One of the routes by which diversity was infused into comic books was via adaptations of TV shows which themselves had taken steps towards inclusion. One of the most famous of these shows was
Star Trek, the first series of which began airing on September 8, 1966.
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry addressed many pertinent issues during those early series, and significantly can claim one of the first inter-racial kisses (it is certainly widely cited as the actual first) on television (Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner in "Plato's Stepchildren", an episode in the third season of
Star Trek (the original series) first broadcast November 22, 1968).
Star Trek was adapted for comics by Gold Key, the first issue having a publication date of July 1967. Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) was one of the first non-subservient black characters in television, and Ms Nichols was even personally encouraged by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to continue with the series, as he considered she was an important role model for African American girls and women and a pioneer in breaking the race barrier. Regular black characters were uncommon in comics in 1967, so Gold Key's adaptation of
Star Trek is something of a ground breaker in the medium. There are several other television series adaptations, mostly published by Dell, Gold Key, and Whitman, that feature black characters in non-demeaning portrayals, and it is hoped to feature some examples here on
Out of This World in the coming weeks and months. For this post, here's a couple of pages from Whitman's
Star Trek 26 (July 1974) that feature Uhura. The story is titled "The Perfect Dream", and touches on genetic engineering, cloning, euthanasia, aspects of social Darwinism, etc.:
(Above) on p.10 of "The Perfect Dream" Uhura and Kirk begin to wonder about the mechanisms underlying this apparently perfect world. On p.15 (below) Uhura speaks out against the abominable extermination policies that maintain the 'perfection' of the population on this planet.
Running from 1969 through 1974, the TV series Room 222 was set in an inner-city school. Lead African American characters in the series were played by actors Lloyd Haynes (as Pete Dixon) and Denise Nicholas (as Liz McIntyre). The comic book series ran 4 issues, from January 1970 through January 1971, but issue 4 was simply a reprint of issue 1. There are two stories in issue 4, both with art by Jack Sparling. Below are six pages from the second story, "Tarnished Star", in which an athlete just about blows his chance to get into college by letting his grades go to pieces, but the teacher helps turn things around at the last minute. This series is one of a number published by Dell that brought African American characters into mainstream comics, TV and movie adaptations being one of their specialties.
