Although his time as Netflix's Daredevil showrunner ended after its first season, Steven S. DeKnight, Pacific Rim: Uprising writer-director, has maintained his relationship with the wider Marvel universe. He moved to comics, where he has written stories in books such as King-Size Conan and Wolverine, Black, White, and Blood. He was shocked to learn of Marvel editor in chief C.B. Cebulski is taking a stand because of his old pseudonym.
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DeK night was recently announced as the writer for a new Wastelanders: Wolverine comic series with artist Ibrahim Moustafa. Things between them and Marvel Comics seemed to be pacific. This changed when DeK night posted to Twitter his dismay at learning that Marvel's current editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski (who is white) used the pseudonym Akira Yoshidaa fictional Japanese woman to write Marvel comics and also worked as an assistant editor at Marvel. This was a practice that was banned at the time. DeKnight said in part, "I had no idea." This changes the equation. It has been a tremendous success. There are many outstanding editors. It is not right to allow someone who has climbed to the top by cultural identity theft to continue in that position.
DeKnight expressed his disgust at Cebulskis past actions and also stated that he would not work with Marvel for moral reasons. It is unclear how his decision will affect the series he was attached to. io9 tried to reach out to Marvel's and DeKnights representatives, but they did not respond by the time of publication.
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The entire incident, which included Cebulskis adopting a racial identity other than his own and his subsequent promotion within Marvel, has left a terrible mark on the companys past. It speaks volumes about the casual racism major comics publishers are afraid to admit they don't have room for. The news that Cebulskis was writing under the name Akira Yoshida broke in 2017 is still a hot topic. DeKnight said he only recently heard of it and claimed that the issue is more about what went into creating the persona.
Cebulski, before admitting that Yosid Ha was not real, gave interviews in character in which Yoshida talked about learning English through American comic books and growing up in Japan. BleedingCool reported that Marvel executives were also involved in the story and maintained that the person was real. DeKnight stated that it was not a fake name. DeKnight created an elaborate alternative identity and gave interviews as the other person (Im assuming via phone).
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DeKnight could sympathize fully with Cebulskis love of Japanese culture. But he also pointed out that Cebulskis history as a Japanese person is something that he disagrees with. I can see that Cebulski has a genuine love for Japan and its culture. Before I got into the business, I taught ESL in a Japanese school in Los Angeles for seven years. He wrote that he felt the same about the culture and people. This is just one of many reasons why I wouldn't disrespect them by pretending to something I'm not.
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Comic book publishers have many options to help address this issue. One way to increase diversity in the editorial leadership is to hire more people of color to create books. These steps can be seen as half-measures. This is especially true when Cebulski was appointed as the top editorial voice with the ability to bring new creators into Marvel's fold despite these events.
This is something I do not enjoy. I don't want to ruin anyone's life. Lord knows how I feel about not being able to continue my work with Marvel's wonderful editor. DeKnight was one of the things I learned from reading Marvel comics when I was a child. It's that you sometimes have to stand up for what is right. It doesn't matter how painful it is.
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Wastelanders: Wolverine #1 will be available in stores starting December 1.
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