This month’s MKE Comicbook meet-up at Anodyne Coffee was another interesting evening. This evening we had two great topics to share in. As comicbooks have a recognizable history of taking on various social/political issues, attendees were invited to bring comics they prized, that dealt with a particular issue. We also took time to talk about sexism and some of the very, very poor behavior in the world of comicbook fandom against women comicbook fans – particularly how it needs to be spoken out against and how that sliver of the culture needs to be shown the error of its ways. After an hour’s discussion on those topics, author Tea Krulos gave a presentation on the writing of his book about the “real-life super-hero movement” – “Heroes In The Night“. Artist David Beyer Jr. also stopped by to share some artwork from a graphic novel he and Tea are working on. It was a VERY interesting evening and I really appreciate everyone who came out for it!
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Here are the comics that people brought for discussion of social issues in the comicbooks —
Don brought up Greg Pak’s “Vision Machine” and Brian K. Vaughan’s “Private Eye“, both which deal privacy in the future. He also shared “Stuck Rubber Baby“- dealing with racism and homosexuality in the 1960s, and “Special Exits” – about the author caring for her aging parents.
Jony shared Steve Gerber’s “Howard The Duck” – a great 1970s comic that often satirized the media and very notably, presidential politics. She also shared Dan Abnett and John Tomlinson “Knights of Pendragon” which was a super-hero adventure wrapped up in environmental politics and Arthurian legend!
I shared Waren Ellis’ “Transmetropolitan” and Christos Gage’s “Union Jack.” Transmetropolitan tells the story of a pessimistic future through the eyes of that era’s best gonzo journalist – Spider Jerusalem. Union Jack is a pretty straight-forward super-hero story, but does it with a neat mix of international heroes that don’t seem based on caricatures.
Kal was unable to attend the meet-up, but did share with me what comics he would have brought: Ultimate Spider-man (for its mixed-ethnicity version of Spidey!), Green Lantern/Earth 2 (for featuring a gay main character), Justice League: New Frontier (for touching on all the major issues during the 1940s-60s), and Superman: Red Son (for its alternate-version of Supes!).
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Check this post for news about upcoming MKE Comicbook events!
