Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: boycott, dc blackout, DCSoWhite

DC Comics Boycott: 1201 Days With No Ongoing DC Universe Black Lead

DC Comics Boycott: 1201 Days With No Ongoing DC Universe Black Lead... so what's happened so far? Let's dig in...

Today, it is 1201 days without DC Comics publishing an ongoing DC Universe comic book with a black lead character. Yesterday, Bleeding Cool scooped the news that fans of DC Comics had launched a boycott campaign against the comic book publisher.

"We are calling on fans to cancel their DC Comics that are on their pull lists until DC solicits and makes a black ongoing available for preorder, and in turn put that money saved towards publishers and titles that are deserving of their dollar that value telling everyone's stories. There is amazing work coming from Image, Boom!, Vault, Ignition and others that is worth investing in. We are also asking content creators to cease reviews and promotion of DC titles past and present until DC solicits, and makes, a black ongoing available for preorder. They are showing with their actions that they do not value black stories, so we should not give them free promotion. Supporting the movement on social media by using #DCSoWhite and #DCBlackout. Showing your pull list with no DC books is an amazing way to show your support as well as the petition that will be released as well."

It was the most-read article on Bleeding Cool yesterday. It was covered on a number of other news websites and social media channels. So, who should be DC Comics' first choice if they wanted to launch an ongoing series? The three higher-profile ones I would suggest are Static, Vixen of Mister Terrific. Jackson Hyde's Aquaman, and Green Lanterns Jon Stewart and Jo Mullein are also in the picture, as is Titan and Justice Leaguer Cyborg. Even Steel, Naomi or Val Zod might be possible. But there are other choices as well. James Portis III, one of the #DCSoWhite and #DCBlackOut founders, tells Bleeding Cool, "Black Lightning should be a priority for DC. He is their first black superhero to have an ongoing series, and his 50th anniversary is January 2027. There is no excuse for why he has not had an ongoing in 30 years, and why, in that almost 50 years between ongoings and miniseries, he only has 41 single issues to his name. It doesn't matter that he and Static have similar power sets. Jefferson Pierce deserves his own ongoing title." He also posted the following YouTube video breaking this down further.

He also pointed out that the Black DC characters Bumblebee and Guardian both have their fiftieth anniversary this year, without any appearance in any comic, let alone an anniversary special, and seemed to blink out of existence. And that there have been only 12 ongoing characters in the DC Comics Universe throughout their publishing history. Some folks have asked, "What about Green Lantern War Zone from 2023?" I can confirm that it was always intended as a twelve-issue mini-series; DC just never said that's what it was. When this issue was raised a few months ago, regarding a lack of any black lead characters in the heavily promoted DC Next Level series, including Barbara Gordon, Lobo, Deathstroke, Firestorm, The Demon and more, these private DMs with Absolute Universe and DC Next Level showrunner Scott Snyder were posted:

Scott Snyder: Hey man, just to note, I wasn't confirming that there are no more black creators or characters in next level. The full lineup hasn't been announced.
You: Am I allowed to share this information? There's a ton of Black fans who'd love to know after some of things conveyed about the Dakota Incident and whatnot.
Scott Snyder: Sure. There are still pitches we're working on, some creators we're hoping to work with, all of it. So it's still fluid…. Yes there are more books that just weren't ready yet. I can't say anything is set in stone yet as they're not fully baked (hence not being announced) so I can't say there are black character led books set in stone but I can tell you we're working on it.

But with nothing visible in the past three months, wel, that's where the boycott comes in. Will DC Comics' September 2026 solicits see the boycott dissipate?

It's also interesting that in Argentina, last month, Absolute Batman wasn't DC Comics' bestseller… It was Absolute Green Lantern. Funny that.

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