Marc Alan Fishman: Oh Captain, My Liberal, Commie, Black Captain

Marc Alan Fishman

Marc Alan Fishman is a graphic designer, digital artist, writer, and most importantly a native born Chicagoan. When he's not making websites, drawing and writing for his indie company Unshaven Comics, or rooting for the Bears... he's a dedicated husband and father. When you're not enjoying his column here on ComicMix, feel free to catch his comic book reviews weekly at MichaelDavisWorld, and check out his books and cartoons at Unshaven Comics.

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5 Responses

  1. Mindy Newell says:

    Absolutely terrific column, Marc!

  2. George Haberberger says:

    “Ultimately, it wouldn’t matter to me personally if Sam Wilson were a progressive or tea-party member.”

    With all due respect, I kind of doubt that. I think it would matter to you a lot if he were a tea-party member. Politics is downstream from culture, so any significant cultural change will eventually be reflected in the political arena. Fictional characters matter.

    When writer Andrew Klavan opined that the actions of Batman in The Dark Knight, (the movie), mirrored those of George W. Bush, there was an outcry of protest from comic fans who couldn’t abide the idea that Batman could be like George Bush in any way, despite the evidence of clear parallels.

    And as far as Cap’s politics in The Civil Was storyline which you say Fox News must have missed, I have always maintained that it was Steve Rogers who represented the conservative viewpoint, not Tony Stark. Rogers was anti-registration. The theme of the story was responsibility. Superpowers are an analogue for guns. Some people have no guns. Some people have an arsenal. In the Civil War story, most people have no powers and other people have great powers. Rogers trusted super-powered individuals to be responsible and not register with the government or reveal their identities. Stark did not. He was pro-registration. Tony Stark held the liberal viewpoint, despite the fact that Mark Millar cast Stark as Joe McCarthy.

    • Mike Douglass says:

      I agree wholeheartedly with the post above. And I’ll add…

      I read comics for entertainment only. Heavy political musings of any sort (liberal or conservative) detract from that. Comics, unlike books or movies, have a limited space for stuff outside of the actual story. Politics takes away from the story line and rarely, if ever, adds anything to it.

      Give me fun in my comics. I’ll get my political propaganda (and make no mistake, that is what this really is!)from other sources. No more Cap for me.

      • mike weber says:

        I’ve observed over the years that people who say things like

        I read comics for entertainment only. Heavy political musings of any sort (liberal or conservative) detract from that. Comics, unlike books or movies, have a limited space for stuff outside of the actual story. Politics takes away from the story line and rarely, if ever, adds anything to it.

        Give me fun in my comics. I’ll get my political propaganda (and make no mistake, that is what this really is!)from other sources. No more Cap for me.

        say them when the politics go one way (whichever way that is), but when the same comic expresses political views going the other way, they compliment the writers on how well they’re Telling It Like It Is.

        • George Haberberger says:

          I fully expect stories to have a political bent and when I don’t agree with that view I still read them if the execution is well done. (Hell I read a lot of opinion columns on MDW that I have issues with). I have to see how this Captain America storyline unfolds but so far it is not that deep. For example, Sam Wilson called a press conference to make an announcement and the next panel was montage of headlines saying Captain America was partisan and opposing the constitution. The thing is we were not shown exactly what he said. Seemed like a cop out unless that is the big reveal down the line.