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Marvel has long dominated the comic book space, giving rise to some of the most successful superhero franchises in history, including Black Panther, Iron Man and Captain America. A new documentary series premiered on November 20 on the Disney + streaming platform delves into Marvel’s legacy and those who helped shape the now multi-billion dollar entertainment giant. “Marvel’s 616” is comprised of eight independent episodes directed by a single director, covering topics as varied as the popularity of superhero cosplay to the non-canonical iteration of Spider-Man on a short-lived 1970s Japanese television show.
Among the many creators featured in the series are UC Riverside Professor of Media and Cultural Studies and Eisner Award-winning graphic novelist John Jennings. Jennings has long explored comics both in his work as a comic creator and through his academic work, focusing on issues of representation and how the narratives surrounding the race have been presented and evolved in the comic book industry. Last year, Jennings launched Megascope, an Abrams ComicArts imprint dedicated to publishing speculative graphic novels by and about people of color.
His work has often engaged specifically with Marvel Comics, teaching courses in comic books and Afrofuturism that examine Marvel characters such as Black Panther, and through his work as Black Kirby, a creative duo that includes Jennings and the artist. and University of Illinois professor Stacey Robinson. Among other character explorations, the duo, whose nickname is inspired by legendary comic artist Jack Kirby, presented an exhibit on Marvel superhero Luke Cage at the Culver Center of the Arts in 2018, now available digitally.
Over the past year, Jennings has worked directly with Marvel, writing two critical essays on their comics. The first essay, released by Marvel in February, examines the new comic book series “Marvel’s Voices” and the comic giant’s role in expanding representation in the industry. In her second essay, released in July, Jennings reflects on the 1982 graphic novel “X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills” and how she handled issues of racism, prejudice and discrimination in America.
“I was asked by the Marvel editorial to write a piece on the Black Lives Movement and how it related to the original story by legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont,” Jennings said of the essay. “The piece will be the preface for the reissue and will be released in December”.
Jennings was also interviewed for an upcoming Marvel Comics documentary due out in Spring 2021, which led to an invitation from a producer to take part in the “Marvel’s 616” series. The “616,” Jennings notes, refers to one of the millions of possible multiverses in the Marvel world-building model, with 616 being the universe in which all the main stories of the Marvel Universe occur.
“My interview was about the importance of representation in popular media for everyone,” Jennings said. “I focused on talking about the Afro-Latin Spiderman, Miles Morales and the character Moon Girl. The show offers a great niche insight into Marvel fans and how the superheroes they created changed the world and how we see it. “
Jennings said Marvel has always pushed the limits in an effort to create characters that resonate with a diverse audience. He also notes that Marvel was able to make their extremely powerful superheroes recognizable by making them deal with very human problems, a deviation from the superheroes that came before.
“Sometimes these efforts are better than others, but they keep trying to make great strides in that direction,” he said. “The anguish of being human is part of the fabric of their characters and they are really well built.”
Jennings is excited about the efforts Marvel is currently making to increase diversity and representation in their offerings, noting that there are several initiatives the company is taking to better reflect their diverse and expansive audience.
“A lot of my work has been about representation in comics and I’ve been critical of the mainstream comic industry,” he said. “However, Marvel seems to really take the creation of superheroes and characters seriously that relate to an ever-growing fan base that is becoming increasingly diverse as the future unfolds.”
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