Opinion: Lamenting the impending loss of Nighthawk, a black superhero

Transcription

1 Opinion: Lamenting the impending loss of Nighthawk, a black superhero By David Betancourt, Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 838 A panel from Marvel's canceled "Nighthawk" series. Photo: Marvel Comics What do we want from superheroes of color in comic books? That's a question I asked myself after Marvel confirmed last month that it had canceled "Nighthawk." "Nighthawk" Character Battles Racism "Nighthawk" is a dark and gritty Chicago-based comic series. It features a black man in a mask taking on everything from police corruption to gentrification, or the displacing of poor people from their neighborhoods. He fights racism. Four issues of "Nighthawk" have been published to date, and two issues remain before the series ends. Previously, I suggested that Marvel should take its character, Night Thrasher, a well-known black superhero, and place him in Baltimore. I thought the character should take on a police force that is known to be less than civil to black people. All the while, there was a series featuring Nighthawk with a hero taking on a similar mission.

2 Comics Have Made Progress In recent years, comics have made a lot of progress. They have created a mix of superheroes who look like our population at large. Now a superhero of color who takes on the societal problems of people of color has been canceled after six issues. This does not give fans much faith that similar efforts are on the horizon. "Nighthawk" should have been a total success in terms of satisfying the demands for diversity in comics that have been expressed on social media. It featured a black hero and was written by a black writer, David F. Walker. It covered black issues on the black side of a major metropolitan city. Its cover art was done by renowned black comic book artist Denys Cowan. But "Nighthawk" will only make it to one collected volume as a graphic novel, which is a story told in cartoon drawings published as a book. Walker recently confirmed on Twitter that sales simply were not strong enough to justify the series continuing. "Nighthawk" Drowned Out It hurts when comics such as this are canceled. It is too easy to say "black superheroes don't sell." But that is an oversimplification of the situation. Joseph P. Illidge recently wrote for Comic Book Resources that "Nighthawk" was drowned out by two major comic book events. One was Marvel's "Civil War II." The other was DC Comics' successful "Rebirth" relaunch. Should "Nighthawk" have been allowed to make a name for itself when there were no industry-hyped events going on? We know that Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Black Panther" comic is doing well and receiving critical praise. Nick Spencer is telling one of the more intriguing "Captain America" stories in recent years with his handling of black hero Sam Wilson dealing with a pocket of America that cannot quite accept him as "their" Captain America. Summer Blockbusters But "Black Panther" and "Captain America" are two major series from the Marvel universe and two of the most popular superheroes around. They got the big-screen movie treatment in summer blockbusters. Nighthawk is a hero that even some dedicated comic book fans may not have been familiar with if they hadn't read "Squadron Supreme." That was a Marvel series in which he appeared. Should such a realistic approach to black issues have been handled with another, more recognizable character? Or are these issues too serious for Marvel to allow them to affect their upper-tier of heroes of color? That's not to say that those top heroes of color do not feel the occasional sociological sting. Miles Morales, when his spidey-suit was torn, found out the world was fascinated to know that Spider-Man had brown skin underneath. Captain America deals with racist remarks. The Black Panther is dealing with an anti-wakandan uprising in the African nation he rules. But these things are nothing like what Nighthawk was going up against.

3 Are Comics Ready For Reality? Maybe when it comes to heroes of color at top publishers, readers want more fantasy than reality. Comic books can be a great escape. Super-powers. Secret identities and masks. A fictional African paradise, led by a panther king, that has never been invaded and a black man using an indestructible shield to defend his country can be visually absorbed a lot easier than a bird-man taking on real-world inspired injustice. There are complaints in the comics community that characters like Miles Morales and Riri Williams are not being created by writers of color. Many say these characters are gimmicks. The Bottom Line Credit has to be given to Marvel Comics for giving a series like "Nighthawk" a try. But Marvel should also be questioned about why they were so quick to end it. Sales numbers talk. But every now and then the message is a little more important than the bottom line. If Nighthawk is the type of hero of color you want to see more of, you can do the one thing that did not happen enough when the series began: Buy the comics. "Nighthawk's" first and only volume can be pre-ordered online now. David Betancourt writes about all aspects of comic book culture for the Washington Post's Comic Riffs blog.

4 Quiz 1 The author of the article would be MOST likely to agree with which of the following statements? Comic book companies should not publish comics that do not make money. Diversity and realistic social issues should be present in the comic book world. Readers prefer comics based on realistic facts over comics based in fantasy worlds. "Black Panther" is a more interesting and popular comic than "Captain America." 2 Fill in the blank. The author MAINLY explains the importance of the comic book "Nighthawk" by... giving examples of other comic books that have African American heroes and authors. explaining how its focus on real-life issues of society and race made it unlike other comics. detailing the process of revisions and adjustments it went through before it was canceled. praising its recent launch among other popular comics at two major comic book events. 3 Read the section "Nighthawk Character Battles Racism" and the sentence below. I thought the character should take on a police force that is known to be less than civil to black people. Based on the information in this section, which option is the BEST definition of the word "civil" as used in the sentence? private public polite political

5 4 Read the sentence from the section "Comics Have Made Progress." "Nighthawk" should have been a total success in terms of satisfying the demands for diversity in comics that have been expressed on social media. How does using the phrase "demands for diversity" affect the tone of the sentence above? It suggests that social media is a reliable source for different kinds of information. It suggests that there was only a small group of people asking for a comic like "Nighthawk." It suggests that readers were not certain about saying what they wanted. It suggests that "Nighthawk" was giving people exactly what they had asked for.

6 Answer Key 1 The author of the article would be MOST likely to agree with which of the following statements? Comic book companies should not publish comics that do not make money. Diversity and realistic social issues should be present in the comic book world. Readers prefer comics based on realistic facts over comics based in fantasy worlds. "Black Panther" is a more interesting and popular comic than "Captain America." 2 Fill in the blank. The author MAINLY explains the importance of the comic book "Nighthawk" by... giving examples of other comic books that have African American heroes and authors. explaining how its focus on real-life issues of society and race made it unlike other comics. detailing the process of revisions and adjustments it went through before it was canceled. praising its recent launch among other popular comics at two major comic book events. 3 Read the section "Nighthawk Character Battles Racism" and the sentence below. I thought the character should take on a police force that is known to be less than civil to black people. Based on the information in this section, which option is the BEST definition of the word "civil" as used in the sentence? private public polite political

7 4 Read the sentence from the section "Comics Have Made Progress." "Nighthawk" should have been a total success in terms of satisfying the demands for diversity in comics that have been expressed on social media. How does using the phrase "demands for diversity" affect the tone of the sentence above? It suggests that social media is a reliable source for different kinds of information. It suggests that there was only a small group of people asking for a comic like "Nighthawk." It suggests that readers were not certain about saying what they wanted. It suggests that "Nighthawk" was giving people exactly what they had asked for.