Comics and politics do not mix.

photo courtesy of NY Post

When I was a child, I had no friends.  I was confused, lost, lonely and looking for guidance. At times like this, some people find religion; others find sports or even gangs.   I found comics.

Almost every valuable lesson I learned about the world, I learned through the wonder of comic books.   That joy of learning and reading has stuck with me even through today, leading me not only to be a writer, but in fact to write these very articles you read now.

The subjects that I learned did not start and end with literature.   On the contrary, my syllabus was many and varied.   I like think that I'm still learning from my favorite writers, and that somewhere out there are kids just like me finding that same joy of learning from comics.

And yet, of late I have grown increasingly disappointed with the comics industry.   Over the last 9 months, the blatant political pandering that has poisoned the journalistic integrity of news organizations over the years has infected even my most beloved medium.

It is not uncommon for writers to express their views through their work.   Great writing should always make it's audience think, even when they disagree with the writer's perspective.   It is also a given that a large portion of writers and artists in America are often given to liberal opinions.  Thus as a reader you come to expect liberal opinions in the books you read.  But while this may be true, in the past, comics have managed to avoid broaching politics.   Perhaps it is because even our art is at its best a business and engendering political debate only serves to alienate readers.  But I prefer to believe it is because comics have always been about ideals.   When super humans sacrifice their lives and happiness for the greater good, it is an allegory self sacrifice in our every day lives.   By making ideas larger than life, it helps to put problems into perspective.

Politics are not about ideals.   Politics are about the agendas of private groups of citizens, such as politicians and news organizations.   And it seems that in the new millennium that politics have become so inbred with marketing and television and consumerism that it is an impenetrable wall which even a Superman cannot overcome.   To see the comics industry broach the fascism of political influence breaks my heart.

Yet more and more every day I see the President of the United States adorning covers and making unwarranted appearances in comics.   Even his dog, Bo Obama has a special one-shot issue. And in my mind, this is wrong.   It breaks the fourth wall in a distracting way; instead of bringing us into the book, the book takes a chunk of the real world and glues it haphazardly into fiction.

It started small.   Writer Eric Larsen used his creation, the Savage Dragon to publicly declare his support for then-candidate Barack Obama.   Sure it was a cheap marketing gimmick meant to draw Obama supporters and collectors to his book, but I have to believe it was a politically motivated choice for Mr. Larsen.  Never before had political battlelines been drawn so decisively in the industry.  And the ripples of the action still echo today.

Shortly thereafter, one shots were created spotlighting the two main candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain.  And when Mr. Obama won the election, the coverage increased exponentially.  Devil's Due Publishing created a satirical version of Conan, Barack the Barbarian who defends the land of Hope from the evil Republicans, Bush, Cheney and Sarah Palin.  Army of Darkness' Ash saves the President from the undead.   And Spider-man famously 'fist-bumped' the Commander-in-Chief. Even DC Comics' major event mini-series, Final Crisis featured Barack and Michelle Obama as the Superman and Wonder Woman of another universe.

Despite the fist-bump incident, Marvel Comics has shown surprising grace with some of it's depictions of Mr. Obama.   In both The Thunderbolts and Secret Warriors, the President was used in limited capacities which never painted him as being anything other than a normal human being (albeit in a high office) or distracted from telling their stories.  And yet even the most subdued features of political figures is not to be tolerated.   By any use, politics pollutes the purity of the ideas and stories.

Comics have a way of deifying and idolizing characters.   Superman, Batman and Captain America are archetypes and modern day myths, no less real to us than the stories taught in religions or even history classes.  This is why characters like Thor, Hercules and Ares are so at home alongside Wolverine and Iron Man, because they are ultimately the same thing.   Something about comics rings true to our history, to something old and wise, when stories of Gilgamesh and Samson and Achilles delighted ancient children. Stories have power.  Words can shape men's destinies.

By pushing a human being into these worlds, you cannot help but make him myth as well.   The problem is that the President of the United States is neither a God nor a Celebrity.   He is a public servant.   The television stations seem to forget this fact.   It pains me to see comics making the same mistakes.  No one-- not Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln or Regan should ever be remembered as anything other than a man, even one who did his duty to the best of his ability.

I am certain I will receive derisive comments for this piece.   They'll say I'm wrong or racist or simply being hypocritical.   But I stand behind these words.  It's not about liberal vs conservative.   It's not even about the President.  It's about preserving the ideals that comics have always represented.  It's about remembering that there are better ways to get your point across.   Mark Millar's Ultimates 2 was not subtle about its writer's disdain for the war in Iraq, but Millar never stood on his soapbox or attacked the President. The underlying issue was evident, but not hammering us with the point.  He just told a great story and allowed the audience to come to their own conclusions.

I urge the creators and the comics community in general to consider my words.  Politics has no place in comics or fiction.   Do not allow the disease that so divides our country to pervert the things we love as well.