If you
haven't heard by now, Marvel Entertainment has announced a BLACK PANTHER movie
and the Black geek community has gone bonkers with virtual high-fives and
backflips about the fact that they're finally getting a big-budget superhero
movie with a Black lead.
I’ve
never been a fan of the Black Panther (my favorite Black superhero from Marvel
was Night Thrasher from the NEW WARRIORS) but I will definitely check out the
movie when it is released.
One of
the unforeseen developments since the announcement of the film is the fear that
this will overshadow the efforts of Black indie creators because the Black
genre fans out there will have gotten what they’ve always wanted from the
Marvel/DC entertainment machine: recognition.
A
prominent Black indie comics creator wrote:
“Great
for DC, great for Marvel... It's about time. But it's only scratching the
surface. There are so many talented creators out there who need support from
the various comic book and film communities. How about we post more about them
instead of giving so much more free advertisement to the ones who already have
mega promotional vehicles?”
And another wrote:
“Will independent Black comics matter
after Black Panther is released? They just released one image and a title treatment
- and I see a giant M-shaped shadow eclipsing an entire movement.”
And
another:
“What
does it mean, really, that we are getting a BLACK PANTHER movie? I mean, not
just a knee-jerk reaction, but for comic movies with Black characters in
general? There are many ways this film could go wrong so fast, but with the
proven track record of Marvel Studios, I have to have some form of confidence
in their ability to show this character the dignity and respect he deserves ...what
does having a film like this mean for the future?”
If you’ve
spent any time on Black geek Facebook groups, message boards or blogs, you’d
see repeated demands for mainstream studios to validate the existence of
established Black superheroes to the point where it comes off like begging. For
the last five years you couldn’t see a post about a Marvel movie without seventy-five
pages of speculation of whether or not there was an Easter egg hidden in the
background that spoke to the existence of Wakanda (the home of Black Panther).
Is this KLAW? If it is then Black Panther is close behind. |
This
phenomenon has been problematic for the Black indie comic book creator because
whenever we’ve attempted to provide a quality alternative for these fans – our
efforts have been generally met with apathy, cold shoulders, misplaced
aggression and an overall assumption that our work is going to be shitty.
Worse,
you’ll end up labeled as “bitter” or “angry” or “mad that nobody is buying what
we’re selling.” *(Things people actually said to me).
Last
year, there was an article published from the SHADOW AND ACT website (which focuses on Black cinema worldwide) that discussed something called the “Devil’s Eye Syndrome” which was defined as:
“…the deliberate critical rejection of Black
independent film by Black spectators which manifests itself as a severe and
bitter criticism of a Black independent film to the degree that no other
commercial White studio film would be able to withstand nor would these Black
spectators dare apply such ‘high standards’ to a White film.”
If you swap out the word “film” and replace it with “comics”
then you’d get a good idea of what I’m getting at here. I wrote a blog piece
describing this as BLACK GEEK STOCKHOLM SYNDROME and it definitely applies. We’ve
got at least two generations of Black geeks unwilling or incapable of giving
Black indie comics a chance.
Over
the last few years I've learned that the great majority of Black geeks/comic
book readers aren't really fans of COMIC
BOOKS, they're mainly fans of the Marvel/DC
brands. They have zero interest in indie Black material and no matter what
we do or say, it will not move them in our direction. There will always be that
5% that is willing to give our material a chance and we should make sure our
product is top-notch for those folks who will support us.
The solution is to start reaching out internationally. I've begun to make connections with folks in the Caribbean and Asia because Black geeks in the U.S. have been hardwired since their youth to only accept Marvel and DC as viable means of graphic novel entertainment. It doesn't matter how horribly these fans are treated by Marvel and DC, it doesn't matter how few Blacks are hired behind the scenes, it doesn't matter how awful the storytelling is, these fans only want the same titles from the same sources regardless of quality.
We have to keep creating and figure out ways to get a return on our investment. All the arguing, and pleading, and guerrilla marketing techniques have widely failed. Without a massive marketing budget for indie projects (because repetition of advertisements equals "higher quality" for those brainwashed by media) things aren't going to change.
Solutions?
1) Go
international.
2) Attend as many local Black Expos as possible.
3) Connect with elementary and middle schools and see if you can have your work featured in their libraries… if your work is age-appropriate with decent subject matter.
4) Continue to get coverage with mainstream comic book and media sources.
5) Send packets to local universities to see if they are willing to bring you in to speak about your projects. This opens you up to a new audience without having to spend thousands of dollars you don't have on marketing.
2) Attend as many local Black Expos as possible.
3) Connect with elementary and middle schools and see if you can have your work featured in their libraries… if your work is age-appropriate with decent subject matter.
4) Continue to get coverage with mainstream comic book and media sources.
5) Send packets to local universities to see if they are willing to bring you in to speak about your projects. This opens you up to a new audience without having to spend thousands of dollars you don't have on marketing.
My colleagues have begun to focus their efforts away from the
Marvel and DC crowd. It's such a waste of time to engage these folks because
they'll simply never change.
Please don't take any of this as negativity, I wanted to provide a clear stream of thinking for those deeply concerned that the emergence of the Black Panther movie(s) will further obscure the existence of Black independent comic book creators.
B.
2 comments:
I feel you on this and it kills me. I'm not a comic book creator but I understand the appreciate the high quality independent black titles that I have read and it bothers me that they have not caught on. I even spoke about in a review I did for Concrete Park.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1068299710
It's also important to add that the Black Panther character is not American. So, even the black character that the studio has decided to put it's money behind is not part of the national community of Black American comic book readers. That is an important aspect simply because the studio is aware that if domestic (i.e. American) receipts are low, they can expect to make their money in South America and Africa. When there is a super hero without the work "Black" in their name, is the focus of a studio blockbuster, and represents the community of the supposed fan base then we will be closer to having real representation.
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