politics in comics

[ed2962]

And who is to say they didn't do all that?

We have had far too MANY folks trash books that they have never looked at beyond preview or the book being announced.

And beyond lets face it Nick Spencer's & Coates books-what other books are supposedly guilty of this? I will give you Miles Morales's Civil War issue-for a guy who can vanish-he shouldn't fear a set of cops pointing guns at him. Especially when he's vanished to escape from them before certain events in Ferguson and other places.

Because you got folks who think Moon Girl and Riri William being SMART is liberal.

Luke Cage being married is liberal.

Women being on their own is liberal.

Showing a black hero with a father or explaining where one came from is liberal.

Showing a hero that was not straight white and male have a huge or meaty role in an event from heck is liberal.

Some folks think those things aren't just liberal, they think it's far left wing extremism!

[ed2962]

The more comics try to stay "current" the more dated they become. It's a pathetic trend that needs to be squashed.

Like when comics use whoever the current president is in their stories, which has happened from Kennedy to Obama?

[Username taken]

I LOVE politics in comics. It's actually one of the things that got me into Marvel comics.

Funny enough, when folks complain about politics in comics, they are complaining about "representation" which for a lot of people is just societal progression and not explicit political statements. This is a recent trend that's coinciding with bigotry and casual racism "coming out of the closet". In my lifetime, I've NEVER seen so many people opposed to minority and women rights, it's like a lot of these guys were in hibernation or something when the country finally accepted folks that have been oppressed and marginalized for decades. My advise to people like this is stop being afraid of people different from you and stop spending time thinking some fictional hand is going to replace you (whatever that means). However, these people shouldn't be mixed up with fans that are just unhappy that their favorites were replaced in the first place, these folks have every right to feel unhappy because no one likes to see their favorite character pushed aside and denigrated.

I don't really count taking shots at Trump as something controversial because a) he spends a lot of time attacking, bullying and belittling people, what goes around comes around b) he struggled to condemn alt-right Nazi activities and he has a very uneasy relationship with folks of color, which is just adding fuel to an ugly fire c) and most importantly, most individuals in the US didn't even vote for him. It's all par for the course for a belligerent President that most Americans just didn't support.

Not many comic storylines feature explicit political statements anymore. Heck, we don't see the HEAVILY political work of guys like Alan Moore or even Grant Morrison much anymore. The same people complaining about "too much politics" in comics are the same folks complaining about Star Trek Discovery being "SJW identity politics" when the story features little to no "identity politics" (beyond the fact the leads were advertised as females of color).

[Username taken]

Like when comics use whoever the current president is in their stories, which has happened from Kennedy to Obama?

Or even George W Bush who was stripped naked and almost murdered in Ultimate X-men.

[JKtheMac]

It does seem as if many only want politics in their stories if they don't seek to explore actual issues that liberal democracies have. So Red Sun is ok because it doesn't make us reflect upon America.

I would suggest the only point of putting politics in a comic is to actively question and explore the world around us. Not to tell us stories about how great we are in the west.

[Kintor]

Like when comics use whoever the current president is in their stories, which has happened from Kennedy to Obama?

Seeing as how that policy of real presidents has given us cringeworthy covers like this:

Marvel Obama.jpg

I'd much rather Marvel come-up with fake presidents for their fictional universe over these partisan displays of politics.

[Prof. Warren]

Seeing as how that policy of real presidents has given us cringeworthy covers like this:

Marvel Obama.jpg

I'd much rather Marvel come-up with fake presidents for their fictional universe over these partisan displays of politics.

What's "cringeworthy" about that cover? Or partisan for that matter? And real presidents have shown up in Marvel Comics from the start.

[Kintor]

What's "cringeworthy" about that cover? Or partisan for that matter? And real presidents have shown up in Marvel Comics from the start.

You're kidding right? This is one of most infamous covers that Marvel has made in the last decade. Here we have a publically traded business outright shilling for an incoming president. I would politely describe this cover as propaganda but that would be an insult to all the hardworking spin doctors who take pride in their work. This is just Marvel debasing themselves to curry favour with Obama, short-sighted and ultimately self-destructive.

[Knives]

As a fan of X-mens and Ms Marvel can say that comics and politics can give a good mix. It all depends on how the story is written though on the other hand they must be careful not to take things too far after all comics are still read by many as a way of forgetting real-life problems.

Although more serious stories are good the intention of comics is to provide fun and entertaining. I have also noticed that some readers seem to see politics even where it does not exist or was not intended to exist.

[Carabas]

You're kidding right? This is one of most infamous covers that Marvel has made in the last decade. Here we have a publically traded business outright shilling for an incoming president. I would politely describe this cover as propaganda but that would be an insult to all the hardworking spin doctors who take pride in their work. This is just Marvel debasing themselves to curry favour with Obama, short-sighted and ultimately self-destructive.

It's the best-selling Marvel comic in maybe 30 years.

Marvel are not liberal. They're greedy. And they know the traditional comicbook audience is not enough to keep the industry afloat.

Also, you should look up who is Ike Perlmutter's favourite politician.

[Kintor]

It's the best-selling Marvel comic in maybe 30 years.

Marvel are not liberal. They're greedy. And they know the traditional comicbook audience is not enough to keep the industry afloat.

Also, you should look up who is Ike Perlmutter's favourite politician.

If you're claims about the sales figures are true then I can't say it's done Marvel any good in the long-run, that boost didn't translate into a stable increase of monthly readers. Just another example of how Marvel places the importance of political point-scoring over the long-term health of the business. Stunts like that cover just push people away, when readers want to see Spider-Man, not some flash-in-the-pan president who'll just make the comic look horribly dated in only a couple years after release.

[mugiwara]

What's "cringeworthy" about that cover? Or partisan for that matter? And real presidents have shown up in Marvel Comics from the start.

I have no problem with real, living people appearing in Marvel (or another company)'s comics, but I find it cringeworthy when they bootlick them.
Whether it's presidents like Obama or celebrities like Jay Leno.
I'm more confortable with comics making fun of them.

[Username taken]

It does seem as if many only want politics in their stories if they don't seek to explore actual issues that liberal democracies have. So Red Sun is ok because it doesn't make us reflect upon America.

I would suggest the only point of putting politics in a comic is to actively question and explore the world around us. Not to tell us stories about how great we are in the west.

This basically.

I like stories that address tough issues. I don't know if you play games but the new Wolfenstein was pretty controversial for that. The game pulled no punches in dealing with racism and other "troubling" issues.

[Username taken]

As a fan of X-mens and Ms Marvel can say that comics and politics can give a good mix. It all depends on how the story is written though on the other hand they must be careful not to take things too far after all comics are still read by many as a way of forgetting real-life problems.

Although more serious stories are good the intention of comics is to provide fun and entertaining. I have also noticed that some readers seem to see politics even where it does not exist or was not intended to exist.

I agree.

Yes, superhero comics are basically intended to provide entertainment, they occasionally dabble into social commentary. Or in some cases, are neck deep in social commentary (X-men, Captain America).

The issue is that folks right now are selectively "seeing politics" based on who's writing a title and NOT what is actually in the comics. I actually had to ask yesterday for people to actually show me where these heavily political superhero comics where superheroes spout left wing politics constantly.

I'm still waiting for a response.

[Triniking1234]

I don't have a problem with politics in comics. I've read The Authority and V for Vendetta. President Luthor and Dark Reign were some of my favourite story arcs.

The comic industry just need to keep an eye on their staff and stop nonsense like what that X-Men Gold artist did, Trump Modok and "Ask me about my feminist agenda" tee-shirts.