Who Gets to be a Superhero & Why It Matters: Diversity in Comics

1. WHO GETS TO BE A
SUPERHERO &
WHY IT MATTERS:
DIVERSITY IN COMICS
Lisa Hager
UW-Waukesha
http://bit.ly/divcomics
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || @lmhager
Pronouns: she, her, hers or they, them,
theirs

2. INTRODUCTION
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

3. WHAT MAKES
SUPERHEROES SUPER?
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

4. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE
SUPERHERO?
WHY DO YOU LIKE THEM?
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

5. WHAT MAKES
SUPERHEROES SUPER?
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

6. WHAT MAKES SUPERHEROES
SUPER?
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

7. WHAT MAKES SUPERHEROES
SUPER?
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

8. WHAT DO OUR SUPERHEROES LOOK LIKE?
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

9. WHAT DO OUR SUPERHEROES LOOK LIKE?
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

10. MINORITY CHARACTER TROPES
WOMEN IN REFRIGERATORS
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager
•Gail Simone (1999) –
Green Lantern (Kyle
Rayner) discovers his
girlfriend, Andrea
DeWitt, has been killed
by Major Force

11. MINORITY CHARACTER TROPES
MAGICAL _________ FRIEND
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

12. MINORITY CHARACTER TROPES
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager
• Little to no character development
• Only point of these characters is to
advance the main character’s
development or the plot
• Often entirely defined by their
minority identity

13. HOW DO WE AVOID THESE TROPES?
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager
Chuck Wendig:
I do like to think that it’s important to write books that feature
people who aren’t me because I really, really hope that my
readership is not just a room full of beardo white dudes with
grumpy sourpuss faces staring at each other. Diversity matters
to my readership, and I don’t mean that in a salacious “equates-
to-sales” way, but rather in a, “equates-to-acknowledging-the-
vast-complexity-of-the-humans-who-exist-around-us” kinda
way.”

14. WHAT CAN WE DO?
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager
• Critique problematic representations in comics
and support others who are doing so
• Create comic book characters of diverse
backgrounds and support comics that are doing so

15. A FEW NOTABLE CRITIQUES
HAWKEYE INITIATIVE
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

16. A FEW NOTABLE CRITIQUES
HAWKEYE INITIATIVE
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

17. A FEW NOTABLE CRITIQUES
TEXTS FROM SUPERHEROES
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

18. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

19. A FEW NOTABLE CRITIQUES
BLOGS
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager
•The Mary Sue
•DC Women Kicking Ass
•Black Nerd Girls
•Polygon

20. A FEW NOTABLE CHARACTERS
KATE KANE ~ BATWOMAN
BATWOMAN VOL. 3: WORLD'S FINEST
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

21. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

22. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

23. A FEW NOTABLE CHARACTERS
ORACLE ~ ORACLE & BIRDS OF PREY
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

24. A FEW NOTABLE CHARACTERS
ALYSIA YEOH ~ BATGIRL
BATGIRL VOL. 3: DEATH OF THE FAMILY
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

25. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

26. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

27. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

28. A FEW NOTABLE CHARACTERS
KAMALA KAHN ~ MS. MARVEL
MS. MARVEL VOL. 1: NO NORMAL
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

29. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

30. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

31. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

32. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

33. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

34. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

35. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

36. lisa.hager@uwc.edu || she, her, hers or they, them, theirs || @lmhager

37. Questions?
http://bit.ly/divcomics
lisa.hager@uwc.edu || @lmhager
she, her, hers or they, them, theirs