I have been a comic collector since right around 1990. I remember my father taking me to the Big Apple Con in New York City and seeing X-Factor #1 and being astonished that I could afford to buy a #1 issue, which back then was a big deal (all of my comic book heads remember those days). From then on I was trying my best to get as MANY comics as possible. I remember going to St. Marks Comics AND Forbidden Planet before they both changed locations (and FB yet again this year) and I remember as an adult having to put my 27th long box of comics into storage to make more room for more in my life than JUST comics.
I recently picked up Issue #0 of Green Lantern produced by Dc Comics. It introduces a new human Green Lantern into the DC Universe mythos. We have three White human Green Lanterns, one of African descent, and now, one of Middle Eastern descent. I am happy for those of the Middle East who have come over to this country that have found a new way, and maybe a better way of life here in the States. I congratulate them on the achievements that have been made here and appreciate the struggle they are going through. Blacks and Latino's have gone through those same issues for hundreds of years here. I completely understand it being of Puerto Rican descent myself. What I don't get is this: Why to this day are Latino's still left out and not taken seriously.
Just recently DC Nation, the animated segment of Cartoon Network that showcases the DC Universe in animated form, debuted an animated short featuring Vibe, a Puerto Rican character from Chicago. It is a innaccurate simply caricature of our people. There is nothing within that animation of substance in depth or quality at all. This was a perfect opportunity to revamp the character, get a Latin or even mroe specific, Puerto Rican writer to write the segment and bring Vibe our of obscurity and start him fresh. they dropped the ball again..... I and other viewers posted about how offensive the short was to us and how disappointing it. Why did DC feel that this representation was okay to air? It is extremely strange that they finally have good acting and writing for Blue Beetle (who is a perfect candidate to become a top tier character in their universe, who can represent Latino’s) and would show this offensive representation of Latin and inner city people.
Those of Middle Eastern Descent have had to deal with similar things in their own lands as we have in ours. Coming to this country feels as though it is an escape and new chance at life. Many times it is. What this may boil down to more than anything specifically for me, is jealousy..... My people have been going through what we have gone through for over 200 years. To this day we still are fighting to be seen. Granted, we've made strides and are more public than ever, but that is extremely hard fought and earned through everything that we have had to endure for so long. To this day, Marvel only has one character in the spotlight of Latin descent, and he’s only half, and DC has yet to put any emphasis in making that happen. I have worked in the elementary school systems and have seen just as many if not more books about the Middle East than I have about South America and the Caribbean. We are still not taken seriously.
At the end of the day, I’d love to see more representation of everyone, so NO one feels this way. I would love to see everyone have a potential role model who looks like them, who comes from what they come from, and with whom they can identify with. Some people see President Obama as a sham president and that he only won the election because he was Black….. thankfully that man was able to do more than simply be a Black man, because he showed that there is more to this world that what has been fed to us. Demand better from everything around you…. No one should be made to feel left out.
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