VanLoo 1

Peter VanLoo
Professor Lawson
English 115 Mo We 12:30 PM
November 12, 2015
Argument Proposal: Diversity in Comic Books
Research Question: Do comic book creators create relatable characters or do they exclude
minorities?
Summarize an important claim found while researching: During the recent relaunch of
DC (DC You) and Marvel comic creators have put forth an effort to include heroes of many
races, ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations.
Summarize an opposing claim found during research: While heroes in the Marvel and DC
universes may show diversity and inclusion, the villain in these universes are still creatures of
bigoted hatred of certain groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and sexual orientation.
Also the changing and adaptation of certain characters in TV shows and movies brings up the
issue of not being true to the comic which some argue that studios only are doing to have a
token character (Firestorm in Flash TV show).
What is questionable or problematic about some of these claims?: Almost all of the
articles on this topic are opinionated, while they do include examples of comic characters and
which issue number a problem is addressed in, diversity is a matter of opinion and anyone can
argue that despite someones best efforts it isnt enough. So the way to counter the biased articles
is to acknowledge the opinion stated in the article but support it with the original comic that is
sited in the article. The way to fix the opinionated nature of diversity is to define what is
considered diversity so that it has a concrete definition to prove or disprove.

VanLoo 2
Discuss your claim: My angle on the topic is that more than enough has been done to
include characters of all races, ethnicities, religions, genders, and sexual orientations. I am trying
to convince people that there are characters that almost anyone in the world can look up to. My
thesis will probably be that Comic book creators not only create a cast of diverse heroes, but also
criminalize discrimination by making the villains bigoted and hate driven.
What might people doubt about your claim and how might you respond?: Since not
everyone has the same definition of inclusion and diversity it might create an issue of someone
not agreeing with my definition. The way I can remedy this is making a very broad definition
that is clearly defined in my paper, so that even if someone does not agree with my opinion of
what diversity is they can agree with the points that I make to support my definition of diversity.