Colouring superheroes: Hue, saturation, and value in Ms.Marvel: Kamala Khan #1 and DC’s Detective Comics Annual #12 and Batman Annual #28

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cultural representations of second-generation Muslim immigrants in North America and Western Europe often grapple with themes of conflicted identity and cultural dislocation. However, what is distinctive about reading a comic as opposed to, say, watching a television show or attending a play featuring a second-generation Muslim immigrant? In this paper, I attempt to answer this question by focusing on the role of colour in the construction of two comic book characters that made their debut three years apart: Kamala Khan as Ms. Marvel in 2014 and the Nightrunner (a.ka. Bilal Asselah) in 2011. Specifically, I examine how recurring and contrasting levels of hue, saturation, and value can visually represent different forms of alienation and belonging in Ms. Marvel: Kamala Khan #1 and DC’s Detective Comics Annual #12 and Batman Annual #28. Ian Herring and Andre Szymanowicz’s colouring respectively signals connections between signifiers of alienation and belonging that may not be apparent by focusing on the verbal elements and drawing alone. For obtaining precise hue, saturation, and value figures of colours, I work with an app called Color Grab designed by a company named Loomatix. Considering the role of colourists allows us to talk about diversity in mainstream American comics in sophisticated ways.