The LSB Supports Diversity

Recently it has come to our attention here in our 31st-Century corner of the world-wide-web  that Mark Waid, well-known author of such classic comic book characters as Superman, Captain America, Daredevil, the Justice League, and, yes, the Legion of Super-Heroes, is being sued by a writer and comic book critic named Richard Meyer. In the lawsuit, Meyer alleges that Waid interfered with a contract Meyer had signed with independent comics publisher Antarctic Press. Meyer is suing Waid for $75,000 in financial damages and for defamation of character, as Meyer contends that Waid has described him in less-than-factual terms.

We here at the Legion of Super-Bloggers are not going to get into the merits of the lawsuit. However, it seems abundantly clear to us, a group of predominantly white men celebrating a fictional group of characters from nearly two dozen different planets that diversity is good.

In fact, the Legion of Super-Heroes is an icon of diversity. The Legion was one of the first mainstream super-hero teams to have more than just two "token" female members. Saturn Girl was one of the first female leaders in comics. From the very beginning, the Legion represented the positive aspects of diversity: we Earthlings could not only get along with each other but we could also get along with aliens, too.

Of course, we are not unaware that the Legion was created in 1958. A product of its time, the humans were all white for a very long time. But we learned that we could and did have green, orange, and blue friends, and the message was clear. The comics eventually got better and the humans more diverse. We could have Black, Asian, Latino, and LGBT friends. We saw the future, and it was good.

Mark Waid characterizes the lawsuit as an effort to try to intimidate and silence those of us who stand up publicly against bigotry and racism; against those of us who continue to defend non-white and/or non-male creators from harassment. As the plaintiff has managed to successfully arrange to publish his comic book, we tend to agree with Waid. And as for the defamation charges, if you are interested in what might have defamed him, go ahead and Google "Richard Meyer comics" and read what you find. We'll let him speak for himself.

We here at the Legion of Super-Bloggers agree that all people throughout the United Planets should be able to pursue their own happiness, away from bigotry and harassment. If you are a blue Talokian warrior woman but you want to write comics, you should be able to. Likewise, if you want to publish a story that is based on segregation or exclusion, that's your prerogative. But don't expect us to support it.

The Legion of Super-Bloggers supports diversity and equal opportunity, because that is what the Legion of Super-Heroes would do, and it's what's right.

To support Mark Waid in his fight against this lawsuit go to  http://www.markwaid.com/news/gofundme

Long Live the Legion!