Well, I finally bought Fallen Angel vol 1. I really liked it, especially if you read it as the successor to the Linda Danvers Supergirl run. It's moody, it's dirty, the art is wonderful, it's mature, the story is good and it' basically right up my street, except for one character.
There's this dude called Asia Minor in it. Yeah he's Asian, of course. His real name is Cu Ba Mynah. (Because Asian folks have funny names which should be anglicised and mocked, doncha know). He's a drug lord. (But most folks in this book are bad guys, be they drug dealers, thugs, or other types of criminals). He speaks in broken English - but it has been established that he can speak fluent English, he just puts on the broken accent for the image.
I wince when I read about Asia Minor. Because I can't help thinking it's a somewhat othering, reductionist form of a character, built up around their race and not a lot else.
I'd like to invite a discussion here. Is there more to him? Does the character get more depth and are these issues addressed later in the series (I haven't yet read any more of the trades)? Does it matter that this character is on the side of the stereotype? Does the presence of other characters of colour mean that the presentation of this one is less offensive?
Thoughts and ideas welcomed.
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