Dissecting Comicsgate (Pt. 2): Enter the Meyer

There are several prominent figures who make up Comicsgate, but at the epicenter of the movement is an individual named Richard C. Meyer. Meyer is a conservative comic book fan who formerly served during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and has written indie comics like NO ENEMY, BUT PEACE. He currently runs the ironically named YouTube channel “Diversity and Comics” (now renamed "Comics MATTER w/Ya Boi Zac"), which was launched in April 2017 after Gabriel made his infamous speech, and at the time of my writing this essay has over 92,000 subscribers. His videos are reliant on clickbait titles like “How To Spot An SJW Marvel Story” and “Marvel Comics AMERICA-Hip Hop Segregation Comic,” and are unscripted rants about SJW-politics and diversity supposedly ruining Marvel.

I myself first learned about Meyer's existence in November 2017, when his most highly watched video, "Captain Marvel is everything wrong with SJW Marvel,” randomly appeared in my recommended videos section on YouTube since I had actively started searching for other comic reviewers besides Linkara. 

Meyer's most viewed video ever...

I watched the video and almost instantly disliked it since it was simply a diatribe about the Carol Danvers’ incarnation of Captain Marvel supposedly being unpopular with readers and how nobody liked her because Marvel was continuously trying to promote her series in favor of more well-known characters like Spider-Man. While it is true that Carol had heavily fallen out of favor with some readers because of her actions during the CIVIL WAR II event comic, Meyer completely ignores the fact that Kelly Sue DeConnick's run on the book beforehand was favorably received by critics and gave birth to the “Carol Corps” fanbase. However, since I wasn't as emotionally attached to Captain Marvel as I am to other Marvel superheroes, I was able to simply ignore "Diversity and Comics" move on, thinking that he was nothing more than just some random small-time YouTuber who lacked much of a base. One month later though, I inadvertently stumbled upon another of Meyer's videos, "MS. MARVEL is Another SJW Marvel ‘Hero’ Obsessed With Being Oppressed," wherein he inaccurately labeled MS. MARVEL #19 as being racist towards white people.  He was completely dismissive of the bigotry currently aimed at Muslim Americans, and the video ended with his literally washing the comic in his sink (and flushing the ripped-up/burnt pieces down his toilet in two follow-up videos).

An introduction to Richard C. Meyer in the worst way possible!

Unlike the Captain Marvel video, to which my reaction was indifference and slight annoyance, I was greatly appalled and disgusted by this particular video since I’m a huge fan of Kamala Khan's series. Although I immediately recognized Meyer's inherent racism, I was greatly shocked to discover the number of likes the video had in comparison to dislikes. To be precise, the video currently has approximately 2,900 likes versus 225 dislikes. 

The disproportionate like to dislike ratio in Meyer's videos...

Baffled by how many people liked the video, I compelled to do further research, which, in turn,  led to my learning about Comicsgate itself and Meyer's association with the movement.

Meyer has frequently made inaccurate and offensive statements about Marvel’s current content. While I could discuss his ridiculous assertions about Squirrel Girl supposedly having Downs Syndrome due to Erica Henderson’s cartoony art style or Iceman being portrayed as stereotypically gay despite being written by a gay author, I’d be here all day if I were to go into detail about every single bigoted comment Meyer has made. So, for simplicity’s sake, I’m going to focus on a single character Meyer has frequently targeted in his videos in order to analyze the types of “criticisms” that he makes and provide counterarguments to them. I’ve chosen Ms. Marvel for this analysis since not only have I personally read nearly every issue of her series but also because while most other news sources covering Comicsgate have discussed Meyer’s homophobia and transphobia, I've noticed that none of them have touched upon his Islamophobic tendencies.

One of Meyer’s reoccurring complaints concerning MS. MARVEL is that the book is racist towards white people simply on the basis that it portrays characters like Zoe Zimmer as ignorantly racist bullies towards Kamala in the series' first issue. This an inaccurate assessment since not only are white people the primarily party responsible for the marginalization of minority groups in the real world, but the character Zoe evolves into a much more kindhearted person in future MS. MARVEL stories. The series' first issue also makes it clear that one of Kamala's best friends is Bruno Carrelli, a white adolescent with a genius level IQ who respects Kamala's faith and personality. Yet for some unfathomable reason, Meyer disqualifies Bruno as being white simply on the basis of his being of Italian descent. Furthermore, Meyer accusing MS. MARVEL of being racist towards white people while he himself is being racist is a common far-right tactic known as “whataboutism,” wherein one redirects one’s own offenses onto an opposing party in order to make themselves look less guilty. Additionally, Meyer claims that MS. MARVEL promotes SJW or left-wing propaganda, such as when he criticizes the line "Sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims has erupted along the border and in many major cities," from flashback in the CIVIL WAR II tie-in arc to Kamala's ancestors during the partition of India and Pakistan.

Kamala Khan's ancestors. From Ms. Marvel Vol. 4 #8 (Jun 2016). Art by Adrian Alphona. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

According to Meyer, "[the naming of] Muslims second [was] purposeful, deliberate, and propaganda [because] when you say violence between two groups people tend to blame the one you name first." This argument also falls flat when you consider that the American Revolution is often described as "the Americans vs. the British," and the Civil War as "the Union States vs. the Confederacy," and the British and Confederacy are often seen as the antagonists in their respective conflicts. 

In addition to his criticisms lacking any basis in reality, Meyer regularly makes bigoted insults towards the series’ characters. For instance, Meyer constantly judges people by their physical appearance, like with his stating Kamala’s polymorph powers make her look ugly and go against women’s standards of beauty, or fat-shaming Kamala's friend Michaela "Mike" Miller (whom he also inaccurately describes as looking "Asian" even though the author confirmed on Twitter that she's actually half White and half Hispanic). Meyer even goes as far as to claim that Kamala doesn’t even look Pakistani simply because of her having dark brown hair as well as brown skin. The latter comment especially demonstrates Meyer’s racism and ignorance since not only are there Pakistani women who share Kamala’s physical attributes, but the country is actually more ethnically diverse with its skin and hair tones than he realizes. Meyer has also made bigoted comments that have been used to demonize Muslim Americans in both the past and present. This was evident when Meyer critiqued MS. MARVEL #25, which contained a scene of Red Dagger, a Pakistani-exchange student and superhero, criticizing American retirement homes in comparison to Karachi’s treatment of the elderly.

Red Dagger's commentary on American retirement homes. From Ms. Marvel Vol. 4 #25 (Dec 2017).
Art by Nico Leon. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

In response to this, Meyer literally stated, “we can get you a flight back to Karachi, it’s obviously a wonderful place nobody would ever want to leave.” These words are reflective of people who would yell at Muslim Americans to go back to their native country even if they were natural-born U.S. citizens, which is one of the most common verbal insults Muslim Americans have suffered from in a post-9/11 society. But Meyer’s most infuriating insults are the ones that he regularly aims at Kamala’s older brother Aamir.

Kamala's older brother Aamir. From Ms. Marvel Vol. 4 #25 (Dec 2017). Art by Nico Leon. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

Meyer constantly refers to Aamir looking like a shepherd simply due to his wearing traditional Islamic attire in the form of a white thobe and taqiyah cap. He even outright, and inaccurately, calls Aamir an ISIS bomber in one of his terrible videos, stating, "Yes I'm profiling.” He has attempted to justify his Islamophobia by stating there’s no other reason for Aamir to wear such clothing, showing he’s unwilling to integrate into American society and therefore he should be viewed with suspicion. Where do I even begin with how wrong this is?! First of all, there are plenty of Muslim Americans in the real world who wear the type of clothing Aamir wears for various religious reasons, including adhering to more orthodox beliefs or trying to emulate the Prophet Muhammad. Secondly, Aamir has been portrayed in the series as being a nice person who cares immensely for his little sister and family, and even openly stated that he didn’t want superpowers when he was forcibly granted them during the LAST DAYS arc and that he was happy with who and where he was in life. Thirdly, and most importantly, Meyer stating that an individual should be profiled simply on the basis of his religious clothing is on the same level of awfulness as Frank Miller’s HOLY TERROR stating that all Muslim foreign exchange students should automatically be viewed as terrorists in disguise and, therefore, be treated with derision. 

To put it simply, Richard C. Meyer is a racist individual who is focused more on spewing hateful bigotry than he is in providing constructive criticism.