Look, up in the sky. It's...hmm, where's the guy in the cape?

A good piece by Brad Mackay in the Toronto Star about the lack of diversity in mainstream comic book companies like Marvel and DC.

According to Mackay, "the Marvel universe contains more than 5,000 characters, yet even a generous count reveals that only 100 or so of these are black – less than two per cent of their fictional population." This is not unique in the DC universe, either. Yet, as comic book sales decrease rapidly, comic book companies continue to rely on the true and tried formula of using the mainly white superheroes that made them successful and profitable, including Spider-Man and Superman.

Should this policy change? I think so.

While I don't support forced political and economic policies such as affirmative action (I judge people on their merit, not on their race, religion or gender), I certainly don't think there's anything wrong with increasing the number of visible minority superheroes. Society is changing, and I think that the comics should follow suit. And besides creating a more diverse universe for superhero characters, it will surely attract a whole new audience and increase profits for comic book companies.

The formula for keeping comic books alive and kicking seems fairly obvious. It's up to companies such as Marvel and DC to make a choice: Either diversify your comic universes or face the possibility of oblivion.