Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site dartvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!akgua!mcnc!decvax!dartvax!mwm From: mwm@dartvax.UUCP (M. W. Modrall) Newsgroups: net.comics Subject: a last note on ethnic groups Message-ID: <1401@dartvax.UUCP> Date: Sat, 28-Apr-84 13:11:10 EDT Article-I.D.: dartvax.1401 Posted: Sat Apr 28 13:11:10 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 29-Apr-84 09:09:04 EDT Organization: Dartmouth College Lines: 36 This is my first message on the net, so pardon any mistakes and such.... just a closing note on what i hope will be the end of a subject that has taken up much too much time and much too much work for its merit.... i agree with moriarity... i wouldn't go as far as to say that they are ONLY comic books, for at brief shining moments in the medium, they have actually been worthy of the term art... everyone who has read a great number of comic books will tell you that there are some that do make an impact and do have something to say... as has been said, over the past 10 years, the main audience of comic books has shifted from kids to teenagers and adults, and that has brought with it a maturing of the genre to some extent... hence the creation of the terms "graphic novel" and "graphic storytelling". this has taken place in the major companies to some extent, and in certain independants that we all laud for their quality... but my main point is this: comics tend either to be sheer escapism, vaccuous and stupid, or they try in their own way to make a point... usually about human character, the heroic nature, or some political point... both of these intents really have nothing to do with the portrayal of individual ethnic groups. Whatever the intent of the comic, i have never seen one that intentionally targets any ethnic group for either praise or derision... the recent CAP is an exception. The issues in comics either tend to transcend the petty squabbling about ethnic groups that have plagued the net for weeks, or they fall well below that level... few comics ever deal with ethnic issues, nor should anyone say they have to... i haven't read the newest MoonKnight, but i have heard it's good... that they chose to deal with an ethnic question there is their choice... I have never found the non-emphasis of ethnic groups in comics to be offensive. Indeed, by ignoring ethnic and racial issues all together, they appeal to a broader spectrum of people... anyone who wants to gripe about the fact that their ethnic group doesn't have proper prominence in comic books should just go off and make their own comic and see how they do... this issue has gotten much more press than it deserves, and i hope that we can all let it go.... -- Mark Modrall mwm, dartmouth college