I got a really great question over at my tumblr the other week. I think it's a very important question so I decided that I'd post it here for everyone to read. Thanks for reading! :)
"Why have all the characters featured in your comic so far been white? Or do they only appear that way?"
I think this is a very valid, important question and great constructive criticism. Thanks!
There are PoC in my comic (This far: in the prologue and Sigsten in Chapter 1), and more characters are yet to be introduced. But yes, they are indeed under-represented.
It is not something I intended for. Admittedly I created this story and characters without reflecting enough about these matters. The result: my comic’s two main characters are white males, and although the characters who are PoC or/and women are crucial to the story, they are under-represented and not as much in the spot light.
It’s not a good excuse, but I think it’s the fact that I am a white woman who grew up in a small Swedish town, white society, influenced by media carrying the same tropes and under-representation of PoC and female characters. The only characters I could relate to in books and cartoons were often white males, which might be a reason as to why I have ended up writing a lot of white males myself.
It’s a common mistake that people with my background make, and I think it’s really important to think about it as a creator of culture. It’s up to me and my fellow creators to create more diverse characters to break the cycle for the next generation of creators. Make a change about the under-representation of PoC, how we portray women and write people outside the norm (Sexuality, gender, etc).
The Din is my first big comic project, and I still learn and explore a lot in this amazing united art form of sequential art, storytelling and character design. My intention is to get much better at making strong, believable characters and make sure that people of all kind can relate to them. I’m not quite there yet, but it’s just the beginning and I strive to improve as I go.
Again, thanks reading the comic and for bringing this up! :) I hope this answers your question!
Gregg doodle from 2009
