White Liberalism in Black Comics: Metaphorical Marginalization And
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WHITE LIBERALISM IN BLACK COMICS: METAPHORICAL MARGINALIZATION AND THE DISPLACEMENT OF AMERICA By Alex Jay Stucky Submitted to the graduate degree program in American Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ________________________________ Chairperson Ruben Flores ________________________________ Giselle Anatol ________________________________ Ben Chappell ________________________________ Joo Ok Kim ________________________________ David Roediger Date Defended: December 12, 2019 The Dissertation Committee for Alex Jay Stucky certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: WHITE LIBERALISM IN BLACK COMICS: METAPHORICAL MARGINALIZATION AND THE DISPLACEMENT OF AMERICA ________________________________ Chairperson Ruben Flores Date Approved: December 12, 2019 ii Abstract In the wake of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, Marvel and DC Comics introduced black superheroes into their comic book series. While the comic book editors wanted to reach black audiences, they scrupulously avoided mentioning the Civil Rights Movement. To avoid the perceived controversy that accompanied movements for equal rights, they removed their new black characters from any connection to racial liberation movements. American literature has long constructed the black body as the opposite of white autonomy, authority, and power. Yet, the American superhero also embodies these same qualities. Rather than explore these contradictory identities in a black superhero, comic companies attempted to reconcile them. These reconciliation attempts reflected white fears about Black Power and led to the displacement of black superheroes from an American context through a complex construction of non-human characterizations. This study examines how white liberal comic book authors’ creation of black characters impacted racial hierarchy, exclusion, and vulnerability and how the inclusion of black identities in superhero comics reified the complex constructions of power and race in American culture. Textual and visual analysis of black comics from the 1960s and 1970s comprises a bulk of the research. Textual and visual analysis of the comics from the 60s and 70s shows not only how white authors imagined black identities following the Civil Rights Movement, but also how these writers thought white readers understood black identities. This methodology is bolstered by the inclusion of interviews with writers, artists, and editors, quantitative sales data, and fan feedback provided in each comics’ letters-to-the-editor column, which tell how the public reacted to these new heroes. Paradoxically, white writers’ displacement of black superheroes from a contemporary American context helped these comics to become popular in black communities. While the decision to remove African American superheroes from an American context was made to sanitize comics of potentially controversial iii political messages, the plot lines still involved the restructuring of identity for the black superhero—which mirrored the renegotiation of identity that was underway following the Civil Rights Movement. iv Acknowledgements I begin by thanking my advisor, Ruben Flores, for his insightful comments on the use of methodology and theoretical applications, without which the dissertation would be a jumbled mess of ideas. More importantly, you have often provided me with the encouragement needed to complete this dissertation despite leaving the Lawrence community in 2017. To the rest of the committee, I offer my deepest thanks. To Giselle Anatol: for your insightful commentary on the use of literary analysis during our meetings. To Ben Chappell: your numerous courses on liberalism in American society, always a boogeyman in the background, has informed much of this dissertation. To Joo Ok Kim: your suggestions on theory, rising scholars, and general advice proved to be an invaluable resource. And to David Roediger: your courses and writing shaped much of my intellectual work, but I would be remiss if I did not mention your generosity. I would also like to extend a massive thank you to Terri Rockhold. Without Terri, the department would surely fall apart at the seams. A great deal of my appreciation goes towards my friends. Graduate school has taught me that intelligence is abundant, but I've been lucky to meet some of the most kind and thoughtful people throughout my life and there are too many to include. At the risk of offending the others, I would like to thank Ben, Hannah, Jenna, and Steve for being wonderful friends to experience graduate school with. A special thank you to my partner, Carina. Your constant encouragement to “keep writing”, long talks about each chapter, and coffee shop work dates are the reason this dissertation made it passed the first draft. I would also like to thank Carina’s wonderful family. In particular, I would like to thank Doreen, for her feedback, encouragement, and welcoming me into her family. v Finally, I would like to thank my family. I am deeply luck to have been born to Glenn and Patricia Stucky. You have both inspired me in more ways that I can count and are the reason for my love of learning. Thank you for everything and for your love and support! vi Table of Contents Introduction: Temporary Blackness in Comic Books…….……………………………………….1 Popular Culture and the Comic Book Industry…….…………………………………………....5 White and Black Identities………………………………………………………..…………....10 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………….……..20 Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………………………...22 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..24 Chapter 1: Metaphorical Marginalization: White Liberalism and the Erasure of Black Identities in Marvel Comics………………………………………………………………………………...25 Marginality in American Comic Books………………………………………………………..27 White Liberalism and the Limits of the Marvel Metaphor…………………………………….30 A Limited Metaphor for Understanding Racism……………………………………………....39 The Erasure of Black Identities in Early Marvel Comics……………………………………...45 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..54 Chapter 2: Blaxploitation and a White Hypermasculinity……………………………………….56 Superhero Morality…………………………………………………………………………….58 The Masculinity of the Black Male Superhero………………………………………………...60 The Creation of the Deviant Superhero………………………………………………………..64 Contesting Respectability through Heteronormative Hypermasculinity and Whiteness……...68 Black Lightning - A Short Run Mirror of Luke Cage………………………………………....80 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..88 Chapter 3: Exiled Identities: African Americans without an America…………………………..89 The Nomadic Hero……………………………………………………………………………..90 Green Heroes on the Road and the Exile of Black Identity……………………………………97 The Falcon and Rewriting History of White Liberalism………………………..…………....110 vii Black Characters in White Spaces…………………………………………………………....117 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………....124 Chapter 4: Melting Pot Identities: African Immigration and American Unity………………....125 African Landscapes and Americanization…………………………………………………....127 Storm: Immigrant Acts, Assault, and Leadership………………………………………….....130 Black Panther: An Apolitical King…………………………………………………………...143 Brother Voodoo: The Embodiment of Double Consciousness……………………………….152 Nubia………………………………………………………………………………………….156 Vixen………………………………………………………………………………………….158 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………....160 Chapter 5: The Black Protector: Posthuman Monsters and White Guilt…………………….....162 The Afrofuturist Theory and Aesthetics………………………………………...…………....163 Cyborg: Posthuman Black Pain……………………………………………………………....165 Tyroc: The Future Separatist ……..………………………………………………………….174 Blade: The Techno-Vampire………………………………………………………………....182 Rewriting History: Egyptian Iconography and Violence…………………………………….188 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...196 Epilogue: Into the Spider-Diverse…………………………………………………………....198 A Brand New Day?..................................................................................................................206 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………....210 viii Introduction: Temporary Blackness in Comic Books The development of black superheroes by the comic book industry from 1966 to 1980 provided some of the most important representations of black cultural icons in the 20th century United States. From Black Panther to Green Lantern to numerous others that appeared, these characters have continued to be some of the most prominent black figures in American culture. The significance of black superheroes cannot be overstated and should be rightfully celebrated for the inclusion of black and brown bodies in an almost exclusively white literary space. However, these superheroes need to be closely examined and not just celebrated. In another context, Toni Morrison has asked for not just the representation of black characters in literature, but also for an analysis of how these characters are used by their white authors.1 We must ask, what are the stories being told, and what are the ramifications of the inherent politics of the superpowered black body in American comic books? This dissertation begins to answer how black superheroes not only emerged, but what they conveyed to the readership that flocked to them. In the 1960s, comics featured minority communities as societies to be investigated, saved, and assimilated. But rather than allow for black perspectives, these comics attempted to deliver anti-racist messages that ultimately argued