Wastelanders: Doom #1

Wastelanders: Doom #1

(w) Torunn GronBekk (a) Julius Ohta (colorist) Bryan Valenza There were 3 editors on this comic: Editor in Chief - C.B. Cebulski Editor - Mark Basso Assistant Editor - Drew Baumgartner Please e-mail mheroes@marvel.com to point out that Victor Von Doom and Valeria Karlea (also known as Valeria, Victor’s first love) were white washed in this issue and inform them that this is unacceptable for two Romani characters. 

Two comic pages that show Doctor Doom, Victor Von Doom viewing some old memories, the first memory is of Valeria, a Romani woman that Victor was in love with when they were younger, the third memory shows Victor as a child. The problem with both of these arts is that it depicts both Victor and Valeria as white blonde Caucasian people instead of their true ethnic background which is them being Romani people with dark hair, dark eyes, and varying light to dark skin tones over the years in comics. Although at times Victor’s hair is depicted as a reddish brown instead of a dark brown the fact remains that neither of these characters were ever white blonde looking people. The images above have white washed two characters of color and neither the colorist, nor THREE EDITORS thought to check to make sure that this was corrected.  

Victor proudly claims his heritage, and his background is essential to his character’s story and growth. This is NOT a new thing, this has been his original story since his background was first revealed in Fantastic Four (1961) Annual 2.

Valeria has always been a Romani woman, her first appearance is in Marvel Super-Heroes (1967) #20

More images of Victor and Valeria when they were younger: Books of Doom #1

Marvel Double-Shot #2: Masks

Fantastic Four (1961) #501

Victor once again mentions that he is Roma: Doctor Doom (2019) #3

Victor von Doom as an adult, unmasked:

Victor in Marvel Two in One #6

Victor in The Unbelievable Gwenpool #23

Once again there is no reason that these two characters were white washed yet here we are in 2022, decades since they first appeared in comics, still dealing with this major problem that occurs to many characters of color within the comics.