It's easy to dismiss comic books as merely a geeky subculture — or picture books for children. But adult readers have long known that they tackle important social questions too.

The most common criticism is that minorities are often not treated with the same depth as straight, white, male characters. Take Dani Moonstar, code-named Mirage, for example. A Cheyenne member of the New Mutants spin-off of the X-Men, Mirage was originally seen by many readers as first a painful stereotype, then whitewashed .

As pop culture machines go, the influence of longtime rivals Marvel Comics and DC Comics is hard to overstate. But both powerhouse publishers have been accused of failing to reflect popular reality with their portrayals of minorities — be they ethnic or gender.

As pop culture machines go, the influence of longtime rivals Marvel Comics and DC Comics is hard to overstate. But both powerhouse publishers have been accused of failing to reflect popular reality with their portrayals of minorities — be they ethnic or gender.

The best part about Black Panther? Wakanda, the kingdom he rules, is a futuristic powerhouse of tech and alchemy that has never been invaded by colonialists.

The situation isn't all bad. Marvel in particular has led the way in trying to change that, introducing the first black superhero — the Black Panther — to mainstream comics back in 1966.

The situation isn't all bad. Marvel in particular has led the way in trying to change that, introducing the first black superhero — the Black Panther — to mainstream comics back in 1966.

Here's why @Marvel is winning over @DCComics - the latter thinks we speak Pakistanian. h/t @takhalus

But it is still pretty cringe-inducing sometimes, like when DC comics recently caused a furore after penning a story in which a man speaks " Pakistanian ," which is clearly not a real language — or even a word.

And the companies are learning that just slapping an accent/skin tone/different language onto established characters won't do the trick. The messy end result may look something like this.

With the age of the internet on us, arthouses like Leti Arts in Ghana are aiming to reach global audiences and rewrite portrayals of the continent and its diaspora heritage.

There is cause for hope, though, as a growing number of talented illustrators in Africa say there's room for the superhero universe to move in alternative directions.

In South Africa, illustrator Loyiso Mkize at first took his cue from American superheroes.

As with elsewhere on the continent, they were the most widely available comics. "Growing up, comic books had a huge interest for me. It wasn't just the visuals — but the strong superheroes. I wanted to emulate them," he told BuzzFeed News.

As he got older, though, he started questioning them. "I was thinking, where are the heros that look like me, speak like me, and share the same environment as me? I realized we don't have it, it came as a big shock."