Chroma Key by Brandon Dumas is the story of five teenagers with attitude that are chosen to save the world from an imminent alien invasion. Kim, April, Fuchsia, Parker, and Emily are all childhood friends with a shared love for the Super Fighting Mighty Fighters, a cheesy live-action television show featuring color-coded superheroes in spandex fighting rubber-suited monsters. After years of slowly drifting apart, the group finds themselves recruited by Luna, an alien refugee, who tasks them with defeating the bloodthirsty Uoari. The group must now defend the earth while reconciling their shattered friendship.
How does intertexuality help queerify a text?
It is in the nature of transformative fan creations to include elements the fan creator wished the original text had included. Different endings, different character interactions… the overall intent of fan creations, be it through visual art, narrative or other forms, is to engage with the text in new exploratory ways that flesh out the potential of a text. It is then easy to understand that the most popular forms of fan creation involve the inclusion of queer characters, themes, and storylines. Due to the mainstream media’s slow acceptance of (and oftentimes outright refusal to) include LGBT elements in a positive light, fans have taken it upon themselves to correct these omissions. Queer fans want to see themselves in the worlds that they love, and allies what to depict a more inclusive reality. By doing so, they can show others that queerness is not a factor that defines a character’s abilities or potential. Similarly, they demonstrate that queer characters do not need a reason to be included or a justification of their queerness.
Credit: Brandon Dumas
A three-panel page.
First panel: April is pulling back an energy arrow as Kim holds on tightly to her.
Second panel: A wider shot as April lets the arrow loose, and it leaves a red and blue double helix trail behind.
Third panel: A close-up of a bright white hand forming out of the energy arrow. It’s outlined in red and blue, with intertwining streaks trailing behind it.
Of course, the process of queerifying a text can be simply done by, first of all, removing heteronormative expectations and compulsory heterosexuality from the story, and secondly, by allowing the characters to explore their dynamics among each other without those constraints. That would certainly be more than any chance given by most mainstream media. To really drive the point home though, creators may choose to highlight the celebratory nature of their stories by adding references and allusions to other queer texts that the readers can pick up on. This is referred to as “intertexuality” which, in a nutshell, stems from the premise that no text exists in a bubble. Not only are they formed by the reality around them, but also by other texts though allusions and references (both clear and obscure), explicit mentions of or quotes from other texts, or through genre or medium conventions. Intertexuality is a feature that strengthens the reading experience by adding additional depth to the text.
Credit: Brandon Dumas
A four-panel page.
First panel: Emily, dressed in a bright yellow suit, is looking up at a black, fire-breathing dragon who’s captured her girlfriend.
Second panel: A top-down shot of Emily as she looks at the scene off-panel.
Third panel: A close-up of a determined-looking Emily as she taps her Chroma Key.
Fourth panel: Emily transformed into an alternate version of her Chroma Suit with a helm, cape, and broadsword.
Credit: Brandon Dumas
A two-panel page.
First panel: April and Parker are back-to-back, eyes closed, tapping their Chroma Keys as they call out their color.
April: Blue.
Parker: Green.
Second panel: April and Parker raise their right hands in the air as they become bright white silhouettes, outlined by their respective color. Steaks of energy surround them against a blue and green backdrop.
So what are the intertextual references in Chroma Key? In the first panels, the way that Kim and April’s weapons combine and produce a hand out of intertwined energy is reminiscent of Steven Universe’s crystal gem fusion. In the second group of panels, Emily’s altered design after transforming is a clear call-out to She-Ra, specifically its newest incarnation by Noelle Stevenson. And the last panels, with their silhouetted transformation sequence and backdrop design, are an allusion to Sailor Moon. Now, what do these references achieve? They stress the point that Chroma Key is making, that action-adventure stories do not solely belong to the realm of the masculine. By borrowing from previous gender-breaking, non-heteronormative, female-driven stories, new stories can build on their legacy and carry it forward. Intertextuality of this kind is a testament of the strides made by the queer community, and proof of the work still needed to be done.