I’m going to work up my Warpath critique, hopefully by next week, then I’ll post it. I think he has to be viewed in a slightly different way because he’s much more obviously “fictional” (though many would argue that fiction is just fiction; I tend to believe the genre a fictional character exists within has dramatic power in how he or she is received).

I took a quick look at a few of the reviews linked from your site. I think there’s one step I’m not willing to make, yet, that might somewhat stifle our discussion: I don’t know if I think SCALPED is actually a good comic/story. I liked the first issue, but I also have to admit to liking the first few episodes of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, and that didn’t turn out being enjoyable at all in the end. I do maintain, however, that we have to be careful, as a culture, not to have a gut reaction to the treatment of “othered” populations.

I did some work a few years ago on Grand Theft Auto; San Andreas, and one of the big, big critiques (beyond the obvious “this game is so violent” fervor) was that the protagonist was a poor reflection of African American males. On the one hand, yes, that’s an obvious statement (just as one could make the statement that Denzel Washington’s character in TRAINING DAY was a poor reflection on African American males, even as Washington himself is a profoundly positive role-model), but in a much larger sense it attempted to lodge the argument that when looking at an “other,” a single case somehow represents the whole, as if the fact that this character was a certain color suddenly commented on everyone that was that color. The same argument wasn’t made for the white protagonist of GTA:III.

It reminds me of a Chris Rock joke:

“Everyone talks about black-on-black crime, but you never hear them talk about white-on-white crime. Don’t they call that war?”

As a scholar, I want to push for recognition of my Cherokee culture (and for a seat at “the table” as it were), but I feel like that means that on some level we need to be part of the overall popular landscape. It would be nicer, obviously, to be depicted as the hero than the villain, but there are bad people of every race, gender and worldview (sadly, perhaps).

I’ve linked to several positive and negative reviews on my Scalped page (http://www.bluecorncomics.com/scalped.htm). Check ‘em out. Many people don’t agree with me…but I’ve yet to hear a persuasive argument.

I’d like to see your critique of Warpath. Send it to me and I’ll publish it. Or post it here and I’ll link to it.

Incidentally, I’m not a Native creator, since I’m a WASP with no Indian blood.

Rob