Steamboat Bill, most commonly as Steamboat, was a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Fawcett Comics Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...

, most commonly in association with the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

Captain Marvel. The character played the role of valet to both Captain Marvel and his teenaged alter-ego, Billy Batson, and was intended by Captain Marvel co-creator C. C. Beck to appeal to African-American readers. However, protests from African-Americans and other readers concerning Steamboat's racial stereotyping led to the character's disuse after 1945.

Fictional character biography

Steamboat was an African-American food truck owner who helped Captain Marvel catch a gang of criminals in a park. By doing this, Steamboat's truck was destroyed. As a gesture of gratitude, Billy Batson gave Steamboat a job at WHIZ Radio in 1942.

Reception

Steamboat appeared frequently as Billy Batson and Captain Marvel's sidekick between 1942 and 1945 in the Fawcett publications ''Whiz Comics,'' ''Captain Marvel Adventures'', and ''America's Greatest Comics''. His appearances include a handful of chapters of the classic Captain Marvel serialized " The Monster Society of Evil"

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...

in ''Captain Marvel Adventures'' #22–46. The character received a mostly negative reaction from African-American readers and civil rights groups. Steamboat was criticized for propagating offensive stereotypes of African-Americans, as he was depicted as being of low intelligence and speaking with a stereotypical

Negro dialect African-American English (AAE) is the umbrella term for English dialects spoken predominantly by Black people in the United States and, less often, in Canada; most commonly, it refers to a dialect continuum ranging from African-American Vernacu ...

. In 1945, an integrated group of junior high school students associated with the Youth Builders program met with Fawcett Comics' executive editor, Will Lieberman, and argued successfully for Steamboat's removal from the Captain Marvel comics stories. Following ''Captain Marvel Adventures'' #48 (Aug-Sept. 1945), Steamboat made no further appearances in Captain Marvel stories. The website ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' rated Steamboat the third-worst superhero sidekick of all time.

References

Bibliography

* Brian Cremins (2017), ''Captain Marvel and the Art of Nostalgia'', University Press of Mississippi, Chapter 4: "Steamboat's America", pp. 98ff. . Comics characters introduced in 1942 DC Comics businesspeople Fictional valets Captain Marvel (DC Comics) Race-related controversies in comics Stereotypes of African Americans African-American characters in comics Marvel Family {{DC-Comics-stub