Mike Sterling's Progressive RuinAlone, unmourned, and unloved since 1969

Also that “Yogurt Churn” panel makes me feel nauseated.

§ July 11th, 2022 § Filed under racial sensitivity § 3 Comments

So I was just paging through this copy of Plastic Man #2 (1967) I picked up in a collection recently, and was struck a bit by this splash page:

..and while the first thing I noticed was that I’m not a particular fan of this design for Plas’s face:

…there’s also the use of the term “Gypsy” about which we’re a little more sensitive in its usage nowadays. So, you know, it’s bit jarring to just come across its casual use here, a relic from a past time. Yes, I mean, they just didn’t know, but it’s still weird to modern eyes.

But hoo boy the folks doing this book should’ve known better than this:

Of course Asian stereotypes like this were still just fine and dandy in media for…well, way too long. This particular example is some real “Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s shit…you’re just sitting here, reading this so-so revival of Plastic Man in its overdone “wacky everything goes, look we’re hip too like Marvel, read us college students” style and suddenly, bonus racism. Sheesh.

And have I mentioned I don’t like how Plastic Man’s face looks?

No sir, I do not.
 
 

from Plastic Man #2 (January-February 1967) by Arnold Drake and Win Mortimer