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[LOLtron]

An editorial making the rounds says there aren't, and wonders why no one seems to care.

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Source: ComicsAlliance

Joseph Hughes at ComicsAlliance posted an editorial yesterday bringing attention to the issue:

There is currently not a single black writer working on a monthly series for either of the two biggest comic book publishers in the United States, and precious few working for any of the others.

And yet, this fact has hardly been discussed recently, in the way some other diversity issues are. So what happened, exactly? Why is it that we no longer seem to care about this as much as we once did? Where has our outrage gone?

A shocking accusation, but is it true? Well, Heidi MacDonald tweeted the article, which is how we found it, and if Heidi endorses something, that's good enough of an excuse for us to avoid doing any work to verify it. Rich Johnston reported on it as well, but that hasn't changed our mind.

As to the second part, the idea that people are outraged less about this than they are about The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Spiderpuss, or snarky articles on D-List comic book websites? Well, to that, this reporter would point out that there's only so much outrage that can go around. The comic book community dedicates a very large portion of its time to being outraged. There's not an unlimited supply of the stuff. Just like The United States can't feed starving people when we're spending too much money on war and missiles, comic book fans can't be outraged about racism when they've put all their energy into being mad that cosplayers don't get the respect they deserve as serious artists.

Anyway, this isn't about what I think. Go and read the article at ComicsAlliance, and then post your own thoughts below in the Facebook comments or at the Discuss on Forum link.

Written or Contributed by Jude Terror

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READ THIS ARTICLE ON THE FRONT PAGE, HUMANS!

[Punchy]

I know you're joking, but I think I actually am outraged out.

I just can't be bothered to be bothered about this.

[Chesscub]

The article makes an interesting point, but from a comic fan perspective I don't know if the creator is white/black/asian/latino/martian unless I meet them face to face. I look for a good story. The person writing the article did neglect to remember Christopher Priest (please come back to comics!)

[HNutz]

The article makes an interesting point, but from a comic fan perspective I don't know if the creator is white/black/asian/latino/martian unless I meet them face to face. I look for a good story. The person writing the article did neglect to remember Christopher Priest (please come back to comics!)

Me too.

The race or gender of a writer doesn't matter to me. All I care about is the quality of their work.

[Zechs]

Me too.

The race or gender of a writer doesn't matter to me. All I care about is the quality of their work.

Yep pretty much.

[MrBlack]

The article makes an interesting point, but from a comic fan perspective I don't know if the creator is white/black/asian/latino/martian unless I meet them face to face. I look for a good story. The person writing the article did neglect to remember Christopher Priest (please come back to comics!)

While I agree with that sentiment as a reader, there is still the question of why there is such a lack of diversity at the Big Two and elsewhere. That may not affect my enjoyment of an individual story, but it could inform whether I wish to continue buying product from a company.

[Keb]

Rick Remender isn't black?

[S.F. Jude Terror]

Rick Remender isn't black?

Half black. The lower half. That's what I heard.

[superfictious]

Is it even worth it for a black writer to work for one of the big publishers? If they add a single character of color to the cast of the book, or make any sort of reference to race or try to write from experience, there are automatic accusations of pushing an agenda. It's natural for writers to create and write characters similar to their background, something I imagine is hard for writers of color to be able to do. At the same time, their fans of color expect them to write/create characters that look like them, and when that doesn't happen a portion of the potential fanbase turns its back. It's no win.

I imagine the situation is better with artists.

[Grayson]

Rick Remender isn't black?

Damn, he's going to be shocked when he finds out!

Edit: Isn't Olivier Coipel going to be working on an upcoming X-Men title?

[Chesscub]

Is it even worth it for a black writer to work for one of the big publishers? If they add a single character of color to the cast of the book, or make any sort of reference to race or try to write from experience, there are automatic accusations of pushing an agenda. It's natural for writers to create and write characters similar to their background, something I imagine is hard for writers of color to be able to do. At the same time, their fans of color expect them to write/create characters that look like them, and when that doesn't happen a portion of the potential fanbase turns its back. It's no win.

I imagine the situation is better with artists.

All I know is the creators that I knew were black, I enjoyed their work regardless of ethnicity because they put out fantastic work. I wish DC had put more effort into the Milestone characters after they acquired them. I'd love to have a GOOD Static series (sorry the New 52 wasn't working for me) or a Hardware or a Blood Syndicate series.

[superfictious]

All I know is the creators that I knew were black, I enjoyed their work regardless of ethnicity because they put out fantastic work. I wish DC had put more effort into the Milestone characters after they acquired them. I'd love to have a GOOD Static series (sorry the New 52 wasn't working for me) or a Hardware or a Blood Syndicate series.

It's probably only a small fraction of the fanbase that exhibit the behavior I was referring to, but they're a vocal fraction that have no problem complaining about crap like Black Lightning being forced into the JL or John Stewart being the JL animated GL or how outrageous it is for two high-profile black characters to marry. Now, Hudlin brought most of that on himself, but other writers like Priest seem to get crap from that vocal minority for the most insignificant of things.

[oogy]

Maybe there aren't enough white women.

[Keb]

Maybe there aren't enough white women.

This is true.

There can never be enough white women.

[Log-Man]

Black people don't read comics, why would they write them?