Saturday, August 20, 2016

Hand Me Down Heroes or Progression?

The 2015-2016 year has been chock full of diversifying efforts within the fantasy/sci-fi world. Primarily within the vein of film. We've seen age old original characters bent into pigmented bodies with Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger, as well as the casting of Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, and most recently, Zendaya as Spider-Man's soulmate, Mary Jane.
Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur's Lunella Lafayette
Then there's the addition of entirely new characters--Iron Man's protege, Riri Williams, whiz kid Lunella Lafayette, and one of my fast favorites, Mosaic. And these guys seem to be the third phase in what is becoming the new normal. Geez. That almost hurts to write. Our world is colorful and rich in culture, but sadly much of society's art hasn't reflected this.