Marvel Comics' Senior VP of Publishing Just Gave a Very Dubious Answer When Questioned About Their Lack of Black Writers and Artists

He doesn't see why doing a line of hip-hop covers when you don't have any black writers or artists is a bit iffy.

Have you seen those hip-hop variant covers that Marvel Comics are doing yet? They’re pretty sick right?  

Thing is, people have noticed that Marvel don’t currently have any black writers or artists announced to work on their new line comics, once their universe-changing ‘Secret Wars’ event is over. Which for a company that seems to really be making an effort with diversity their fictional characters, doesn’t reflect that well on them. 

An anonymous Marvel fan called out Marvel’s Senior Vice President of Publishing and Executive editor Tom Brevoort on his Tumblr, asking if they are going do something so tied into black culture like having a whole load of hip-hop tie-in covers, shouldn’t they first try to address the lack of diversity on their creative staff?

His response wasn’t great

He replied saying: "What does one have to do with the other, really?". 

If he doesn’t see why there’s an issue with referencing something so steeped in black culture, without having any black people actually making those comics, it’s a bit worrying. Marvel have been very good with shaking up the traditionally very white superhero universe—they’ve had great success with the African-American/ Latino Spider-Man Miles Morales, and the Muslim Ms Marvel. But this response for someone high up at the company doesn’t come across well at all.

Update: Brevoort just posted an apology, saying: "Okay, fair cop, I spoke quickly and curtly and may have given the wrong impression. So I apologize for that.... My point, such as it was, is that this isn’t an either-or situation. Doing the Hip-Hop covers (many of which were illustrated by creators of color) has no direct bearing on the state of African-American representation among our creative teams. What it does do, hopefully, is to showcase an appreciation for this respected artform, and by extension create an environment that’s maybe a little bit more welcoming to prospective creators."

It hasn't gone down very well

[via House To Astonish]

Latest in Pop Culture