Finally, also in the comics world, there's the short-lived seven issues of The Crew, by Priest, which was basically canceled before it got started. It drew together several heroes of color but was not directly about race; it was about a bunch of down-on-their-luck superheroes who were forced to band together out of necessity, not out of choice. For all that it wasn't directly about race, the contrasts between the characters and where they've ended up (through either backstories that couldn't be avoided or years of mistreatment by other writers) versus where all-white teams started out is pretty stark. A carryover from Truth is the son of the Black Captain America, Josiah X -- a character that I'm sorry to say hasn't been seen in the Marvel Universe since, as far as I can tell.

"The Crew" lasted seven issues and was just hitting its stride when it was cancelled. (Actually, rumor has it that it was cancelled as it was first going to press. Sigh.) In spite of the fact that it was a book full of characters of color, it was not "about" race in the way people might assume; the people in it were individuals with problems and circumstances beyond their control, and were just getting together to, well, fight evil, when... we have no idea what. It starred one of my favorite characters, James Rhodes, and introduced a character who could easily have been one of my favorites, Josiah X (Bradley). I'm just sorry it didn't get more time. ( )