NOT EVERYTHING IS BLACK AND WHITE

"I hear how hard you been working for the blue skins, and how you helped out the orange skins, and you done considerable for the purple skins! Only there's skins you never bothered with,,, the black skins! How come? Answer me, Mr. Green Lantern?"


This was a wake up call to comics... the now legendary Denny O'Neill/Neal Adams Green Lantern/Green Arrow comics of the late sixties. I couldn't help but think about these books and about all racism, sexism and homophobia when Jerry Falwell passed away. As the leader of the "Moral Majority," Falwell used his pulpit to bully, harass and condemn anyone who didn't fit his very narrow viewpoint. Unlike poor old Hal Jordan (who's biggest sin was naivete and ignorance), Falwell was a bigot of the highest order, using his religion as his weapon and his shield. Falwell hid behind his "faith" as he espoused all manner of negativity and hate. His favorite targets were homosexuals and anyone who believed in Roe Vs Wade. As with most zealots and bigots, Falwell grew more and more intolerant as he got older. He also grew much bolder as his "power" grew until he finally went too far when he blamed 9/11 on homosexuals, abortionists and the ACLU. He actually was forced to apologize for that. With a viewpoint like that, I can't say I'll miss him. Today there is one less hatemonger in the world.

It did make me think about the issue of intolerance and prejudice in comics... (and, no, I'm NOT going to talk about the X-Men) and how it was introduced to me. Before the mutant problem was the cause celebre, the only places you could read about intolerance and bigotry in the Marvel Universe (and the civil rights movement) was The Avengers and Captain America. In the late sixties there were some very good stories featuring the Sons of the Serpent (a hate group who targeted the Black Panther) in the Avengers and there was an ongoing theme of the civil rights movement in Captain America (featuring the Falcon and his supporting cast in Harlem).

This issue of Cap was one of the best of it's time. Issues 153-156 told the story of the replacement Captain America from the 1950's. This Cap and his partner, Bucky found the Secret Soldier Formula of Dr. Erskine and used it on themselves. But without the Vita Rays that had mistakenly bathed Steve Rogers shortly after his transformation and stabilized the formula, this Cap and Bucky slowly went insane. They saw enemies where there were none. The thought everyone was a commie and they regressed into powerful, narrow minded bigots. They were captured and frozen until a cure for their mental illness could be found. Of course, they were released and while the real Cap was on vacation, they surfaced in Harlem and fought the Falcon. He was beaten badly and captured by the two super strong racists. It was then that the people of the neighborhood banded together to save the Falcon. This was one of the most powerful moments I had ever read. Truly great storytelling and more importantly it resonated with the morale that everyone was the same: black, white, poor, rich... we all are the same. Exactly the very ideals Captain America stood for and now it was seen through the eyes of the Falcon.

I have to say that I've always loved the character of the Falcon. I thought he was very cool when he had the hunting glove and the claw-line. I loved it when he got the wings. Always one of my favs. In fact, if I had to name my top ten favorite comic book characters both the Falcon and Luke Cage, Power man would be in there. I never really considered them to be "black" characters... I just knew they were cool. Of course I'm talking about the yellow shirt Power man, not the ridiculous stereotyped bald headed, wifebeater wearing nonsense in the "New" Avengers. (what a fucking joke) I think that's the mark of a great character. Someone that you like not because they are a certain color and someone you like not DESPITE their color. Back in the day, The Falcon was just cool. Not because he was black and not because he was Cap's partner... he was just one of the best characters in comics. And Luke Cage was so innovative when he first appeared. Behind all the blacksploitation and "Sweet Christmas's" he was a very original concept: a hero for hire. A superhero for the poor. I love that concept and I'm sorry it's been corrupted into the bullshit that they've put out lately.

Of course I'm not THAT naive. I know there weren't a whole lot of black characters back in the day. The Falcon, Black Panther, Storm, Cyborg, John Stewart, The Prowler, Blade and two characters that I've never understood: Black Lightning and Black Goliath. I always thought it was ridiculous to call yourself Black Goliath/Black Lightning. I mean, why not just Goliath or Lightning? I would assume that the black part was pretty obvious. Although, I liked Black Goliath as much as I liked White Goliath. (I'm just sorry there wasn't a Yellow Goliath.) I can't really judge if comics have progressed on this front... I don't really think they have. There are still a woeful shortage of non white heroes/heroines. I hope it's not racism and just bad writing. God knows, there's plenty of bad writing out there now.

I'll leave you with this panel from Cap 156. I think it's as true now as it was then. Think about it. Imagine Cap's talking to anyone in the current administration instead of his doppelganger.

A Belated Eulogy

Captain America is dead.

Captain America is dead. A character who few would argue was the heart, soul and moral compass of the Marvel Universe was dispatched by a sniper's bullet. This is easily one of the most ridiculous and utterly pointless deaths in Marvel's history. I don't want to hear about the culmination of storylines or any other such nonsense. Captain America should not die handcuffed at the hands of a sniper. If any character deserved to go out in a heroic and meaningful manner, it was Cap. This is another example of a company (one that used to put out comics with heart) using a gimmick death to make headlines and sell more books because they can't come up with any other reason for people to buy their comics. This smells as bad as the Death of Superman and was just as big a slap in the face.

Why kill Captain America?

"Killing Captain America was really a more compelling story for our readers," said Dan Buckley, publisher at Marvel Entertainment. "It was more interesting than to see Cap in jail, reflecting. Besides exploring the question of who killed Captain America, we will be focusing on who was Steve Rogers the character, since not much is really known about him.

"We know about Captain America, the hero, the icon, but we don't know much about Steve. We will be exploring what Steve Rogers meant to those close to him and on a macro level, what Captain America's death means to the Marvel Universe. We'll be exploring what Captain America the icon means and whether the legacy should be carried on," Buckley said.

Buckley also said there are no plans to resurrect Captain America — for the time being.

"Steve Rogers is dead," he said. "As [Marvel Entertainment editor in chief] Joe [Quesada] says, 'A death should mean something. A resurrection should mean something.'"

The clueless words of two very clueless men. Not much is known about Steve Rogers?!?!? Has Buckley ever read a Captain America comic? Did he ever read the Gerry Conway run? The DeMatteis run? The Stern/Byrne issues? Anything by Gruenwald? Is he an idiot? All valid questions, if you ask me. To anyone who was a fan of Cap, Steve Rogers is a very known commodity.
Killing off a character is more interesting than telling stories about him in jail?!?! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. This is the biggest problem with comics today. The editors don't edit and the people in charge don't know dick about comics. Editors today don't tell writers when their stories suck because they want to keep the "names" on the book. Since when is Ed Brubaker a name? Why is he allowed and even encouraged to kill off a character that should be used as Superman is used at DC: as the hero everyone looks to for the right thing to do?
Now I know Brubaker is just writing stories he thinks are good and interesting so it's the editors job to stop him when he doesn't write something good or when he writes something that is contrary to the best interests of both a character and the company. But they don't... ever. All the "talent" today rarely get told NOT to do something. The editors are nothing more than traffic cops, taking scripts and pages from the creators and giving them to the colorists, letterers and production people and then to the printer. They don't do anything which is why it's funny when an editor changing company's makes headlines... so now he kisses ass at Marvel instead of DC? big fucking deal.

In an interview with Reuters, Marvel publisher Dan Buckley basically said it was Captain America's secret identity, not Captain America, who was the goner.

"This is the end of Steve Rogers, the meat-and-potatoes guy from 1941," Buckley told the wire service. "But Captain America is a costume, and there are other people who could take it over."

Captain America is a costume. Captain America is a costume. He said that. Let that sink in. He told Reuters that, not Wizard or Newsarama. He told people who don't usually write stories on comics that the death of a character that has been around since March 1941 was no big deal since the costume is what's important, not the man who wore it all those years. This is the friggin publisher of Marvel Comics!

This is the man who controls the greatest characters ever created in fiction. None of which were created by anyone who currently writes or draws them or edits or "publishes" them. The shortsightedness and total lack of comprehension as to what these characters are capable of and what they should be about is mind numbing. Absolutely mind numbing.

Goodbye, Steve Rogers. With the current state of Marvel, you're much better off.