there's something immensely funny about an artist intentionally choosing a setting that includes black people but trying their damn hardest not to include any notable black characters in the main plot. like sorry if that wasn't the intention but you're trying too hard at that point author omg
if there's not even one prominent black side character in the story at all... again the optics are in hell
I don’t think you’re reading too much into it. The author decided to set a story around a very sensitive topic without doing the proper research. Honestly I doubt they did any research at all.
I agree with you on all your points. Reading this just felt uncomfortable.
And another nitpick is calling mcs family “blue blooded” maybe this is a translation thing but even that doesn’t make sense in the context of us history .
This comic only has one chapter and it already pisses me off lmao
In the context of US history, blue blooded refers to the rich. Staying inside and doing work that was the opposite of farmers and working outside meant that your blood was more likely to appear “blue” due to the pale skin.
It’s a European term originating in Spain. It’s used to describe the nobility. There is no nobility in the us. “Elite” would’ve been a better term. But like I said, it’s a nitpick and not the reason why this comic is egregious.
During the midst of the Civil war, there was aristocratic or nobility influences in the US, or families that immigrated from nobility in Spain and other wealthy European countries and settled in the US
I agree. It's pretty much stablished that Gerald is part of the aristocracy that sided against the confederacy, though not necessarily because his family were abolitionists, espeacially because his father was talking more about glory, or the social recognition of joining the military.
I guess then that Gerald had his own reasons for fighting, and that could actually be an interesting aspect of his character to explore.... Unfortunately, based on what I've read so far, I don't think that the author to deliver any of it.
Right…but they didn’t have any official titles in the us. “Old money” would’ve also been a better term to describe a wealthy family from the us lol
Right? I'm even more worried about how the author is going to portray the Black characters if they end up playing any significant role in the story, especially after that whole "I'm your slave" line...... geez
After reading the first chapter again (and again) of what appears to be a rather poor attempt at a historical romance (and even that is questionable) I'm seriously side eyeing the author's intentions regarding several aspects of it.
Beyond the appalling fact that an indigenous character refers to himself as a slave (something that ig is meant to be cliffhanger, but it's rather icking feeling of what is to come), there is also the way the Black characters are visually represented. None of them have facial features. At first, this could be dismissed as a consequence of them being background characters.... However, that explanation becomes less convincing when another minor white character, whose only notable contribution is the casual slip of the word "slave", is given a fully visible face. Like--
What makes this especially uncomfortable is the context of the scene. The main character (Gerald), another white man, is portrayed as compassionate and morally upright simply for telling them that they are now free. The narrative obviously intends this moment to convey empathy and humanity. Yet, at the same time.... the Black characters are denied individuality. If the story is trying to make them seem more human, why aren't they even allowed a face? Why is their humanity mediated through the words and actions of a white character?
It could be that I'm reading too much into it, but I'm trying to articulate the discomfort I felt when I first read the chapter... And the worst part is that even with this whole paragraph, I dont think it's enough to convey it. Idk The visuals and the narrative choices seem to undermine every sensitive topic of this period in ways that, for me, are at least worth critizing.