Do Politics In Comics Alienate Readers?

Politics is part of life, so it is fine to include the subject in comics, as long as it is told in a non-partisan manner.

@Gylan Thomas said:

Seems an odd question to me.

Comics are a story telling medium. Like movies, novels and TV. Do movies, TV shows or books with political storylines alienate the audience? No.

If anything it adds diversity to the medium.

My argument though is that there isn't much in the way of "diversity" in the medium. Comic writers all tend to be cut from a very similar and very liberal cloth so only one side of the story is being shown.

I would say if they do only minorly...speaking from a personal perspective

@AMP - Seeker of Lost Knowledge: Did you like the book?

Yes, they do.

@TheBlackHood said:

I tend to think that politics do alienate SOME readers because the majority of comic creators seem to hail from one particular political outlook. I suspect that the majority of comic fans are also pretty liberal leaning which means including this type of political outlook in a book panders to your target audience. On the other hand, I tend to be somewhat conservative on a number of subjects, so I do tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to my politics being shown in a positive.

I mentioned before how I was shocked during the first part of the new "Mister Terrific" because they had Terrific working with a conservative Senator. My surprise quickly became a feeling of "I should have known that was coming" when Terrific flips out at the end of the issue and accuses the Republican of being a demon incarnate.

Personally I find that politics are best left to comics LIKE: V for Vendetta where it is the subject matter. Of course there are certain characters that I am fine with addressing politics because they where their affiliation on their sleeve as part of their character:

Green Arrow = Massive Liberal

Punisher = Eye for an Eye Conservative

The problem is that since most comic writers are fairly liberal, they tend to make their protagonists match their own affiliation and the antagonists match what they disagree with. What happens is that Conservatives are often cast as evil when they simply have different ideals.

Yeah and people overlook it, what is sad.

White Men HeteroSexual Conservative = Pure Evilness

Black Women Lesbian Liberal = Good.

Geez! They're just comics. You can basically tell any story about these certain topics. Some people really need to learn that THEY ARE JUST COMICS AND WRITERS/ARTISTS TELLING STORIES ABOUT THEM!

It always depends on how it is handled. I enjoy many movies, comics, and games that contains politics, sex, and religion as a focal point. I do however hate stories that are so biased that it comes off as propaganda and claims that X is right and Y is always wrong.

@The Impersonator said:

Geez! They're just comics. You can basically tell any story about these certain topics. Some people really need to learn that THEY ARE JUST COMICS AND WRITERS/ARTISTS TELLING STORIES ABOUT THEM!

haha so true

Do politics alianate readers? - I guess so, but not in a massive way, by mentioning this I mean that only the people that lack an open mind will be alianated. One more time, and picking some examples from some wide places in the political spectrum, you dont become a socialist by reading Marx or a nationalist by reading Nietszhe. With that said, I think its pointless to keep politics out of the comics, they are present in every aspect of our lives, taxes we pay, the side of the road we drive they were all political decisions and, most important of all, political points of view are across all the media, movies, music, painting even journalism, and this last one was not supposed to have a political point of view.

It has been done with a few comics and they were still very successfull like the examples in the article wich is another argument that politics do not alienate readers in a broad way.

Despite all of these we must be aware that a misuse of politic points of view showing that that point of is the only one correct is dangerous and this is true for comics and all sorts of media a little bit like what was done during the 2nd World War with propaganda, movies, books showing only one side of the truth. (Brainwash)

That depends in how politics are handled in comics.

Politics is everywhere, some people dont see it but others dont want to see. Of Course, sometimes is better dont see. Every hero stands up to protect a political view, not only V.

No politics don't belong in comics one damn bit. Superheroes are supposed to be above evil. Some characters have their politic views and I respect that but when it shows in other characters who don't really have a political voice then it's complete bs! I am completely independant but a few months ago when superman renounced his freaking citizenship that put me through the freaking roof! Some bitch ass liberal writer got his panties in a bunch because Obama was being hit with this issue. So he felt it necessary to bring that into comics. Superman is supposed to be the ultimate symbol of good so why would he even be involved in politics? Every single fucking politician is a corrupt evil souless son of a bitch who doesn't deserve the air they breathe. If any of them was truly good why do they all make over 100k a year? No one is supposed to want to be in political office it's supposed to be a civic duty not a career! Anyways superman and other heroes shouldn't be weighed down by politics which stall a story and have no purpose but to get a writers vendetta out. Also as someone else said it alienates readers making people think their views are right and the others are bad because the hero sides with them. That again is bs everyone has different views and beliefs none is more right than the other except extreemities of course. Keep politics out they don't they don't belong to heroes unless (stating this again) that's a key part of a character.

@NixonV3: Superheroes are supposed to be above evil, you say, and that is your reason for suggesting that politics should be left out of comics...

Do you not see the irony in your statement? 'Politics are evil and should therefore be left out of comics'

So.. Evil should be left out of comics? That being the case, who are the Superheroes going to fight? What will they be protecting people from?

If done right, it can make the comic much more intriguing and sophiticated. If done in a propagandic, manipulative or banal way, giving the feeling that it chews its views for the reader and puts them in his\her mouth, then it' a catastrophe. On the other had, it is sometimes the level of sophistication that scares away readers, not because they can't handle it, but because they simply have different expectations from a given medium. Of course, the type of the comic is an important factor (political reflections might seem awkward in a TNMT comic, though not impossible to pull off), my opinion is the same as in the case of violence, mass civil casualties, romance, philosophy etc. in comic books: if executed cleverly and in a contextually sensible manner, if it gets the message\statement through, then why not?

@NixonV3 said:

No politics don't belong in comics one damn bit. Superheroes are supposed to be above evil. Some characters have their politic views and I respect that but when it shows in other characters who don't really have a political voice then it's complete bs! I am completely independant but a few months ago when superman renounced his freaking citizenship that put me through the freaking roof! Some bitch ass liberal writer got his panties in a bunch because Obama was being hit with this issue. So he felt it necessary to bring that into comics. Superman is supposed to be the ultimate symbol of good so why would he even be involved in politics? Every single fucking politician is a corrupt evil souless son of a bitch who doesn't deserve the air they breathe. If any of them was truly good why do they all make over 100k a year? No one is supposed to want to be in political office it's supposed to be a civic duty not a career! Anyways superman and other heroes shouldn't be weighed down by politics which stall a story and have no purpose but to get a writers vendetta out. Also as someone else said it alienates readers making people think their views are right and the others are bad because the hero sides with them. That again is bs everyone has different views and beliefs none is more right than the other except extreemities of course. Keep politics out they don't they don't belong to heroes unless (stating this again) that's a key part of a character.

NixonV3, I get your point but now, I want you to try to see the issue from the following perpective:

Politics is the art of making decisions, which makes us all in some way or another politicians with one difference maybe, the common human being usually makes decisions that affect only themselves and sometimes the others, while a "pro" politician is the other way arround. Wich leads me to ask how is it possible to keep out any character simply out of politics? In my point of view you are able to keep politics out just to a certain degree, you can even mask it but not completly exclude it from comics. Captain America is a charachter drenched in politics, what about x-men? A mutant minoraty fighting for peace while being chastised by a non-mutant majoraty sounds like Apartheid or the Nazi Germany, it is a masked down political issue for no political characters. Once again the problem is how politics is shown, it must be blank slate experience that shows an accurate reality from both perspective and you end up forming an opinion based on that, just like in some degree in Marvel Civil War or in a larger degree in V for Vendetta

excellent article Sara. No

@catfightfan: That´s true, i dont know why people think that politics are done only by politicians, everyone is part of this world.

Politics, and it's satire can work in comics, but only if it's done correctly. I mean, looking at the above mentioned V for Vendeta and Judge Dredd, they are both politicaly, and openly moking (in a way) the Thatcher conservative goverment that was currently in Power in the UK at the time.Yet at the same time there is no section of dialogue or images in the book saying so. It's all left up for the reader to interpirate, and also means that the politicions have no straws to grasp when trying to condem such works as there's no blatant "this iswhat the *insert name* goverments like". It's all dependent on the intelligence of the reader. Now as far as the Captain America issue up here's concerned Marvel openly gave something that the press could latch onto and critisize.

Political topics in Comics, if they need to exist, must be done subtelly and with intellagence.

Idc but i love it! and alan moore top dog!

It totally depends on how well it's covered. When we see religion or politics covered in movies or tv there is more often a more balanced portrayal of the issue (for a multitude of reasons) so a viewer can make decisions for themselves or even research the issue to learn more. Comics on the other hand, usually only portray something 2Dimensionally.

The images above of TeaBag-er protest signs is a good example. The image is presented as a standalone without discussion into it at all. It's a statement rather than a question to be answered or researched and because of that... it becomes propaganda. The other posters in that image are just as offensive actually, but Americans have been conditioned for years to think that socialism and communism, (anything other than capitalism and democracy) are bad when it's just not true. These political ideologies on their own are not bad, but like any ideology, it can be co-opted and go bad quickly. On the same note, I would fervently argue against capitalism as a viable ideaology to base a culture or civilization around.

But anyhow, the point is... when it's a single picture stating a view point, none of this even "light" discussion or explanation takes place and placement like that becomes background subliminal programming and propaganda. So, when I see this type of 2Dimensional political or religious or sexual reference it turns me off of the book involved. When you're young, those things don't matter but the older and more educated you get, seeing garbage like that in your entertainment is offensive and a turn off.

Politics in comics is a very yes and no subject. Nazis and USSR, these are figures who were in power and corrupt in the views of (most) Americans. Hitler did bad things, no doubt in (most) people's minds. So it is easy and safe enough to make Hitler a villain. The bad guy in power must be taken out of power, a common premise in any heroic tale. And those who are willing to look for it will see a political figure they dislike villainized in these figures. But when you cameo Obama in Spider-Man (or omitting him in Dark Reign to avoid associating him with Osborn's evil rule--if I recall, someone from the oval office got their feathers ruffled when a 'black president' was having a meeting with Osborn in Thunderbolts.) and depicting Tea Partiers as a lynch mob, then you are clearly making a statement and you are seriously going to anger someone. I know I was utterly repulsed when I saw the Tea Party people in Captain America, I was offended. Especially if you view the wider biased against the Tea Party in all other media outlets.

It's okay to put politics in comics, but don't convert me. Both the left and right do this often, the problem with right it that, I sorry to say too near minded. The problem on the left is that every body is suppose to think the same and want peace. Some one said it best, that when a Nation goes up, wars begin. The one big thing that the other guy wants is what you have. I give my dogs two bones, but the other wants the other bone; thinking that it is the super bone. When in fact, it's the same freaking bone. That's why we have a military, hopefully to protect the citizens of this country. It's okay to question government, because they might go in a endless wars struggle. When Politicians are none thing but lawyers and don't know the full scope, but only to get money, this is what happens. Independents like me are not Tea Bags, on the political spectrum they are on the extreme right. When they say small government, what do you mean small government. Can you outline in specifics of small government. It sounds like Neo Confederation to me, were the state has the control and not the Federal government. Would this affect the military or any organization out there. To me Small government is like receding baldness on man and to me it shows weakness to me and the world. If you fraction the pot, hows anything going to be organized. Are we going to be in state of governess were a Governor feels he must eliminate political enemies in the state to maintain power, in Star Wars Episode IV, when I hear this

I think writers should write what they want. It's my choice to read it or not.

I like it as long as it is written well and not trying to force you into a political view but show you a side.

Great article, Sara.

I think that the subject of politics in comics covers the same ground as politics in any form of art, be it painting, photography, music, sculpture or film. Art is expression and politics, whether it be governmental, societal or personal is a means of expression. We express our opinion and we express how we want to live and that feeling and practice is very close to the creation of art itself so I think that it is entirely logical that art should be the most readily available medium to express political view points.

As to whether it alienates readers all depends, as previously mentioned, on how the political ideal is communicated.

As you say in the article and as Alan Moore says himself, to just present your own political agenda in a story insults the reader and does not an interesting tale make. Same as with any art. Look at Guernica by Picasso. Listen to anything by Rage Against The Machine or Fugazi. Read Animal Farm by George Orwell. All of these types of political expression are also great examples of their art. I can enjoy Animal Farm as a brilliantly written book whilst jumping round the house head banging like a loon to Rage Against The Machine whilst staring in appreciation at a photo of Guernica. I can enjoy those things on a level of art for arts sake, but if I am so inclined, I can also take from these works far more and indulge my political, my reasoning mind as well as my creative one.

As you state with V For Vendetta, it can be enjoyed as simply a great story. Yet if you want to delve deeper, there is a whole other world lurking beneath the surface. I think that all great art leads you to other art; it expands your horizons. Politics in comics doesn’t exclusively have to involve government but can also involve a spiritual politic, an emotional, societal, financial politic. Rebellion is the spirit of politics and what are superheroes but rebels?

When done correctly, with thought and passion, a story is capable of carrying any depth of sub-text whilst still being entertaining.

I think politics in comics is fine (avoidable really, even if they attempt to represent it in super-hero related terms, such as Civil Wars and Schism etc, and for example, the x-men have always been about fantasy representation of prejudice, discrimination and racism, and the fallout of that, which is a political as well a social issue). I think the key is how such issues are presented, I dislike the feeling in any media that I'm being preached to, that a writer is using a story to ram their particularly political view down my throat. I've honestly stopped reading/watch films, books or comics etc where I've felt this to be to much the case, even if the story intrigues me, I just find it irritating as none of us are children, we can think for ourselves and don't need to be preached at.

However if it can present current political issues and views in a more balanced manner without trying to just push one view, I'm all for it, like it or not, politics is a part of life, and comics should reflect that in some way or other.

@Babs:

I still have the series of emails between Ed Brubaker and me that were spawned by the tea-bagging sign at (what was supposed to be) the generic protest rally.

I had mothers complaining to me at the comic book store about that sign because "tea-bagging" is a sexual term and they didn't appreciate their kids asking them what "tea-bagging" was.

Ed told me that HE didn't write that copy...that he WOULDN'T write anything like that, because Cap is a character in the Marvel Universe NOT a person in the real world.

And the letterer was someone who Ed trusted and the letterer didn't put those words on the sign either.

Those words came from some Smart Alec in the Marvel bullpen.

Politics in comics can either be really good or just plain bad. It depends really on how it is integrated upon the main plot and how it manages to escape from being just another historic backdrop.

Honestly, I think its almost impossible to completely avoid some form of political commentary. I have no problem with it as long as its well written. No one wants to be beat over the head with a message.

Just the idea of politics in comics incites such strong reactions, look at all the replies here.  Most topics get quick one liners, or some QFTs.  This gets everyone writing a long drawn out explanation of why or why not politics should even be involved.  The real answer is that with a topic so polarizing you really have to try to either represent both sides, or stay within a grey area to not alienate half of the readers.

I dunno- if you look back to the Marvel comics of the early 1960s( beginning with the FF/Hulk/ Daredevil/Spider-Man), you'll either chuckle or grit your teeth over the overt Cold War polemics often expressed by the stories or characters therein as well as the absurdly over-idealized version of American society( no people of colour or references to civil rights/segregation). It's been my experience that when people(esp on the conservative Right) complain about "politics" in comic books, they usually mean "politics of which we disapprove of"(pace the Tea Party, criticism of the Vietnam War, racial injustice)-the William F Buckleys, Pat Buchanans and Rush Limbaughs made no complaint about the "dastardly Reds" storylines in both Marvel and DC titles of the time any more than they did when Ronald Reagan or Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for public( both as conservative Republicans for the Governorship of California although Reagan was entitled as a native born American to seek the US Presidency)office- so much for the argument that celebrities should "stay out of politics".

Like beauty, what constitutes politics is arguably in the eye of the ideological beholder!

Terry

Political views in comics are tricky. I tend to believe that they should be left out of established character stories, unless the writer has a really compelling reason for getting a hero involved in politics. Captain America is at his worst when he's being used as a political mouth-hole, which seems to happen once every four years. They tried balancing that out by making US Agent the "Conservative" Captain, giving writers the freedom to make Steve lean a little more to the left, but the end result is just that US Agent is usually written as a close-minded, bumbling, bigoted nimrod rather than a partisan examination of a controversial viewpoint.

@SeanNOLA: but the end result is just that US Agent is usually written as a close-minded, bumbling, bigoted nimrod rather than a partisan examination of a controversial viewpoint.

you already said he's conservative... Now you're just being redundant... LOL!!! I'm just playing folks! Don't shoot!

They definitely made Cap a little more liberal during Civil War but I liked it... We all too often forget that the people who founded the U.S. (or most countries for that matter) were extreme liberals..

@Paracelsus said:

I dunno- if you look back to the Marvel comics of the early 1960s( beginning with the FF/Hulk/ Daredevil/Spider-Man), you'll either chuckle or grit your teeth over the overt Cold War polemics often expressed by the stories or characters therein as well as the absurdly over-idealized version of American society( no people of colour or references to civil rights/segregation). It's been my experience that when people(esp on the conservative Right) complain about "politics" in comic books, they usually mean "politics of which we disapprove of"(pace the Tea Party, criticism of the Vietnam War, racial injustice)-the William F Buckleys, Pat Buchanans and Rush Limbaughs made no complaint about the "dastardly Reds" storylines in both Marvel and DC titles of the time any more than they did when Ronald Reagan or Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for public( both as conservative Republicans for the Governorship of California although Reagan was entitled as a native born American to seek the US Presidency)office- so much for the argument that celebrities should "stay out of politics".

Like beauty, what constitutes politics is arguably in the eye of the ideological beholder!

Terry

THIS!!! This right here... Read this folks...

@Timandm said:

@SeanNOLA: but the end result is just that US Agent is usually written as a close-minded, bumbling, bigoted nimrod rather than a partisan examination of a controversial viewpoint.

you already said he's conservative... Now you're just being redundant... LOL!!! I'm just playing folks! Don't shoot!

They definitely made Cap a little more liberal during Civil War but I liked it... We all too often forget that the people who founded the U.S. (or most countries for that matter) were extreme liberals..

That is a lie, also you have to notice that being a liberal have changed.

They were Classical Liberals, not Modern Liberals.

To be honest this came from a "Conservative Liberal" or a "Liberal Conservatism "

Two point of view that show that being Liberal or Conservative, is not that easy.

The main problem, when most of writters, is that they dont care to explore other ways to see politics, only the liberal one.

That why Watchmen is a werid comic book, since Ozymandias, was gay, liberal, atheist and vegan, but he was the villain, an anti villains but a villain still and Roschach, was religious, heterosexual, meat eater and conservative and was a hero.

@DeathpooltheT1000 said:

@Timandm said:

@SeanNOLA: but the end result is just that US Agent is usually written as a close-minded, bumbling, bigoted nimrod rather than a partisan examination of a controversial viewpoint.

you already said he's conservative... Now you're just being redundant... LOL!!! I'm just playing folks! Don't shoot!

They definitely made Cap a little more liberal during Civil War but I liked it... We all too often forget that the people who founded the U.S. (or most countries for that matter) were extreme liberals..

That is a lie, also you have to notice that being a liberal have changed.

They were Classical Liberals, not Modern Liberals.

To be honest this came from a "Conservative Liberal" or a "Liberal Conservatism "

Two point of view that show that being Liberal or Conservative, is not that easy.

The main problem, when most of writters, is that they dont care to explore other ways to see politics, only the liberal one.

That why Watchmen is a werid comic book, since Ozymandias, was gay, liberal, atheist and vegan, but he was the villain, an anti villains but a villain still and Roschach, was religious, heterosexual, meat eater and conservative and was a hero.

How about I give you a minute to rethink calling me a liar?

@Timandm said:

@DeathpooltheT1000 said:

@Timandm said:

@SeanNOLA: but the end result is just that US Agent is usually written as a close-minded, bumbling, bigoted nimrod rather than a partisan examination of a controversial viewpoint.

you already said he's conservative... Now you're just being redundant... LOL!!! I'm just playing folks! Don't shoot!

They definitely made Cap a little more liberal during Civil War but I liked it... We all too often forget that the people who founded the U.S. (or most countries for that matter) were extreme liberals..

That is a lie, also you have to notice that being a liberal have changed.

They were Classical Liberals, not Modern Liberals.

To be honest this came from a "Conservative Liberal" or a "Liberal Conservatism "

Two point of view that show that being Liberal or Conservative, is not that easy.

The main problem, when most of writters, is that they dont care to explore other ways to see politics, only the liberal one.

That why Watchmen is a werid comic book, since Ozymandias, was gay, liberal, atheist and vegan, but he was the villain, an anti villains but a villain still and Roschach, was religious, heterosexual, meat eater and conservative and was a hero.

How about I give you a minute to rethink calling me a liar?

You say they were extreme liberal, what is a lie, not every single people that was fighting during the independence wars were liberals, many were conservatives.

This is a common thing during independence wars, many liberals were in the other side too, people overlook this.

Rorscach wasn't the hero of Watchmen.

And all this talk about comic book creators being liberals completely ignores the works of Ditko, Frank Miller, Mark Millar, and others. It's not that cut and dried.

There should be politics in comics, just as in any other art, but the best integration of politics into comics are done in a more subtle allegorical fashion. Or, at the very least, the comics are an original creation that has nothing to do with the mainstream. No obvious signs or banners, just contemplation of different concepts and how they affect the characters.

@DeathpooltheT1000: Tell you what, Sparky...

I'll accept the possibility that you're simply not smart enough to realize how insulting you're being... Accusing me of lying... you're not worth the effort...

You think of me as a liar.

I'll think of you as a waste...

and let's leave at that and NEVER say anything to each other ever again... How easy is that?

Here's what I've always said about politics and art (as I know you all have baited breath). It works when it comes from real inspiration and it flops when the artist just sets out to make a point. If, for example, fascism is on your mind a lot and this story arises from your thoughts, you get V FOR VENDETTA.

If you just set out to make a point, you get a forgettable screed that turns people off.

CIVIL WAR, in my opinion, was rife with politics, but it was really awesome.

I can't think of an example of a forgettable one, though, because I forgot them.

Eat the Babies!

Sara,

You put together a great overview of both the touchy subject and some of the books that took the risk of dealing with it.

Enjoyed it.

Politics are fine in moderation, but if it becomes too much, it does alienate a fair few.

@B_Heart: well throughout history music has been a method of spreading political messages (bob marley the clash woody gutherie every protest song public enemy and a large percent of the punk scene) and its been pretty effective and also literature such as 1984 and a brave new world also have so since comics are in some cases graphic literature i say go for it also lupe fiasco is a good artist

@Decept-O said:

Many stories, whether in comic book form or not, are often thinly veiled comments and opinions about politics. If I want to delve into politics, I will do so in other areas. Personally I don't care for discussing it in entertainment. That doesn't make me narrow minded nor a simpleton; it is my opinion and I don't like it. I want to cross into the world of escapism and to me that means leaving a lot of things that are in real life behind.

Politics should not be in comics. Writers just need to write the story and let the reader decide who is right & who is wrong.

@DeathpooltheT1000 said:

@Timandm said:

@DeathpooltheT1000 said:

@Timandm said:

@SeanNOLA: but the end result is just that US Agent is usually written as a close-minded, bumbling, bigoted nimrod rather than a partisan examination of a controversial viewpoint.

you already said he's conservative... Now you're just being redundant... LOL!!! I'm just playing folks! Don't shoot!

They definitely made Cap a little more liberal during Civil War but I liked it... We all too often forget that the people who founded the U.S. (or most countries for that matter) were extreme liberals..

That is a lie, also you have to notice that being a liberal have changed.

They were Classical Liberals, not Modern Liberals.

To be honest this came from a "Conservative Liberal" or a "Liberal Conservatism "

Two point of view that show that being Liberal or Conservative, is not that easy.

The main problem, when most of writters, is that they dont care to explore other ways to see politics, only the liberal one.

That why Watchmen is a werid comic book, since Ozymandias, was gay, liberal, atheist and vegan, but he was the villain, an anti villains but a villain still and Roschach, was religious, heterosexual, meat eater and conservative and was a hero.

How about I give you a minute to rethink calling me a liar?

You say they were extreme liberal, what is a lie, not every single people that was fighting during the independence wars were liberals, many were conservatives.

This is a common thing during independence wars, many liberals were in the other side too, people overlook this.

A Year and 5 Months Later: This is the best post here because it sums up what the real problem is for readers of today who may be alienated by politics in comics.The schizm that now exists and has turned political discourse into a media fueled slugfest is no longer about reaching consensus for the common good.It is about bullying the opposition into submission. Many have taken the Cowards way out by proclaming that all politics are useless and refuse to participate right from the start. Or join the mostly useless splinter parties that because of Cold War era Politics (Mc Carthy) have largely been marginilized with no hope of having any real impact. McCarthy's influence and Buckley's as well labels them as either hopelessly Socialist or Fascist and Third Parties have been doomed to not be heard ever since.When the collapse comes it's going to be brutal and we will have no one to blame but ourselves.Sorry I found this a year and 5 months late.

@Alton:

Having a political view and expressing it in a comic book is not going to alienate me, even though I find the subject extremely tiring IRL. Heck, it can actually be really interesting if it's written well. But if a book clearly has no purpose other than to throw out a political view, and does it in an anvilicious way, then I get annoyed.