- +

Author Topic: Minorities in comics pre-1960's: Depiction and/or Participation in comics  (Read 5612 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline whalter58

  • DCM Member
  • Posts: 2
  • Karma: 0
  • whalter58
I am very interested in any comics that depict minorties (especially African-American/Black and Latino),
and especially ones that are NOT well known like Eisner's Ebony, Japanese in WW2 era comics etc. I can't do searches in DCM for these specifically so anyone who can point me in their direction in the DCM files, I'd sure be grateful. By depiction I mean from a single panel to a full issue and positive or negative (i.e. racist) or even ads in old comics that depict minorities. Is anyone else out there interested in this as well?
« Last Edit: July 07, 2011, 03:19:44 PM by whalter58 »
whalter58

Digital Comic Museum


Offline Yoc

  • S T A F F
  • Administrators
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15338
  • Karma: 61
  • 15 Years Strong!
Hi and welcome whalter.
One hero I bet you've never heard of is 'Real American #1' (not the best name but...) he's likely comics first Native American hero.  You can find him in Daredevil Comics #2-11 with art by another favourite artist of mine Dick Briefer who is best know for his Frankenstein book for Prize Comics.
Here is the link for DD Comics - http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/index.php?cid=110

An very unusual hero who never shows his face but is thought to be Asian is 'The Green Turtle' from Blazing Comics which you can find here - http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/index.php?cid=365

There are more but these two come to mind first for me.

Offline JonTheScanner

  • VIP Uploaders
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 504
  • Karma: 52
Fawcett published 6 issues of Jackie Robinson Comics from 1949-52, and Eastern (Famous Funnies) published The Amazing Willie Mays in 1954. There was a single issue of All-Negro Comics in 1947. Parents Magazine published Negro Heroes in 1947. Fawcett and Charlton after they stopped printing comics had five issues of Negro Romances.

Offline narfstar

  • VIP Uploaders
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1675
  • Karma: 74
You can't forget Shoogafoots Jones
http://www.comics.org/series/14189/

I sure wish I would have scanned this before selling it way back when.

Offline Yoc

  • S T A F F
  • Administrators
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15338
  • Karma: 61
  • 15 Years Strong!
Ouch, nothing PC about Shoogafoots Jones!
First I've heard of the book, thanks Narf.

Offline narfstar

  • VIP Uploaders
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1675
  • Karma: 74
This is a book I would contribute to buying for scanning purposes if enough of us could get together

http://cgi.ebay.com/CLEAN-FUN-CGC-7-0-RACIST-COVER-2ND-HGST-GRADE-NR-/370524518004?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5644fb7674

Offline philcom55

  • DCM Member
  • Posts: 30
  • Karma: 1
I don't know if you're interested in foreign titles, but here's a curiosity from the 1970s - written, drawn and printed in the UK to be distributed in Nigeria (with artwork by Dave Gibbons and Brian Bolland):

http://i55.tinypic.com/2060g88.jpg
Of course, some British comics proper featured a number of outrageous racial caricatures over the years - notably the appalling 'Spadger's Isle' in Wizard!

 - Phil Rushton

« Last Edit: July 08, 2011, 10:37:51 AM by philcom55 »

Offline whalter58

  • DCM Member
  • Posts: 2
  • Karma: 0
  • whalter58
Wow! Thanks for the great start in my search, guys! Shoogfoots Jones is a new one for me and that Jumbo 105 is fantastic thank you so much.
whalter58

Offline John C

  • Administrators
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1316
  • Karma: 3
    • John's Blog
I wanted to hold off posting until I could find the issue, but haven't had the time and I don't want to leave it out.  But there's a Charlton science-fiction title with a story that basically copies Superman's origin but the entire civilization survives.  They settle on a large continent on Earth, which (ahem) "explains" why the Chinese had better technology than the Europeans for centuries, and the evidence is, of course, in their slanted eyes that couldn't possibly have evolved on Earth.

Ohhhh...

(It's technically outside your scope, the Chinese in China not really being definable as a "minority," but I couldn't let that keep me from bringing it up.)

Offline Yoc

  • S T A F F
  • Administrators
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15338
  • Karma: 61
  • 15 Years Strong!
I'd be interested in seeing that story too John.

Offline boox909

  • Repeat Donor!
  • VIP
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 63
  • Karma: 30
  • Arch Comics Nerd
You will want to look at some of the Centuar titles...some incredibly un-pc stuff in the humor slanted titles.

B.
Golly, what were the Last 100 uploads?
http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/stats2.php

Keltner's Golden Age Comic Book Index!
http://www.twomorrows.com/alterego/media/Golden%20Age%20Index.pdf

Offline darkmark (RIP)

  • VIP
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1331
  • Karma: 60
Besides Ebony in The Spirit, there was Chop Chop in BLACKHAWK, who had his own comedy strip in the middle of the book.    And Billy Batson (Captain Marvel) had a servant named Steamboat, which is the main reason why those stories weren't reprinted by DC.  The Young Allies had Whitewash Jones, about as stereotyped-for-the-time as you could get.  There were more, but I really don't feel like tracking them down right now.

Offline OtherEric

  • Global Moderator
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 892
  • Karma: 63
I would look at some of the Our Gang stories by Walt Kelly.  I've heard nothing but praise for his portrayal of Bucky in that series, even if it did take him a little while to develop the character from his beginnings as Buckwheat.  (I have yet to read all the stories myself yet.)

Offline paw broon

  • VIP
  • DCM Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 307
  • Karma: 9
And on the same lines as Powerman, here are 2 titles for distribution in South Africa (1975).  A bit after your period but hopefully of interest.

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae289/masquerouge/TI001003.jpg
http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae289/masquerouge/MM001004.jpg
Stephen Montgomery

Offline comicsnorth

  • DCM Member
  • Posts: 32
  • Karma: 3
As for the Centaur stuff, while they certainly had their moments, they also presented at least two Native American heroes, Mantoka & Red Blaze, who at the very least spoke better English than Tonto (Red, in fact, was a college man), and the evil Great Question was clearly Asian without being lemon yellow or speaking with a stereotypical accent.  Not that there weren't plenty of characters (quite a procession of "Man -servants-of-color--even "Hammer" Donovan had one!) that met every stereotype in the book.

-Comicsnorth