Old Comics, New Values...

[Kashgar]

Just one final post on the racism question. Is the depiction of any character who belongs to an ethnic minority doomed to fall into the racist category and, if not, why are some characters seemingly exempt from this criticism?
Take 'Ali Ha Ha and the Forty Thieves' a strip that appeared in the Dandy 1960-1963. As a strip drawn by Ken Reid this has gotten quite a bit of attention over the years but in all that time did anyone think what an anti-Muslim slur it was to have a load of Muslim men, each with the sacred name Mustapha reduced to the level of a music-hall joke, Mustapha Phag etc, depicted as villains who were literally armed to the teeth. How did this strip regularly find a reprint slot in 'Classics from the Comics' at least until the advent of the Iraq war?
Then what about 'Little Plum' for many years by-lined as 'your redskin chum' with his feather in his hair and 'umming' all over the place. How racist was that! If Sparky had been by-lined as 'Sparky - your pal the darkie' the knives would have been out years ago but Plum, despite his rather high profile, seems to have avoided any suggestion that he was a patronising racial stereotype. Maybe there just weren't enough Native Americans resident in the UK for us to care how they were depicted.
And what about the poor Inuit who have had to endure, thanks to strips like 'Gobble Gobble Gertie' and 'The Happy Goluks - the family from the deep freeze' with the racial stereotype that the eskimo races are by nature scavengers who literally will eat anything, candles in particular.

[Lew Stringer]

Maybe there just weren't enough Native Americans resident in the UK for us to care how they were depicted.

I think that's part of it. Also, it's down to context. Plum mostly appeared on his reservation, and Ali Ha-Ha in a Turkish setting, whereas Sparky was naked but for a grass skirt, etc, walking around contemporary English streets! Ridiculous! Plus: everyone in Little Plum was a caricature so he didn't look odd. In Sparky, the white people had normal facial proportions but Sparky was grossly exaggerated.

Lew

[philcom55]

I have this real urge to do a bit of sabre rattling and advocate the return of good old 'cartoon violence' to comics.

Yes. And bring back all the gloriously psychopathic cats, mice, ducks, coyotes and bunnies we grew up with on TV as well! Come to think of it, I wonder if the more visceral episodes of Tom & Jerry would even be allowed on a children's channel like CBeebies anymore? ...Oh well, at least we've still got Itchy & Scratchy!

- Phil Rushton

[Peter Gray]

I suppose the black african in the jungle was a popular character in comics and books because there is a lot of black humour which can be had from it eating men.....it has danger...from exotic wild animals...the medicine man can have strange powers which work well in comics.....natives do make there lips big...put bones around them...can be different sizes in each tribe...which is of course exsagerated by cartoonists...

The only wrong thing I see is that was the only useage of a black character....where were the other characters...that is where one ideas fail when that is the only image you see....

White characters like Plug which is often made to look like a monkey...Fatty who loves food....Spotty...menaces..crooks( the bad lads.Baby face.etc)...superheros (bananaman)...cowboys...babies..white characters are exsaggerated and shown in many good and bad ways
so I'm not against that in black characters...it just got stuck on one idea..which is a shame....

[philcom55]

I suppose you could argue that in the days when most people never even met anyone with a different coloured skin these standard fictional characters served a similar purpose to orcs, aliens and hobbits in modern-day films. Particularly in the case of the first Star Wars sequel where Jar Jar Binks was widely seen as a racist caricature in spite of being bright orange!

- Phil Rushton

[Lew Stringer]

I suppose you could argue that in the days when most people never even met anyone with a different coloured skin these standard fictional characters served a similar purpose to orcs, aliens and hobbits in modern-day films.

Apart from Orcs, aliens and Hobbits not actually existing, yes it was a way to depict the mystery of the unknown. Although in the case of the characters and slurs mentioned previously they should really have known better than doing that by 1965!

Lew

[philcom55]

in the case of the characters and slurs mentioned previously they should really have known better than doing that by 1965!

No argument from me there. I must admit that I still do a double take whenever I see the date on some of those later issues of Sparky! On the other hand it has to be remembered that some of the writers, artists and editors involved would have had their own attitudes formed long before in the days when Haggards were Riding high in the saddle and Rudyards still Kippled to their hearts' content...!

- Phil Rushton

[Kashgar]

I really only mentioned Little Plum etc in order to play devil's advocate and highlight the problem of where the line on racism should be drawn, if anywhere.
Other than that and back to the main thrust of this strand I would also like a see the return of animals living as humans in comics. Bring back Biffo the Bear and Mickey the Monkey I say. I'm sure that all the problems that are besetting UK comicdom today could be sorted out if only kids could once again learn to believe in animals wearing pants.
I'd also like to see a comic produced that took all the most non pc characters and tried to spin them for a modern audience. A sort of boot-camp for the socially untenable and downright unbelievable eg Merry Marvo and his Magic Cigars and Hotcha the Hottentot.

[Corporal Clott]

I see no problem with Marvo?s cigars. Instead of tobacco, they could be made of a herbal mixture. Rolled on the thighs of maidens working for Holland & Barrett, the mixture could contain hemp and dried banana skins.