DC vs Marvel = Hillary vs Obama ?

A discussion in the comments at the Absorbacscon:

Does the kind of comic books one likes correspond with ones political leanings or how one chooses a candidate?

The highlight of which is the inspirational vs. asparational observations.

Maggin for Congress: Opening analysis

From Jamie at the Eye of Polyphemus:

Rarely do the worlds of comic books and politics, two of my favorite subjects collide...

"You had me at 'hello'."

...but it has just happened. Eliot S! Maggin (The “!” is not a typo), former writer for Superman and Justice League, has thrown his hat into the political ring for the second time.

Jamie comments on Maggin's announcement:

Maggin further stereotypes his opponents with the broadest brush strokes in the liberal arsenal. I cannot comment much on Gallegly. He is one of the more subdued Republican members of Congress. That he is tells me his district is a reliably conservative district full of affluent constituents who want low taxes and do not care much for political activism, particularly of the liberal stripe.

I noticed that populist/progressive rhetoric too. Especially when Maggin writes:

We approach a condition where a small group of enormously wealthy people are served by a growing community of servants, and opportunity is a foreign notion. And when anyone anywhere notices this out loud he is immediately accused of being a “class warrior” or a “blame-gamer” or a “conspiracy theorist” or some such centrally generated piece of tripe talk.

If there's really a conspiracy behind a thing, then it's no longer a theory.

I'll concede that I was thinking "class warrior", but "conspiracy theorist" never came to mind until Maggin brought it up.

This shows a bit of amateurism, as he's giving his opposition a blueprint for campaigning against him (assuming they ever recognize his existence).

Jamie assesses the incumbent:

I cannot comment much on Gallegly. He is one of the more subdued Republican members of Congress. That he is tells me his district is a reliably conservative district full of affluent constituents who want low taxes and do not care much for political activism, particularly of the liberal stripe.

Indeed, in looking at the district borders, it looks quite gerrymandered. The district is drawn up to avoid a thin stretch of coastline where I presume the wealthier entertainment industry figures (read: limousine liberals) live.

I suspect that Maggin would do far better to do package his opposition to the incumbent Gallegly so that middle of the road, and maybe even Republicans would consider voting for him.

Unfortunatly, I fear that Maggin may be a full blown "Oliver Queen liberal" prone towards the tribalism that I've commented about before on this blog.

A candidate has to realise that an election is not about the candidates. It's about the voters, and their concerns and interests. If you're running a third party "carry the banner" race, where you're promoting a party, you can do that, but in those cases you are looking more for publicity than votes. Maggin seems to be running for the Democratic nomination, so that's out.

Then again, Maggin has only just announced. He may yet form a team that runs a decent campaign. Having run in New Hampshire years ago may help him, but it will probably be a shock to him how much he'll be ignored by the media and the public in southern California.

None the less, I still applaud the effort. I may not agree with Maggin's politics, but I do admire his participation. For far too many people, politics is something far removed from the common man's effort. Stepping into the arena is the first step, improving one's game is the second.

Tribalism: The enemy within.

I don't know how well my attempts to talk about politics within the comic book blogosphere and podcast communities will fly.

But I am doing so, in part, because I believe that too many people are treating politics as a taboo subject. That good people are scared off by being hostilely judged by people who don't agree with them.

Anger and confrontation seem to be the standard form of political discourse these days. The fringes have a disproportionately loud voice, and intimidate those of us who don't quite fit into their ideas of right and wrong. The extreme left and right are both driving us towards tribalism.

The political blogosphere has been discussing tribalism lately.
Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters has put it very well.

…this anger and tribalism creates a national sense of rhetorical civil war where we cannot ever agree enough to maintain standards of behavior or get anything accomplished.

…

The point of politics is not to engage in primal screams, but to find ways to implement the best policies for the nation, states, and communities. Anger has its place, but we cannot allow anger to define our politics and our ethics. If we are to make a better nation and a better world, we have to insist on a focus on policy and performance regardless of which party is in power. Otherwise, we're just playing Capture the Flag.

Please read the whole article.

My dream article.

This blog's goal was to be a bit about comics, a bit about politics, and ideally a bit about where the two intersect.

I've just come across something that encompasses that intersection.

This article over at The Politico starts out about the events of Captain America #25, but becomes a survey of the use of political themes in comics.

It's a very good read. I'll be using portions of this as a springboard for further conversation. There's much for me to argue with/for in this piece. Stay tuned.

(via Devon Sanders at Seven Hells!)

JLA: Fired !!!

The Bangor (Maine) Daily News' editorial cartoonist, George Danby features the Justice League in one of last week's cartoons. (Thumbnail shown, click to see the full cartoon at BangorDailyNews.com)

In it Superman is saying:

What a Week! Captain America is assassinated! Then Gonzales fires us!

Nice to see that they added a bit of color to the web version. But J'onn is looking mighty pale. No love for the Martian Manhunter?