Mike Gold: Truth, Justice, and Hysteria
I guess Marvel senior vice president David Gabriel has had a bad week.
In case you haven’t heard – perhaps you were in solitary confinement – at the Marvel Retailer Summit Gabriel said that some retailers have told him that they “did not want female superheroes out there.” I have no doubt this is true: every industry has its share of morons, and sometimes – the Trump election is a case in point – those morons can influence policy. Capitalism being what it is, if enough morons have their way something really good and necessary gets chopped. For example, our President’s recent budget eliminated the miniscule funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Social media is instant, uncensored, and vox populi on steroids, so Gabriel’s comment was the latest shot heard around the world and everybody jumped on the bandwagon, taking his comments out of context, twisting them around, and making him appear to be the Adolf Eichmann of comics diversity.
Are there retailers who refuse to order, or who under-order, comics that star black, LGBT, and/or female characters? Of course there are. To quote from Blazing Saddles, “You know… morons.” Gabriel did say that Marvel’s commitment to diversity remains unchanged. He wasn’t backed into a corner and babbling bullshit to save his ass – he was standing behind a commitment made by a Fortune 500 company. Fortune 53 company, to put a fine point on it. And a publicly-traded company at that.
Did Gabriel say it in the most productive way? Hell, I don’t know. I wasn’t there, and I haven’t heard or read the statement in its entire context. At worst, it was phrased in a manner that was not adequately defensive.
In these days of instant communication and instant reaction – and I’m not suggesting this is bad in and of itself – it is virtually impossible to make an important observation that won’t be shorthanded and tossed to the wolves. And I like wolves. I have been one; I will be again. Getting the full story in these days of shortened attention spans and heightened touchiness is a bitch. But it is what it is.
My own takeaway from this affair: First, David Gabriel reported that some retailers don’t like diversity in comics, and I have absolutely no doubt that is true. Second, David Gabriel stood behind Marvel Comics’ commitment to diversity and reaffirmed it.
Corporate America being what it is, that’s not a guarantee. But it is as good as one can expect given the circumstances. Don’t condemn the guy for reporting an observation made by some retailers, delivered at a conference of retailers.
There’s a broader issue, one that I think is at the heart of the criticism. Previously, Marvel announced that this fall their best-known characters such as Iron Man and Thor will revert to their original constructs. We all knew that was coming. I said so in this space before, and I didn’t hear a peep of criticism. But that doesn’t mean that characters such as Captain Marvel, The Wasp or Ms. Marvel necessarily will be altered, and that doesn’t mean that Lady Thor et al will no longer exist.
What we need, and this has pretty much been ComicMix’s point of view all along, is that we must continue to create original characters who are reflective of our entire society. Yes, that is not easy. Absolutely. It’s tough to sell a new character out there. But Marvel has the muscle of Disney behind it, just as DC has the muscle of Warner Bros. behind it. Archie has been doing this for a long time, and some of the “smaller” publishers such as IDW and Dark Horse have plenty of resources.
Diversity is not a fad. No matter how violently some people might react from behind the safety of their internet service providers, this change is here to stay if we remain vigilant and we protect our gains.
My comics buying decisions are based entirely on how entertaining the books are. I have been reading the Miles Morales Spider-Man since it began. I actually stopped buying the Peter Parker Spider-Man way back when he bargained with Mephisto to have everyone forget his secret identity which effectively undid the most important event of the first Civil War. And he was no longer married to Mary Jane, which was a giant step backward. That was a similar mistake that DC is correcting now regarding Superman and Lois.
I have been reading Thor with Jane Foster wielding the hammer. It is very good. I read the first Black Panther written by Ta-Nahesi Coates and found it disappointing compared with the Don MacGregor version from the 70s.
I wasn’t reading Iron Man before the new character and I’m not reading it now. I’m not reading the new Captain Marvel or either current Captain America books. Usually I consider these changes as an opportunity to jump off rather than jump on.
I pretty much share your opinion about Morales and Parker, and Jane Foster — except I loathe the Asgardian font. And I was a bit disappointing in Coates’ Black Panther, but he’s coming from the world of pictureless communication and he deserves some time and editing. I like Iron Man, I’ve liked Captain Marvel pre-Civil War II, and the Captain America storyline is a means to an end. I’ll probably comment on it when it’s over. If it ends.