The Representation of Asian Characters in Two Popular Western Comic Strips

Familiar to almost anyone who grew up in America, "Archie Comics" have told stories of an interesting group of teenagers living in the town of Riverdale. First established in 1939 these comics are still published today, 72 years of panels featuring that insipid redhead Archie Andrews and his friends [who I actually don't mind].¹ The comic strip "Zits", on the other hand, was first published in 1997, and has for 14 years chronicled the misadventures of much-more-modern teenager Jeremy Duncan and his own group of eclectic young people.²

It's not difficult to see how the two strips are similar to one another. Both strips are about American teenagers and their day to day lives, albeit living in seemingly different eras. Having originated in the late 30s Archie and his friends have moved through generation after generation, yet stick to a much lighter tone in regards to issues that teenagers have to face. "Zits", starting at the turn of the 20th century has a more realistic view of the high school years, addressing such topics as the disconnect between teenagers and their parents, the short attention span of today's youth, and so on.

What I would like to explore and elaborate upon is the representation of Asian characters, specifically those of oriental descent. Both of these comics are [or, at the very least, have been] immensely popular, and as a result their content is in part representative of what the West [in this case Canada and America] is familiar and comfortable with.

According to InformationDelight.info, "'Zits' is notable for its multi-cultural cast of characters including African-American, Asian and Latino ethnicities."³ "Archie Comics" has recently been given a lot of praise and attention regarding its movement towards a more diverse comic strip. Examples cited are Ginger Lopez, a Spanish-American introduced in the early 2000's, Raj Patel, of Indian descent appearing in 2007, and most recently Kevin, the first ever openly-gay character to appear in "Archie Comics" having made his debut in last year's September issue of Veronica, #202.⁴

In response to what these sources are claiming, I did a little research of my own, given my resources [five "Zits" sketchbooks from No. 5, "Unzipped" to No. 8 "Busted!", a copy of Archie's Pals 'n' Gals Double Digest, #99, and the internet ] and my personal experiences [having read dozens of Archie comics and years of reading Zits in the newspaper]. What I came away with was this:

One [1] instance of an Asian character with a speaking role in the five "Zits" sketchbooks [in this case short, 128 page book] I own. Seen as follows:⁵

And only two [2] instances of recurring Asian characters in "Archie Comics", Tomoko Yoshida and Kim Wong.⁶ Using Google I was only able to find a handful of pictures of the former, who apparently was present in a whole five issues. Here is the best one:⁷

There is no trace of Kim Wong on the internet save for the Wikipedia article.

Having talked through it with a friend and thinking hard on this myself, I have come up with four possible issues why there is such a dearth in Asian characters appearing in either of these comic strips.

1. There is a lack of interest by "Archie Comics" as a company and by both Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman as writer and artist, respectively. They do not believe there is a need to have Asian characters, and as a result have chosen not to depict them.

2. The cast of both strips has already been solidified, and the addition of extra characters would seem forced. This defence favours "Zits", as "Archie Comics" has continued to add characters throughout the years [albeit temporary ones].

3. Their lack of representation is in turn representative of their own worlds. The artists have not had interaction or have not been witness to a great degree of multiculturalism, and this is made evident in the worlds they create.

4. Art. Just straight-up art. Pay attention to the "Zits" strip above and note the way the unnamed character was drawn; pay specific attention to his eyes. The aim of comics as a medium is to tell stories using pictures, and it is of utmost important that characters are able to emote with their faces as well as their actions or dialogue. Imagine this character expressing happiness, anger, et cetera.

This could draw back to the artists not having experience in drawing characters of Asian descent, but as a reason it seems fairly plausible to me. Having had to [presumably] draw almost solely Western characters throughout their careers there is a difficulty present in portraying those of other ethnicities.

Having come to a potential conclusion, I find myself stumped in terms of where to go next. I suppose my final answer would be that at the present there is no need to portray Asians in Western comic strips; there is no calling for equal representation so nothing is done. Would I mind seeing a regular character appear in either of these comic strips, someone well rounded and three-dimensional? No, I wouldn't.

<sub>1. "Archie Comics." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 28 Dec. 2010. Web. 02 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Comics>.

2. "Zits." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia. 29 Dec. 2010. Web. 02 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zits_(comic_strip)>.

3. "Zits." Information Delight: Information at Your Fingertips. Information Delight. Web. 02 Jan. 2011. <http://www.informationdelight.info/encyclopedia/entry/Zits>.

4. elly. "Archie Comics Embraces Diversity | Innermost Parts." Innermost Parts - A Blog about Brandeis University. 24 June 2010. Web. 02 Jan. 2011. <http://innermostparts.org/2010/06/24/archie-comics-embraces-diversity/>.

5. Scott, Jerry, and Borgman, Jim. Teenage Tales. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel, 2004. 62. Print.

6. "List of Archie Comics Characters." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 28 Dec. 2010. Web. 02 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Archie_Comics_characters>.

7. "Tomoko Yoshida." Comic Vine. Comic Vine. Web. 2 Jan. 2011. <http://www.comicvine.com/tomoko-yoshida/29-60751/>.</sub>

Make Up: The Breakdown

Many years ago (some point in 2007, I believe) I was part of my school newspaper, fittingly named The Eye of the Tiger. This was a fitting title because a) our school's basketball team was the Tigers, and b) it wasn't particularly witty or funny.

From what I can recall in regards to my role in that publication, I was the Editor of the Entertainment section, I think. This may seem like a tall order, but in reality I really only drew the comic, and wrote a little section I liked to call "Guy vs. Girl." [I say that I liked to call it that, because for some reason others on the staff liked to call it "Girl vs. Guy" which really doesn't have the same ring to it at all.]

In this section of the newspaper I would write in opposition to a girl I used to be close friends with, and we would go back and forth on certain topics. If I recall correctly, our very first edition of "Guy vs. Girl" was on the issue of makeup.

I'm pleased to say that I felt the argument won before it had even begun. My stance of makeup not being all that necessary was one shared by my opponent, and that, compounded with a solid ending sentence, cemented my victory. The seven words I chose to conclude my half-page combined to form the memorable phrase: "What's wrong with showing a little face?"

All of this began streaming back to me earlier today when I saw a girl who clearly wasn't wearing any makeup. Suddenly all of the conflicting arguments I had towards the cause I was defending were back in my head, and I began a mental battle with myself.

Why shouldn't I think this girl was looking her best? Because she really wasn't, or because I'm so accustomed to her wearing makeup. Is her wearing makeup caused by people like me who expect more, or because she lacks self-confidence, or both? Why isn't she wearing it now, if she usually does, is she just tired, does she not care anymore? If girls never wore makeup at all, would I think that a girl who suddenly started wearing makeup look better? Wouldn't that simply be more a matter of something new or novel, and not her appearance actually being improved?

Too many questions were running through my head, and I can't say that I've answered any of them. Half the time I don't think I even realize that girls wear makeup anymore, and I'm not even sure how I feel about that. At the end of it all, should I even be concerning myself with the appearances of girls around me, should I be thinking about it this much? I'm really not sure.

Starting Out A Bit Heavy, Aren't We?

[SPOILERS: In regard to the Harry Potter series of books, as well as the Holy Bible]

To begin this with a bit of a clichéd phrase, it is said by some that history is "His story," referring, of course, that this story belongs to God Himself. Taking this to heart and viewing the past as a narrative of sorts we are then left with the question of what the climax of the tale is, what the culmination of this story is.

Most Christians will (hopefully) tell you that this event is the death of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of mankind's sins. A closer reading of Scripture will reveal, however, that His death served more than simply to save the fallen; the death of Jesus Christ also served to bring glory to His father, God the Father.

This was done in a number of ways. The sacrifice was not merely Jesus', but also God's; it hurt God to have to give up His son, but he did it because he loved humanity. It really was (and is) akin to a father sacrificing his son, knowing that his child understands, but having that ease the pain not at all. The act is compounded by the fact that Jesus is God reincarnated as man, that His death is the most humble act ever, first lowering himself to our levels and then letting himself die at our hands.

Now, assuming that I haven't written any kind of profane blasphemy up above, we can move on to how this connects with literature as a whole. To start off, the concept of sacrifice in literature (and in the media as a whole) is no mystery to anyone. The ideal example for me, is, as mentioned in the SPOILER warning, Harry Potter.

Prior to my reading the entire series I glimpsed many books which drew parallels between the Harry Potter series and Christianity, and it wasn't until the end of The Deathly Hallows that I truly understood why. In letting Voldemort kill him with the Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra) Harry ends up defeating him, and ultimately saving the wizarding world.

To bring this back from Harry Potter and to literature as a whole, I feel that this motif begs the question as to why this theme is so prevalent in literature. The easy reason would be to state that there are chords that stretch throughout man's psychology, a belief strongly held by many Christians, and advanced by psychologist Carl Jung. The main difference between the two being that Christians believe that there is a sacrificial saviour motif due to our being created by God and Him placing within us this innate knowledge of it being true, and Jung stating that it is merely psychological, primordial notions passed down throughout the generations.

While I don’t disregard the thought that it may be a chord of truth that resonates strongly through these narratives, I have a hypothesis that I would like to add. My belief (though to the date of this posting not thoroughly researched) is that the sacrificial saviour is implemented because it brings glory to the author, just as the death of Jesus brings/brought glory to God.

The author's gift of craftsmanship is displayed in this character to be sacrificed, whether he/she be protagonist or otherwise. This character can be created to be likable or not, but he/she is always memorable. What skill then the author has in making this character even more unforgettable. Craft in characterization aside the author is then adored for his wisdom in sacrificing the character. His/her death feels like a deep loss to the reader, as they have become deeply invested in this person. The relationship between author and character is related again to that of a father and son, that there is a sort of pain felt by the creator as well as the created. Having read this and feeling the pain of both character and author, the reader then bestows even more glory upon him/her; "I can't believe he/she did that!" the reader says, in awe.

I am not implying that authors create characters merely to sacrifice them and bring glory unto themselves (although I don't doubt that there are those who do this). All I am doing is drawing parallels between God and His act in sacrificing His Son and the author, and his/her choice to kill of a character. In both cases I believe that honour is due, fully deserved in the example of the former and at your discretion, as the reader, for the latter.

Wishing Your Fists Were In Faces

I've been updating very early on Sunday mornings lately, so I suppose Sunday evening isn't that much of a stretch.

It was Homecoming Weekend this last couple of days, and it's been crazy and I have not even started my devoirs français (French homework) yet. As a result, I will leave you with this:

Click Here If You Want To Feel Strangely Angry

Reasons to Like Houghton College pt. 1

I'm not going to apologize for putting this post up on Saturday morning. I will, however, apologize for the fact that my last post was the definition of mental vomit. Next time I'll try to get what's been cogitated and refine it a little.

The Middle of Nowhere

If you were once a kid who liked cartoons, the title Courage the Cowardly Dog might mean something to you. Courage was a little pink dog who lived with two old people in the (extremely) little town of Nowhere, Kansas. I bring this up because if Houghton had another name that would be fairly accurate.

Before I go on, I fully realize and admit to not having lived in a lot of small towns; I've always lived in or near cities, even when I was in Asia, so I can't say I'm an expert on them. Yes, Houghton does have Fillmore and Olean and other small towns nearby, so we're not entirely isolated. Thank you for allowing me to take that paragraph to nullify my hyperbole created in the first.

The main deal is that Houghton College, located in the town of Houghton, New York, is not the largest location out there. Outside of our cafeteria and Big Al's in the basement, the only other places to eat are a Subway and a Chinese restaurant, both within walking distance. We have a post office and an environmental centre that used to be a gas station. This is a college town in every sense of the word.

It really goes beyond being physically isolated from the rest of the world, though. Houghton College is a Christian academic institution, and that makes a world of difference. Walking around at a very warm one o' clock this morning, I took time to marvel at creation and appreciate what I have here. As I go by townhouses I don't hear music that blares or pounds, no screaming or yelling. I can (fairly) safely assume that there aren't alcohol-fueled orgies occurring in the dorms and what have you, and that I won't be drunkenly asked if someone can use my phone (I'd say no, mainly because I don't own a phone). All I could hear was the rustling of the leaves in the wind.

I'd like to attribute my penchant for peacefulness to the fact that I consider myself a pretty chilled individual, but I don't know. Maybe I'm still just trying to brush off my summertime introversion (which sounds like an oxymoron, but isn't), and this is the place to ease into that. Either way, it was a beautiful night last night, and I couldn't have enjoyed it like I did on the campus of Houghton College.

Music Monday (Ironic Because It's Wednesday)

Roughly ten minutes ago I stepped back into the relative warmth of our townhouse, having just stood in the somewhat cold to listen to what I suppose could be called a "show." Standing out there with my hands deep in my pockets I had the opportunity to be washed in the sounds of deadhorse, a band that dropped by from Pennsylvania. Suffice to say, it really got me thinking about music.

Recently I teased one of my housemates about the genre of music he enjoyed, and he retorted that rock music hits you "here" (as he motioned to his midsection). Being at an outdoor show really allowed me to experience it fully, to feel the music as it hit me here (I am motioning to my midsection). As I listened I was also struck by the fact that in spite of having a purely instrumental sound, deadhorse managed to appeal to my emotions. Did I feel more melancholy because one of their songs reminded me of another I'd heard before, or did the actual sound of the song in and of itself create that feeling in me?

With music on the mind I was almost forced to mull over the theory a friend and I had discussed as kids (and continue to talk about today). Musical trends come and go, and we managed to ascertain between the two of us that eventually there will be a return to more natural sounds, a putting off of auto-tune and distortion pedals and the like. I continue to wonder when pop music will swing its way back to a more simplified sound. Pop music having its etymology in "popular music," though the definition has most definitely changed, especially in our current age.

Lastly, since I feel these are a lot of thoughts at once, I wanted to share this one idea I had while riding home with the radio on one night. We began our trip on a jazz station, and rather than being extremely chill it was very upbeat, prompting my often quiet and confused grandmother (the one with Alzheimer's) to dance. Afterwards the radio was switched to a more contemporary top hits station, with songs such as Usher's OMG. Both songs serve the same purpose, to provide music to dance to, and for the rest of the ride I wondered if somehow the synths of today's dance music could be replaced with strings, the generated beats replaced with an actual drum kit, the singer's modulated voice replaced by three or four singers, or just one with backup.


These are a lot of thoughts about a topic I'm not even that knowledgeable about, so for that I apologize. What I've decided to stop apologizing for, however, is the lateness of these posts. I've come to the conclusion that my college schedule is the most demanding I've had thus far, and I can't always control when I'll have time to write these posts. I do, however, promise at minimum one a week, for each blog, roughly around the days they would usually update. It's not ideal, but it's just how it's going to be for now.

Putting the "Ah" in "Palahniuk"

Whenever I am reading one of Chuck Palahniuk's books and am asked who he is, I simply give them the most straightforward answer that comes to mind: "It's the guy who wrote Fight Club." For those of you who have read at least one of his novels you are probably well aware of his literary style and the methods he employs to hook readers. For those of you who aren't (but have seen the aforementioned novel turned film) just imagine verbs, nouns, and adjectives melded together to form the images of cracked ribs, bruised and bleeding lips, and black eyes. Pygmy features graphic homosexual rape, Rant features a protagonist who contracts rabies again and again via animal bites because he enjoys it. In explaining my title it would be wise to bank on the "Ah" referring to the shock and awe descriptions so often employed in his books. This is not the case.

The "Ah" I have found in "Palahniuk" instead refers to science, to the drawn out sound you make when you realize something you never knew before. To be more broad, jargon and technical terminology and the knowledge of how the world works. Fight Club explains how soap is made, as well as how projection booths work. Rant elaborates on how the rabies virus incubates and what its side-effects are, while Diary delves into the facial muscles, graphology, and the ingredients to oil-based paints. Palahniuk writes in such a way that you find yourself completely involved in the story while at the same time picking up the jargon, realizing that when someone contracts their levator labii superioris muscle they're sneering, that something has happened which disgusts them thoroughly. Wading through scenes that make us crease our foreheads and wince and maybe even faint we find ourselves growing oddly more knowledgeable, we begin to find the fact behind the fiction.


As a closing paragraph I would like to include that I believe Palahniuk's works will stand the test of time. In spite of his novels constantly featuring socially awkward protagonists, the way they seem to feature catchy, explanatory phrases ("I am Jack's Raging Bile Duct" Fight Club, "The weather today is an increasing trend towards denial" Diary), the less-than-subtle lean towards shock-and-awe literature, he writes like no one else has, and is continuing to grow as an author. Perhaps he is even the author to be placed on that pedestal labelled "Postmodern," an author for our times. An author to take the madness and confusion and violence and indecisiveness and nihilism and knead it together, a bread that alone cannot sustain, but instead explains.