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Vampire Tin (2 days 🎂) @heirloomoon.bsky.social · 4h

Close your eyes and hit post

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Laura Beltran (Commissions Open) @laurabeltran2001.bsky.social · 4d

Art trade with @dagobahs08.bsky.social #art #fanart #arttrade

Vivian, a zombie gal created by my pal @dagobahs08.bsky.social

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robo @dagobahs08.bsky.social · 12h

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 18d

Vector speaking AAVE was something that I genuinely hated all throughout the Knuckles run because it was handled so damn badly and that was all the proof of why that I needed to see. I was genuinely glad when Sega enforced the changes on vector & had him not doing “white filtered” AAVE if ya follow

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 18d

It is not in the original printing because somebody caught in the original edits. But it was still on proofs when we were re-printing the stats for the Knuckles archives. And I should know because I’m the one who edited it out. 🙃

I can never prove it, but I know what I saw and I know what I did

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 18d

I can talk about this now without repercussions. I cant prove it as I never took pictures and the original stats are edited out but there was a panel in one issue of Archie Knuckles where he calls Julie-Su a “beeyotch” because “he” didnt know it was another word for bitch.

Just a Fossil @mrtrikey.bsky.social · 18d

Speaking of Jamaica, that reminds me of this little detail from the "Thanks Ken Penders" blog: thankskenpenders.tumblr.com/post/6349930...

TL;DR - Knuckles was so Jamaican coded at one point, the Archie Sonic comic was mere moments from running with dialog that had him with a Rastafarian accent.

Snippet from Patrick Spaziante's write-up

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 18d

Yeah. Most people dont ever understand that Bosko is supposed to be a little black boy, more or less — but he’s drawn to look like an animal.

Andy Mayer @andymanofmoo.bsky.social · 18d

I always thought he was a dog or something.

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

So in essence, a black man who couldnt be a black man in public, circumvented the minstrelsy trope but got corralled back in anyway in hindsight after death when later Felix loosely based off his imitated character design began to copy Mickey Mouse tropes instead of the other way around.

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

Notably, Krazy Kat's cast spoke in what was undeniable AAVE at that time, Krazy themselves were one of the first gender queer characters, and the entire thing comic was absolute stream of conciousness nonsense.

The comic was WELL ahead of its time & thats why William Randolph Hearst championed it.

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

George Herriman is arguably one of the first major black artists in comics.

And the only reason for that is because NO ONE KNEW HE WAS BLACK.

He was light skinned enough to be white passing & hid that fact into old age so that he WOULD be able to continue drawing largely due to rampant racism.

George Herriman surrounded by a white family and drawing pictures on Bristol

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

One last thing because this is extremely important due to the darkest of ironies.

Felix the Cat is the one of the few classic chars NOT based on minstrelsy. Note the lack of gloves.

Felix the Cat was actually a expy/pastiche of George Herriman's Krazy Cat!

And this is extremely important because-

Shot from George Herrimans Krazy kat with Ignatz Mouse and Offisa Pupp

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

Sadly, that last line will always remain an evergreen fact. Its a very tiny part of what we mean when we say that Antiblackness is global.

✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

Or rather, their designs are undeniably rooted in the history of it.

Very few things in this country exist without a racism behind it or adjacent to it.

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

Or rather, their designs are undeniably rooted in the history of it.

Very few things in this country exist without a racism behind it or adjacent to it.

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

This.

Its pretty much general knowledge that Sonic's design is based off of Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse.

And when you look at all the other designs that Sonic has birthed... well there ya go.

Brotha Dom @brothadom.bsky.social · 19d

It's interesting to extrapolate this out, too!
Think of a character like Crash Bandicoot. Why does he have those fingerless gloves? To be an edgier version of Sonic. Who has gloves probably because Bugs Bunny (or other mascots) did. Who did because of Mickey Mouse. Who did because of Blackface.

✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

Already reposted but for those who may see this thread outside of that, here ya go

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

It really changes the perspective of how you see a lot of black and white cartoon characters and makes perfect sense when you think about it. Especially with Mickey Mouse considering his earliest cartoons were born of vaudeville and uncle tom parodies both in cartoons and comics.

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Pixie Thinks🧚🏽‍♀️ @pixiethinkss.bsky.social · 19d

The history of the "white gloves" in cartoons. As usual the answer is racism.

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✪ Jonathan H. Gray: “Professor of Halloweenery” ✪ @jongraywb.bsky.social · 19d

Bacially almost all the major black and white characters were born out of homages to minstrelsy. I talk about this in my Character Design classes actually

Pixie Thinks🧚🏽‍♀️ @pixiethinkss.bsky.social · 19d

How am I just now learning Mickey Mouse is an homage to blackface 😭😭