Shaolin Brew

Race, Comics, and the Evolution of the Superhero

Troy D. Smith

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Paperback

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English

University Press of Mississippi
17 June 2024

Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers; Graphic novels: history & criticism; Popular culture; Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies; Black & Asian studies

Shaolin Brew: Race, Comics, and the Evolution of the Superhero looks at how the comic book industry developed from a white perspective and how minority characters were and are viewed through a stereotypical white gaze. Further, the book explores how voices of color have launched a shift in the industry, taking nonwhite characters who were originally viewed through a white lens and situating them outside the framework of whiteness.

The financial success of Blaxploitation and Kung Fu films in the early 1970s led to major comics publishers creating, for the first time, Black and Asian superhero characters who headlined their own comics. The introduction of Black and Asian main characters, who previously only served as guest stars or sidekicks, launched a new kind of engagement between comics companies and minority characters and readers. However, scripted as they were by white writers, these characters were mired in stereotypes.

Author Troy D. Smith focuses on Asian, Black, and Latinx representation in the comic industry and how it has evolved over the years. Smith explores topics that include Orientalism, whitewashing, Black respectability politics, the model minority myth, and political controversies facing fandoms. In particular, Smith examines how fans take the superheroes they grew up with—such as Luke Cage, Black Lightning, and Shang Chi—and turn them into the characters they wished they had as children.

Shaolin Brew delves into the efforts of fans of color who urged creators to make these characters more realistic. This refining process increased as more writers and artists of color broke into the industry, bringing their own perspectives to the characters. As many of these characters transitioned from page to screen, a new generation of writers, artists, and readers have cooperated to evolve one-dimensional stereotypes into multifaceted, dynamic heroes.

By: Troy D. Smith
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 272g
ISBN: 9781496851680
ISBN 10: 1496851684
Pages: 277
Publication Date: 17 June 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Troy D. Smith is associate professor of history at Tennessee Tech University, where he specializes in race and ethnic studies. He has won several national awards for his historical fiction.

Reviews for Shaolin Brew: Race, Comics, and the Evolution of the Superhero

Shaolin Brew utilizes diverse materials to illustrate both how whiteness framed the representation of Blacks and Asians in 1970s comics and how that frame was interrogated and challenged by fans of color from the start."" - Patrick L. Hamilton, coauthor of All New, All Different? A History of Race and the American Superhero