Superheroes! by Laurence Maslon

Author:Laurence Maslon [Maslon, Laurence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-385-34859-1
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2013-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

TOP: The identity of the Black Panther was an easy guess—but in 1966, comic book readers were shocked when he was revealed to be a black superhero. LEFT: Two real Black Panthers: Bobby Seale and Huey Newton at an Oakland rally. RIGHT: A Kirby splash page for a groundbreaking character (The Fantastic Four #52, 1966).

Intentionally or not, the character was packed with several conflicting themes from African American culture, dating all the way back to the early 20th century, when activists such as W. E. B. DuBois were trying to define the role of blacks within a larger social structure. Writer Gary Phillips frames the issue:

There’s always that tension, particularly in pop culture, in terms of uplifting the race, of showing the best, one true example of the race. In a lot of ways, the Panther exemplifies that. On one hand, he is the noble savage, but on the other hand, he’s this king of this hidden, scientifically advanced kingdom that has purposely hidden itself from the world so as to avoid a lot of conflicts of racism that have taken place on the African continent and, by extension, in America.

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