I like Cronin's column when I remember to check it out (heck, I even bought his book) but he's not always the best at researching his stories. 

One that springs to mind is his claim that when Spider-Man got married, Mary Jane hadn't even been in the comics for a few years by that point and had to be reintroduced specifically for the purpose of marrying Peter. 

Dave wrote: ...I like Cronin's column when I remember to check it out (heck, I even bought his book) but he's not always the best at researching his stories...

Which is bad, considering the whole point of his column is to debunk myths.

Well, obviously JB had to read between the lines in that plot to discern Layton's intent that Rhodey be black.  After all, Layton is Mr. Iron Man.

Layton seems to have the same revisionist memory banks as his good buddy Jim Shooter.

From the beginning, then, one of the things that concerned me mightily was the whole concept of Credit Where Credit is Due. And not just for me. I wanted to see everybody get every scrap of credit to which they were entitled. So here, sure, a big ol' dollop of credit to Roger, as the editor of IRON MAN.

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One of my other crusades dating from the early days of my career has been placing as many "minority" characters as I can into important positions, usually as authority figures. Flip thru books I have illustrated, and notice how many times you see judges, doctors, cops, etc, who are Black, or Asian, or Latino.

Basically, if the script does not specifically call for a White character, I will likely make them something else. (Likewise, if the script does not specify male, I will very often make the character female.)