Representation Matters

 

I think it goes without saying, that representation matters. We all like to see ourselves reflected in the media we consume. Whether that is movies, music, comic books, novels, etc. For me, since this is a comic book blog after all, I'm going to go with comic books. In the past, I've immediately written a post about a comic that impacted me in a specific way that I felt I should share with people. This happened last night and this morning as I read two different offerings from DC.

I know historically, people see me as a DC hater and a total Marvel fanboy. Those descriptions aren't completely invalid, but the misconception is that I somehow hate DC. I like DC a lot. I just prefer Marvel more. The books I'm going to talk about that I have pictured above are some of the reasons why I like DC.

Now they eternal cynic in me would want to dismiss such offerings because a savvy company will have their finger to the pulse of a moment in history and try to capitalize on it. It's no mistake that DC pulled together some of it's writers/artists to put out a book during Pride Month. Nor is it not unnoticed that after the George Floyd murder, they wanted to get a book out there by black creators as well. 

I feel like that kind of dismissiveness is found in the normal comic fan. I'm not immune to that, as I alluded to above with my cynical hot take. However, for me, I will still at least give books like this a chance because they DO matter. I know that the more people buy them, the more likely they will be to publish something else. They are stories that should be told and coming from one of the big publishers means there will be eyes on it. 

So what did I think? Well, the fact that I'm writing this post now means they affected me in some way. I'll start with "Represent". Apparently this is just a physical copy of a digital first series that DC had late last year. It says this on the cover, but I missed that when I picked it up. I never said I was perfect. I realize now why some of the stories felt dated in that they reference stuff that happened in 2020. That is not to take away from the impact of these stories. There are no super heroes here. These are just stories about regular people told from many different black writers. There is an authenticity to the stories that I can relate to as a black person. A lot of the fears and the stories that are told here are things I and many of my community have had to grapple with all our lives. 

I mentioned before how we gravitate towards something where we can see ourselves. I can see myself here. I also can appreciate that this book exists and I only wish that something like this would have been available when I was a kid. I may have talked about it before, but finding representation, true representation when I started reading comics was hard. Also, back then, you wouldn't get a lot of non-super heroic stuff from mainstream comic books. 

So each story is different and has a different feel to them. As I am about to become a father, I empathize especially with the ones about teens or small children. These stories are difficult to read. They may reintroduce trauma, but they are good tools for starting discussions with people. The way the book is laid out, you also get a little bit of information about the writers and I recognized some of the names of the artists that were attached to it. My favorite story was the third one, "Food for Thought". The fourth one, "Believe You" is something that black women have to deal with regularly and is heart wrenching. There are some joyous stories here, but I think the general mood of the material is mostly somber. I highly recommend you check this book out.  If you do not want to buy a physical copy in comic book stores, it is available for about 0.99 for each of the seven stories on Amazon. The first one is free.

Now let's move on to "DC Pride". Where I could see myself in "Represent", I am here to learn more with "DC Pride". I am not a member of the LGBTQIA community, but I would like to think I am an ally and I always want to see what more I can do to help. I hate to pull this card, but a lot of my closest friends are part of this community. Unlike "Represent", this book is completely about super heroes in the DC Universe. I will also say that this book is upbeat and uplifting. So tonally, it is very different than "Represent". 

There's a wonderful foreword from Marc Andreyko, the "gay elder statesman" as he refers to himself, describing why a book like this exists. It's only a page, but I think it is a good precursor to what you are about to read and why a book like this is important. This book is a collection of short stories from a number of different writers. I didn't look up all of them, but I know some of them are openly gay creators. The cover gives you an idea of the characters that are featured here. 

I honestly can't say how true some of these experiences are because they are not my experiences. I would think that since it was in the hands of members of the community and not your typical straight white guys, that it probably is pretty accurate and reflective. If it is, then I feel like I can come away having learned something. Some of the things I read here are not so dissimilar from what I've learned from the important people in my life. There is wonderful art here from some industry mainstays. My personal favorite was probably the story about Renee Montoya, appearing as "The Question" here. As I think about it, I am struck by how "Day of the life" they are. There are super hero things happening, but also very normal things. As the opening says, these are tales about people.

To wrap up the issue, there are a couple of snippets of interviews with some of the actors that portray LGBTQIA characters in some of the CW DC shows. They each talk about how they know they are representing that which they do not normally see on tv and how important it is. One of the stories is even written by Nicole Maines, who portrays "Dreamer" in the Supergirl show. These interviews were a nice bow on the package.

I am very glad to have read this and I would highly recommend this to others as well. I know that for some, a comic book about super heroes will seem to be so basic. Of course a comic book would feature characters in capes and tights, you may think. My hope is that someone will find themselves in this book. Nothing can substitute the feeling you have when you know you are seen.

I'm glad to see comics like this being made and I only hope that they can continue to do so. Comics like these are always a hard sell to the rank and file comic book fan, so I hope there is enough of an audience that is willing to learn or new fans come in that can help support these books. Like any business, if the product is not selling, it won't get made any more.

My intention was not to try and draw such stark comparisons or sow division between people in how I talked about these books here. I did read them back to back on purpose so that I could try and give a little bit of insight into how I felt. I hope that you will give one or even both of them a chance. The more we can learn about each other, the better conversations we can have.