teen Titans live-action series seems like it will never be made?
The comic book fans I knew valued gripping storylines, interesting characters, and exceptional art — pretty much in that order. My half-Korean cousin was a huge Batman fan, and I knew some black Superman and Captain America fans — they didn’t feel compelled to love Power Man or the Black Panther.