Why Politics Are in Comics
Comic book creators have a responsibility to provide readers an entertaining product; a book worth $3.99 that makes us come back for the next one.
But entertainment can be amazing art, a sense of excitement, a frenzy of emotions, or an introduction of ideas.
Despite fans finding escape in them, some of our favorite stories weren’t conceived as escapism but rather new perspectives on ideas. Comic writers and creators, have a forum, an audience that they reach, and for the most part feel a responsibility towards them.
The following are instances of books (that we have in stock) where creators communicate their strong political viewpoint to their fans. |
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If you know V for Vendetta the movie, you know it postulates that the road to a totalitarian regime, is through an oppressive conservative government. Directed by the Wachowskis, this came out during and references the Bush Administration. The conditions of the movie and comics release weren’t too different as England’s prime minister at the time was conservative Margaret Thatcher.
The thesis of Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s book, however, is that ALL government leads to oppression! |
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| It’s hard to see that Bill Willingham’s Fables has conservative leanings, when the lead is a woman (Snow White) and contributing writers are prominent members of the LGBTQ community and vocal liberals! But when you read Bigby Wolf’s right to bare arms speech, as well as advocacy for preemptive strikes you start to see a pattern. Willingham DOES give his characters liberal stances and they frequently exchange ideas (great dialogue, I might add), but even when the topic comes to women’s choice, in this world the Right have the moral high ground. |
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| When Denny O ‘ Neil took over the Justice League and Green Lantern, he wasn’t interested in telling stories of space invaders. He began to apply real issues (racism, income inequality etc) to the DC superheroes’ world! Never have the characters appeared so vulnerable to heroes then in the context of “why don’t they solve society’s ills with all their power.” It’s worth noting that O’Neil’s approach would lead to the debut of DC Comics’s first black superhero, the Green Lantern John Stewart. |
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