Why 'Scott Pilgrim' Creator Bryan Lee O'Malley's Future Protagonists Will Be Mixed Race

nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/why-scott-pilgrim-creator-bryan-lee-o-malley-s-future-n608821

> "I've sometimes joked that 'Scott Pilgrim' is my fantasy of being a cute white indie rock boy (which, as an ostracized mixed-race weirdo, was something I occasionally wished for when I was younger). I guess I whitewashed myself out of my own story, and I got what I deserved."

> After that, he said, "Every character I write from now on, every protagonist in all my books is going to be mixed."

>Enter Lottie Person, the star of O'Malley's new comic, "Snotgirl," whose first issue is scheduled to publish July 20 from Image Comics. The monthly series, a collaboration with artist Leslie Hung, is in full color, making race more obvious than it was in "Scott Pilgrim."

I'm a hapa too. O'Malley's new comic is going to be Snotgirl, about a mixed race fashion blogger.

You can kind of tell now from this interview, all the whitewashing and "white girl wins while Asian girl loses" that was done in Scott Pilgrim with Knives and Ramona. Its interesting hearing this from O'Malley that he thought the movie was way too whitewashed, and he wants to focus on mixed race issues in new comics.

As long as he's not obnoxious about it, it gives a chance for a colorful cast with different designs and such. I just don't want to read whinning about race.

hapa resentment and rage strikes again

Don't marry an asian boys, unless you want your kids to be miserable

So what you're saying is he wants money and to do that he's going to pander?

No, why's it so difficult to understand that a comic book artist would want to draw a main character that is of the same race and has similar life experience to him?

If I was a comic book artist, I'd want to draw a character of the same race as I am. There's no way I could accurately portray black or Hispanic life in America in a comic.

if anything, Scott Pilgrim was the comic that was a cash cow and pandering , while Snotgirl will probably be more personal and not make the money and fame that Scott Pilgrim did.

>normie

What mix is he?
I'm a halfbreed myself but I don't think I'd go as far as to inject such a trivial part of myself into all of my protagonists FOREVER just because a comic set in Canada was too "whitewashed"

>There's no way I could accurately portray black or Hispanic life in America in a comic.
That's kind of shallow in and of itself because it goes to imply that racial stereotypes are crucial to writing a character. Also if you WERE a comic book artist it'd be in your best interest to expand your perspective for the better of your work anyway.

If that were the case he'd do more Scott Pilgrim.

>all the whitewashing and "white girl wins while Asian girl loses" that was done in Scott Pilgrim with Knives and Ramona

holy shit the whole point of knives was that she was never really in love with scott in the first place

she was a teenager that didn't know better, she got hurt, she got over it, she grew up a little - that's her arc

people who wanted her and scott to end together don't understand her character at all

>That's kind of shallow in and of itself because it goes to imply that racial stereotypes are crucial to writing a character.
No one said anything about racial stereotypes. Why are you equating differences in experiences that people of certain races undergo with stereotyping?

>be mixed race canadian
>make yourself white in a comic
>not whitewashing

Making Scott white was less representative of reality than having him be mixed.

Yep. If a comic isn't about pureblooded white men it is pandering.

Because he went to the media and put it out for everyone to hear.

>That's kind of shallow in and of itself because it goes to imply that racial stereotypes are crucial to writing a character.

Its not harmful racial stereotypes, its life experiences. And racial life experience ARE crucial to writing a character accurately, especially in a slice of life style comic (not so much superhero comics.)

Would I be able to accurately depict the life experiences of a black kid living in Harlem? Probably not, since I've never experienced any of his life experiences and I've never set foot in Harlem.

There's no way I'd be able to write "The Boondocks," because I'm a hapa in suburbia in California. The Boondocks isn't completely about racial stereotypes, its about the life experiences of 2 black kids and their Granddad. If I tried to write something like the Boondocks, it would just come across as terrible and fake.

Write what you know they say right?

While I'm not for diversity for the sake of diversity, is there anything wrong with writing about a middle class black family?

why is sanae in a comic

No there's nothing wrong about that, there are plenty of shows about middle class blacks like Family Matters. Fresh Prince is about an upper class black family.

Blacks seem better represented in sitcoms than comics and cartoons. I guess black humor just works better in a sitcom format.

I'm sure some SJW could come up with a whole essay on why it's wrong and effects power structures, and empowers the Patriarchy.

In reality though, no there is nothing wrong with writing anything you want at all, and that sounds perfectly fine to release to the world.

She doesn't look mixed race.

....But who cares?

It would've been better to make a thread about the new project and THEN talk about the mixed race protagonist.

More pretentious hipster bullshit.

you're too eager to make judgements about this sort of thing

there's the actual racemixed people who have to suffer through the sins that their parents committed

you're only viewing this as obnoxious, because you've grown accustomed to the pandering and harmful shilling for racemixing, from evil people

Movie when?

The so called white washed film it's original ending was Knives and Scott ending up together only reason it changed was the final volume came out

He's just an insecure Eurasian faggot like Kalergi-Coudenhouve riding the "If I can't be fully white then no one should be" train

>lottie person

BECAUSE SHE'S A LOT OF PERSON! GET IT?

This guy has complained in the past about white people dominating media in a country that is 80% white

He's quite clearly salty as fuck that he looks less white than Eliot "the supreme gentleman" and Tommy Chong and completely insecure about it

If Canada had a strong nationalist policy he would never complain because he'd have Canadian as his identity first and foremost, he's unhappy because multiculturalism leaves him feeling stranded between different cultures

>be british woman
>make yourself into a boy in a book
>not manwashing

Oh wait maybe just maybe people can write about things which they haven't personally experienced

This snotgirl looks white as fuck, like most pasty models

The co creator is also hapa I think, an Asian gal

Also wasn't seconds' main character drawn more mixed? I didn't vibe with it so only read like 5 pages

>I guess I whitewashed myself out of my own story, and I got what I deserved

Ok, no problem with anything else that he said but....what he meant by this? You got fame and a movie?

Despite efforts to remove them, there are black people in suburbia too.

When you get down to it the real social divide is class and that's never been an issue for writers. I mean shit do you think anyone that's written Bruce Wayne has Bruce Wayne's money?

...

Yeah. He got success and people know his name. Truly this is the darkest timeline.

How is this anything but white

>despite efforts to remove them

I'm going to find you and steal your time machine, 50s man

>I'm a halfbreed myself but I don't think I'd go as far as to inject such a trivial part of myself into all of my protagonists FOREVER just because a comic set in Canada was too "whitewashed"


I get the impretion that he was just beta when he was young and fantasied and self inserted on Scott, being white and all. He is kind of overcoming his confidence and low self steem issues, but decided to overcompensate it by making every MC mixed now.

Particulary I don't see much of a problem, but I find it a limit that I wouldn't like for myself.

You americans have a serious issue of "huuuuuurr only a member of a race or book can writte about it", no other country care, writters SHOULD BE able to tell multiple views - Bryan Lee was actually GREAT at it.

Pic not related.

>muh brown people

Fucking leaf

>I mean shit do you think anyone that's written Bruce Wayne has Bruce Wayne's money?

That's why I said that superhero comics aren't as necessary for the author to have similar life experiences to the main character that slice of life and sitcom comics do. Superhero comics are about superpowers and superheroes, not the life experiences of everyday people. Batman is about Batman, no one would want to read it if it were about Bruce Wayne doing rich guy stuff for the entirety of its run.

And we don't even know if Bruce Wayne's lifestyle and life experiences are accurate either. There are probably rich white guys who've read and watched Batman and thought to themselves, "THAT is how they depict my lifestyle? I live nothing like that. I don't live in a mansion, I don't have a stuffy butler. Bruce Wayne's life experiences are nothing like my life experiences."

>I mean shit do you think anyone that's written Bruce Wayne has Bruce Wayne's money?
Bruce Wayne isn't meant to be a realistic reflection of rich people anyway though his money is just written like a superpower to let him do whatever however.

Shit or maybe the guy feels like he sold out a little by doing that, if you ask me not enough writers have the shame necessary to experience that emotion.

> that op preview
> fucking normies REEEEEEE
> no real friends
> snot

I've never wanted something so bad. It's perfect. Why can't it be next week already.

TBF Wallace Wells looked kinda Asian and Wallace Wells was easily the best damn character in that whole damn thing.

I think that she is suppused to be part asian, like the creator. Depending on the style it would be hard to get it, even more with a greentext hair into a hairdo like that. Maybe she looks more asian without make up, and it is intentional. It would kind of make sense with what he is saying.

Oh, and if I tried to write Boondocks, there's no way I could come up with some of the black suburb culture stuff that Aaron McGruder experienced while growing up.

There's no way I'd be able to make characters like Tom Dubois, Uncle Ruckus, and Granddad. I've never met anyone like them in real life growing up around mostly whites and Mexicans.

The whole "You sold out" mentality, especially as it applies to race is really complicated. Especially in cases when selling out can include things like "goes to college".

Really people that complain about sellouts are just salty no one wants to buy THEM.

Gentrification isn't just for the ghetto anymore.

she honest to god look more asian then white

you are probably so used to think any cartoon character not drawn black is white.

I'm not that user but I don't see it either. She just looks like New 52 Black Canary to me.

It's because the art style is relatively simple. The more simple you get the more universal the features are.

>I've never met anyone like them in real life growing up around mostly whites and Mexicans.


You can reasearch, read and whatch things before writting them.

Its kind of the minimal, its not the same as living there, but still plenty of great characters were written by people with different backgrounds and cultures as them. You just need to CARE.

I mean, if an asian guy can make an identifiable story about a white character, why not the opposite?

maybe you aren't good enough to write a character from another race or culture because that's the only good answer i have to give you.

it's not that hard.

The creator of scott pilgrim being a hapa makes the whole comic infinitely more hilarious in retrospect.

Leslie Hung draws such great pictures of pretty girls kissing

>Despite efforts to remove them, there are black people in suburbia too.
See, I'm not black, so I wouldn't even know there were still "efforts to remove them" and I'd have no idea what that'd look like.

There's a reason why the most important writing advice is "Write what you know". You can research and it will enrich your writing, absolutely, but it's always the personal things that will shine through the most.

>she honest to god look more asian then white
Nigga, that's a fucking white girl. Are we looking at the same thing?

So you're saying black people can't actually afford to live in the houses they're living in when white people move in, and this is the fault of white people?

Yeah fuck off.

could probably have to do something like that but both in the ops picture, for example, I think she looks more Asian only based on her light olive skin and her eyes.

idk maybe I'm just used to Tumblr artist way of differentiating race

>See, I'm not black, so I wouldn't even know there were still "efforts to remove them" and I'd have no idea what that'd look like.
There's an episode of King of the Hill that spells it out fairly well. South Park covered the topic last season as well.

Not that user but I definitely see the Asian in those drawings. You sound like the kind of person who couldn't believe Mei from Overwatch is Chinese.

O'Malley is fucking Canadian and is obsessing over race you dumb mexican

yeah sorry I'm slightly biased because i saw op photo with light olive skin flat nose and slightly tilted eyes.

>South Park covered the topic last season as well.
How? The only black character I know from it is the richest person in town.

yeah so i'm not alone dope. I thought I was actually alone with that opinion.

It would be pointless and a lot easier for him to write about Californian suburb instead of an Illinois suburb

Oh sorry, a better way would be you north americans.

By having Kenny be the stand in..
Gentrification isn't a purely race issue. It's a class issue that gets expressed racially because of statistics and shit.

I'm pretty sure that episode with Token bringing rich people to town who all happened to be black was also about gentrification

Also he's talking about how a bunch of middle class people built some neighborhood around Kenny's house because poor people like Kenny are somehow "culture"

In any case white liberals complaining about white liberals moving to black neighborhoods for "culture" is the dumbest fucking thing ever

>There are probably rich white guys who've read and watched Batman and thought to themselves, "THAT is how they depict my lifestyle? I live nothing like that. I don't live in a mansion, I don't have a stuffy butler. Bruce Wayne's life experiences are nothing like my life experiences."


I can guarantee you that no person has ever thought someone was trying to accurately represent their life via batman.

This. Bryan could tell me the next MC is a mulatto and I still would bang her (as long as she is pic related)

Except this shit exists in Britain and Asstralia and Sweden you autistic Brazilian

>pointless

Why pointless?

>easier
Writting well isn't easy too.

Saying that every person can only writte about his life and characters that look, lived on and had the same experiences as them is ridiculous. Its patethic, and I would even say that it would contribute to a less diverse literally world.

Frankstein is good and wasn't written by a scientist or tortured monster, but by a almost teenage girl.

Why can't western creators do anything that involves someone of a different race correctly? AKA make it obvious they are pandering

You are just making me happy that this bulshit doesn't exist on Brazil tho.

I agree user, the OP for this thread is fucking retarded. I really hate this small mindedness.

Considering whites will be extinct in a few years this will be the only viable manner to operate soon. We honestly ought to go back now and start colouring classic comic books too.

Araki is just gay for fashion, music, and men.

I made a thread on how you could make the boondocks for white people:

It wouldn't be too difficult to change a couple characters, races, and still keep the theme of a critical look at race relations.

>eyelid
>not black pupils
how the fuck is that supposed to be asian?

It's about writing experiences from a place you actually know you retard

Why would he want to expend the effort writing accurately about black people when he can write about mexican-asian-white people in a california suburb?

Also the hair style here looks too thicc and wavy to be Asian to me, unless snotgirl is half Jewish I suppose

But what about the white-haired girl he's been drawing?

>"mixed" race
>looks white
AHA HA HA HA HA HA

because the whole point of fiction is it can be whatever it wants

>Oh wait maybe just maybe people can write about things which they haven't personally experienced
As long as they aren't writing about non white people...COS THEN ITS JUST PANDERING TO SJWS.

>Why would he want to expend the effort writing accurately about black people when he can write about mexican-asian-white people in a california suburb?

Because you can WANT to writte about anything other than your own group?

Myazaki is great at writting young girls and mothers but never was one. Some people can you know...writte something that isn't only about THEM, this is a matter much more about empathy and be able to learn and apreciatte new experiences instead of relying on your own background all the time.

>I whitewashed myself out of my own story, and I got what I deserved


...a massively successful indie comic franchise?

>As long as they aren't writing about non white people

Nice strawman. This board apreciatte minorityes characters for years of they are well written.

Success came at a loss of self respect

Yeah. So long as they were written back when they were a kid and pandering didn't exist.

Last time I checked people loved the announment of Genndy writting Power Man.

Her eyes look kind of East Asian. but there's clearly anime influence in this art style and we all know they draw people to look white even if they're not.

>"Every character I write from now on, every protagonist in all my books is going to be mixed."

Why? He's not writing himself into his comics. He's creating new, original characters. Why would he limit his options like this?

Look at her hair.
She is mixed with seaweeds.

Yeah a writer they have nostalgia about writing a character they have nostgia about.

Wait a minute, did he self-insert as Scott ? I love SP but Scott is a self centered cunt who doesn't give two shit about his friends, dates a high school to boost his ego and lives in denial regarding his own faults and previous romances. I mean the only thing he really got for him is having the chance to bang several chicks over the years, and that's not even supposed to be an achievement.

>"Every character I write from now on, every protagonist in all my books is going to be mixed."

What happened to diversity?

It's obviously self deprecating and made comedic but the character is based on himself, and he did most of the things Scott did, like play in a band with a lead guitar player using an acoustic electric or whatever, and he was roommates with a gay dude

Oh and also...He broke up with his IRL Ramona

:_;

Yeah, a competent writter, writting a character that Sup Forums likes. Oh my who could guess that Sup Forums liked it!

Lmao, Sup Forums even liked the new run of Black Panther.

You are right, Sup Forums should like bad characters writting by horrible writters, or they are racist!

Soon we will all be one big mixed race :^)