Comix Politix: Finally a Dependable Media Source
by Lee Gordon
Until my roommate loaned me his copy of Art Spiegelman’s Maus, I had no idea that a certain minority of comic book artists were trying to redefine the stigma attached with their craft. I mean, look at the classification itself, comic book, as in funny. At most bookstores you can find these works in the humor section.
But interestingly enough, there are comic books that involve very little humor indeed. These artists are serious about making works of journalistic documentation instead of superheroes beating up bad guys. In recent years, publishers such as Fantagraphics, Pantheon Books and Drawn and Quarterly Press have published more and more of this politically driven type of comic in America.
Let’s talk about history: where did these “political comics” get their start? Probably the first artist to attempt to move his books from the class of comics to the shelves with literature was Harvey Kurtzman of Mad Magazine. Mad was the publication that made him famous anyways. What you may not have known is that his upstart company, EC comics, was responsible for some of the most strikingly real stories about the Korean Conflict to date, Two Fisted Tales.
At this point in the history of comics, literature alone tried to tackle the realities and horrors of war. The closest comics got to this sort of politics were unrealistic scenes of Captain America punching Hitler in the face. EC comics were mostly known for their horror and humor genres. But after a time of failing sales, Kurtzman, a war veteran himself, tried to breathe life
back into his Two Fisted Tales by documenting the Korean conflict.
War comics were often used as a form of American propaganda. They glorified the American soldier’s heroism and racially caricatured whoever the enemy was. Kurtzman’s series was the first to run against the grain. A great example is the front cover of issue #25 (click on the picture and it will enlarge).
Verbally the humor is very dark. Check out our poor dead friend Jonesy, how his dying hand claws at the dirt. This is certainly no Captain America punching Hitler in the face. In this single image, Kurtzman very vividly depicts the triviality of politicians’ sanctions in the face of real blood and guts battle. Unfortunately, the public at large wasn’t ready for this type of work. The last issue (#41) hit the presses in 1955.
Young People Changing the World
© 2004 POP SUSTAINABILITY
