We were so excited to see the images of Riri Williams, the new “Iron Man,” when the first came out. That excitement turned to concern when Entertainment Weekly, posted a collage of Black actresses who would be good for the role. While the original illustration of RIri, by Stefano Caselli, was a dark-skinned girl with coarse hair, the one that appeared on a recent cover looked completely different. She was lighter complected, her hair had a looser curl and the biggest complaint that people had was that this never version of Riri looked nothing like a 15-year-old girl should.
Not only does her face resemble that of a grown woman, there really is no justifiable reason that we should be seeing a 15-year-old’s pelvic bones. Even if it is just an animation. Well, after Black Twitter expressed their grievances, the artist, J. Scott Campbell, responded, getting a bit testy and defensive.
Yes. It is that different. And I find it hard to believe that an artist, someone who specializes in visual details can’t see just how dramatic the difference is.
Thankfully, Marvel did the right thing and pulled the cover. Afterward, artists all over the internet drew their own versions of what Riri might look like if she, you know, was drawn like a teenager.
Check out some of our favorites on the following pages.
https://twitter.com/ElleOnWords/status/789175519522623489
And as an additional bonus, we know that Marvel is able to draw darker skinned characters because Ariell Jackson, the owner of Amalgam Comics and Coffeehouse in Philadelphia, who also appeared on our recent “She’s The Boss” episode, was drawn magnificently, on one of their covers.
Source: Marvel
Veronica Wells is the culture editor at MadameNoire.com. She is also the author of “Bettah Days.” You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter @VDubShrug.
