American culture has long represented mixed-race identity in paradoxical terms. On the one hand, it has been associated with weakness, abnormality, impurity, transgression, shame, and various pathologies; however, it can also connote genetic superiority, exceptional beauty, and special potentiality. This ambivalence has found its way into superhero media, which runs the gamut from Ant-Man and the Wasp’s tragic mulatta villain Ghost to the cinematic depiction of Aquaman as a heroic “half-breed.” The essays in this collection contend with the multitude of ways that racial mixedness has been presented in superhero comics, films, television, and literature. They explore how superhero media positions mixed-race characters within a genre that has historically privileged racial purity and propagated images of white supremacy. The book considers such iconic heroes as Superman, Spider-Man, and The Hulk, alongside such lesser-studied characters as Valkyrie, Dr. Fate, and Steven Universe. Examining both literal and symbolic representations of racial mixing, this study interrogates how we might challenge and rewrite stereotypical narratives about mixed-race identity, both in superhero media and beyond.
An edgy and insightful look at Barack Obama, Keanu Reeves, and the mixed-race experience in our divided world. At once personally revealing and politically astute, author Will Harris reflects on the lives of two very different supermen: Barack Obama and Keanu Reeves. In an era where a man endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan can sit in the White House, Harris argues that the mixed-race of both Obama and Reeves gave them a cultural shapelessness that was a form of resistance. Reeves, as Neo in The Matrix, portrayed the chosen one on the silver screen, while Obama, for a brief moment, was a real-life superhero on the world stage. Drawing on his own personal experience and examining the way that these two men have been embedded in our collective consciousness, Harris asks what they can teach us about race and heroism.
They do not know what they are. Together they will learn what they are. But will it be too late as their destruction grows ever closer? Cooper Callister cannot speak in school. He lives on a farm outside of town with good and loving parents who do their best to support their son with his special problems, and some very special gifts as well. Coupe "Single" Daschelete is a streetwise kid essentially surviving on his own. A victim of abuse and neglect he has learned not to trust anyone and to always be on his guard. He is a bright kid, an exceptionally bright kid, with many unique qualities of his own. But he is more interested in finding his next meal than anything else. The two teens are unlikely holders of secret powers. Yet they are. Cooper can sense the thoughts of others. In fact he can do it so well, it becomes maddening noise in his head, so much so he cannot speak when surrounded by all the other students. Coupe is the only one that stands out. Coupe can sense what Cooper is going through and then learns to silently talk to him without a word spoken between the two. When Cooper sneaks off into the woods to escape the noise of the school ground, he gets followed by the school bully and it is Coupe that comes to his rescue, at first. It turns into a royal beating for Coupe. As Coupe takes the beating meant for Cooper, Cooper reveals he has another hidden secret and uses it to save Coupe. From this encounter their friendship is born and together they come to realize not only just what special talents they have, but also just how they came to get them. They learn that their special powers are no mistake. They learn just how they got them and just how powerful they are going to be, but only if the survive the destruction that is coming their way, a threat that they do not even know exists! "The Omicron Six: The Next Generation of Superheroes provides the initial lure of being a superhero story, but actually, it's much more. Endy Wright probes the emotions and motivations of his young heroes and considers the world which continually challenges them in many ways. This approach imparts psychological depth and a component of self-discovery that goes beyond the revelation of superpowers to probe the evolution of close connections that begin with shared adversity. It's a superhero story on steroids, holding different forms of action, bad and good guys, and encounters that defy the usual image of a superhero as being a relative loner who doesn't let anyone in on his secrets. Multifaceted, peppered with social issues and fantastic scenarios, and representing a gem far beyond the usual superhero clichés, The Omicron Six: The Next Generation of Superheroes cultivates a blend of social inspection, superpower evolution, and psychological draw to keep all ages thoroughly engrossed in an unexpected saga that involves the creation of something that may ultimately destroy them all." D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews
Introduction: Fantastic Bullets -- I Am Nubia: Superhero Comics and the Paradigm of the Fantasy-Act -- Can the Black Superhero Be? -- Erotic Fantasy-Acts: The Art of Desire -- Conclusion: On Becoming Fantastical.
Panthers, Hulks and Ironhearts offers the first comprehensive study of how Marvel has racially diversified its lineup and reimagined what a superhero might look like in the twenty-first century. It examines how they have revitalized older characters like Black Panther, recast legacy heroes like Ms. Marvel, and developed new ones like the Latina Miss America.
Hear the riveting stories of Black artists who drew--mostly covertly behind the scenes--superhero, horror, and romance comics in the early years of the industry. The life stories of each man's personal struggles and triumphs are represented as they broke through into a world formerly occupied only by whites. Using primary source material from World War II-era Black newspapers and magazines, this compelling book profiles pioneers like E.C. Stoner, a descendant of one of George Washington's slaves, who became a renowned fine artist of the Harlem Renaissance and the first Black artist to draw comic books. Perhaps more fascinating is Owen Middleton who was sentenced to life in Sing Sing. Middleton's imprisonment became a cause célèbre championed by Will Durant, which led to Middleton's release and subsequent comics career. Then there is Matt Baker, the most revered of the Black artists, whose exquisite art spotlights stunning women and men, and who drew the first groundbreaking Black comic book hero, Vooda! The book is gorgeously illustrated with rare examples of each artist's work, including full stories from mainstream comic books from rare titles like All-Negro Comics and Negro Heroes, plus unpublished artist's photos. Invisible Men features Ken Quattro's impeccable research and lean writing detailing the social and cultural environments that formed these extraordinary, yet invisible, men!
"Winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, Black Jesus and Other Superheroes chronicles ordinary people achieving vivid extrasensory perception while under extreme pain. The stories tumble into a universe of the jaded and the hopeful, in which men and women burdened with unwieldy and undesirable superhuman abilities are nonetheless resilient in subtle and startling ways. Venita Blackburn's characters hurl themselves toward the inevitable fates they might rather wish away. Their stories play with magic without the sparkle, glaring at the internal machinations of the human spirit. Fragile symbols for things such as race, sexuality, and love are lifted, decorated, and exposed to scrutiny and awe like so many ruins of our imagination. Through it all Blackburn's characters stumblealong currents of language both thoughtful and hilarious."--
