Art from We Are Robin #1 by Lee Bermejo, Jorge Corona, and Khary Randolph
DC Comics and Marvel have made it their mission to add diversity to their comic universes this year. Marvel’s “All-New, All-Different” relaunch of its titles will focus on putting Black and brown characters in the spotlight. Marvel’s initiative starts this fall, but DC Comics’ diversity initiative is already in full swing, and the results are not so good.
Since June of this year, DC has pumped out comics targeting audiences that may not have an interest in the comic book industry. The biggest two demographics includes women and people of color.
“Titles like We Are Robin, Starfire, Doctor Fate, and Midnighter feature strong creator-led visions and distinctive visual styles paired with lesser-known lead characters that might appeal to specific audiences,” Andrew Wheeler for Comicsalliance.com.
Even though the relaunch has been well publicized, the news coverage has not translated into sales. In fact, there were rumors DC would give up on the initiative all together. However, the company says it will continue to strive for diversity.
“We had some hits, we have some things that are under-performing,” said DC Comics co-publisher and legendary artist Jim Lee in an interview with L.A. Daily News. “What we [did] in June is definitely step one towards this sort of transformation of the [comics] line. And I think that story is still being written.”
What makes this initiative exciting is that women and people of color are behind the titles. Comic creators like Khary Randolph, Annie Wu and David F. Walker have put their marks on their respective titles, relishing their newfound creative freedom. Later on, there will also be a relaunch of the Milestone Comics introduced in the 1990s that will now have real staying power with the support of the DC YOU.
Hopefully, time will prove that the DC YOU is a worthy experiment. Now fans just have to put their money and faith into it.
