Forby

I have a problem, and I was wondering if I could get your informed opinions.

I'm going to be writing a book, socio-political in nature, and the lead character is a black man.

My question, quite simply, is this: would you buy a book with a black lead?

Now, I don't want to hear anything about "good writing". Let's assume the book is being published through Image, just for the sake of argument. We all know that Image won't publish just anything (anymore), so the caveat is that the writing is acceptable, as is the artwork.

I'm having a real problem with the fact that, historically, "black" comics don't sell. There are a few- Power Man and Black Panther come to mind- but those are more flukes than the norm. (Don't say Spawn. While Al Simmons may be a black man, he's generally not recognized as one. So, let's leave Spawn out of it.) I know that, generally speaking, comics are bought by white men, and white men have a hard time identifying with black men and vice versa, so there's a big barrier right there. However, I look on tv and see more black faces than ever.

No, I don't want this to be a race thing, but it seems to become one automatically. I want to be able to tell my story, and yes, the race of the character will lead to future storylines. (It's like trying to tell a Spider-Man story with Batman as the lead character. No story should have interchangeable characters, otherwise, what's the point?) However, in making the lead character a black man, I know that I'm automatically limiting my audience. That's just the nature of the beast. So, do I compromise my vision in order to get more sales, or do I go against the grain and do the best I can, hoping the sales will eventually come?

So, that's my problem and my question. What do you all think?

Mike225

Do what you have to do to tell the story you want to tell.

chaosgoat

Uh, Storm...

Actually, both of my current projects have "black" lead characters. I think there aren't enough "ethnic" lead characters in the industry, and I would love to see more diversity.

Pens&Pixels

Honestly...it depends on the story...not in the way you were saying about how well it's written, but more about what audience it's intended for. Are we talking about a "Soul Plane" or a "Man on Fire"?

JonHParrish

Please don't say Soul Plane.

__________________
Jon H. Parrish
My address for the e-mail.
My profile for the Facebook.
Before you ask, no I don't have the Twitter.

Scaleyinx

Yep. Race doesn't matter to me. As long as it's a good story that pulls my interest.




I won't call Blade a fluke?

__________________
Look at der slippery fishy - see him go!
´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸ ><((((º>

Forby

It's not Soul Plane, but definitely more Man On Fire, as far as intended audiences go.

Storm has never had her own book. A limited, sure, but her own ongoing? No.

When you talk about Blade, don't confuse the movies with the book. He's had a few ongoings that didn't last. I know we're talking about characters in ongoing stories, and Blade doesn't seem to be a compelling enough character in order to carry his own series for long.

Anyway, I also believe there isn't enough diversity in the marketplace. That's not the reason for this particular story, but I feel that lack will both help and hinder. I'm trying to be a realist about this, and I've already more than halfway decided which way to go. I'd just like to be able to maximize my chances for success, that's all.

The DarkMind

The reason why other books with black leads failed isn't in the race of the lead character, it was in the writing of that character which all too often is stereotyped. I know it's not the answer you wanted to hear but in comics it does all come down to the writing of the character and story surrounding the character. Race has nothing to do with it.

As for comics with black leads, Stormwatch had Battalion as the leader of the team when the series launched and it did quite well.

__________________
The 2009 Intensest Pitch Ever winner. Come adore me.

www.myspace.com/gula_v20
gula-v20.deviantart.com
gulav20.blogspot.com

hellblazer72

for me it depends on the story and artwork...i'm not going to buy a book with bad artwork(it doesnt matter who the character is, i'm a big fan of the flash but i quit collecting it after oscar jiminez left) and bad writing...man on fire was awesome by the way even with jennifer lopez's husband in it..

ABall

I say write the story. if the character is intended to be black, then let him be black. let the story determine the "race" of the character. if you feel that in order to get sales your protagionist has to be white, then let him be white, but if circumstances within the story should call or better yet warrant that the character be black, latino, hispanic, asian or whatever then I say let the story be told the way it should be told.

The whole idea that white readers can't identify with black leads is absurd. if writers would rise above playing the "race" card and focus more on the ideals and principles such as global social issues, or even issues such as trying to live the "american dream" then white readers would easily identify with a black lead. Not beacuse of his complextion, but more so, for the values, hopes, and fears that that character embodies and strtives day-to-day to overcome or to accoplish.

JAQ

The short, honest answer is that: yes, having a black lead character will probably hurt your sales in the direct market. How much, is impossible to say, since there's no good way to conduct such an experiment, with all other factors being equal.

But I think it'd be naive to think that the predominantly white comics-buying market in the U.S. doesn't notice or respond in some way to the race of the characters. With our society's history, we can't help noticing race. I don't think it's classical racism in the sense of I Hate Them or even I Can't Relate To Them. It's more a combination of A) a subconscious preference for Characters Who Remind Me Of Myself, and B) a conscious suspicion that stories featuring racial-minority characters are either Intended For A Minority Audience or they are Making A Statement About Race Relations. White people generally don't care much for either of those.

If being black is just one of several character traits that define the hero of your story, then I would recommend that you take pains to make sure the audience won't mistake it for an IFAMA or MASARR book. For example, make sure you have white supporting characters who appear prominently in promotional materials as the hero's friends. Even better, toss in an asian or hispanic character, so it looks more like standard cross-demographic casting with the lead role just happening to go to the black guy. If you want to be particularly careful about it, there's a good body of sociological and psychological evidence that a lighter-skinned black character with more ambiguous facial features who dresses conservatively will be more appealing to a white audience. Not because it's right... but because it's true.

Race shouldn't matter... but it does. In a better world, you wouldn't have any reason to do concern yourself with these kinds of tactics, and I feel a little dirty for suggesting them. And if we were talking about casting real people for parts in a movie, I'd have qualms about suggesting discriminatory hiring. But in a situation where you have complete control over the characters - including their appearance - it's worth considering.

j giar

I have strong supporting character in my book...and he is black. I know a supporting character isn't the same...but hang with me for a minute..Oddly enough when I started writing this story...this character had a very small part. As I wrote further into the story he began to become a much stronger character.
Without getting metaphysical...he had more to say and to do with the story than I had initially thought. I ended up going back through and rewriting alot of the story....My point is, you as the writer have one primary goal. Tell an entertaining story and be true it. Then be true to your audience. If being true to the story means you have a black lead character then so be it...do it...Sadly enough Jaq is right it may hurt your sales...at least at first. But if your story and character are strong enough they will overcome those obsticles. Look at even folks in cinema...George Romeros leading man in Night of the Living Dead.

__________________
SoulDriver
MySpace and ChelzoStudio

Ten_dvs_one

Man.. so your saying, ICON & ROCKET, STATIC, HARDWARE, BLOOD SYNDICATE, XOMBI were flukes or didn't have ongoing ties. Your clearly wrong.

Spawn is an assassin, he has his black moments( very Rare). The Thing about portraying a Black character depends on the story varibles. I mean don't put a black person in a book just to show " hey I have diversity", thats a cowardly way to write.

Being African American myself and utilizing the internet, I go to sites that are not comic bound but have sections. One site emphasized that the comic characters are not realistic portrayals of Blacks. Its like every safe black person is from the suburbs. True it depends on story, but you have to intergrate it accordingly.
You have to consider the types of black characters-
Those raised in a ghetto- yet go to a white school
Those raised in a suburb- yet attend all black school
those without college education.
When creating characters you have to consider the characters background and history as to how they would truly act in a story. Whether black, hispanic, white or martian.
It depends on the story.
If you jump shoot the character 100 years before slavery or a 100 years from now, the character itself will change. Since your story is possibly modern, you need to consider factors.
Black people supported blade the movie, cause blade did not come off as a black man who is cultured, but an actual black person. Again its hard to tell you anything without knowing the story.

Another thing don't worry about sales, worry about the story, as a writer its up to you to tell the best story possible, not tweak it to the point your just trying to sell it. Its not about making money at this stage, its about telling the story you want to tell. But I digress.. I'll post this on a board, and forward the messages here. They may come on.

nolanjwerner

I'm going to be honest here. This isn't the way I wish that it was by any stretch of the imagination just so you know.

There are substantial issues that you will need to overcome.

American culture is obsessed with race (I can't speak for how this would play in other countries) but, at the same time, the values of the white man (and, by this, I do mean conservative white suburban heterosexual christian males) are seen as the universal values and all of the other values are seen as specific and flawed, not being quite as good as the ones the white man has. At the same time as America is obsessed with race, the entire idea of class is taboo. Class issues are usually swept under the rug or dealt with under another idiom or put in a convenient little package where the WASP wins out in the end.

And theres the fact that your audience would be expecting you to tackle racial issues in one form or another. If you don't do it then you let them down and get criticized for forgetting about the issue but if you do it then you are criticized for being too heavy handed. You either end up not black enough or too black.

Good luck with your project btw. I really hope I'm wrong here.

And: Down with Whitey. Remember that my organization Whites Against Whitey is behind you.