Should Comics Be Used To Send Messages?

Should Comics Be Used To Send Messages?

Should Comics Be Used To Promote An Agenda?

Editorial Opinion
By SCOURGE - Jan 02, 2011 01:01 PM EST
Filed Under: Other

Over the course of history, comic books as a medium have been no stranger to controversy over the years, but is that a good thing and should it continue? Comic books have been attacked from the earliest days as contributing to juvenile delinquency--thank you Fredric Wertham.They were labeled as being to violent--leading to the destruction of EC Comics (and horror comics in general) and to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority.

The news hasn't been all bad for comics over the years, comic books have been used as a way to promote patriotism in times of war. Captain America is probably the best example of this. His World War II issues were selling a million copies a month! They have also been used to help raise money in times of crisis, like they did right after September 11, 2001.

Comics have also been used to address social issues as well: Drinking (Iron Man) Spousal Abuse (Ant Man), Military (Hulk), Civil Rights (X-Men, Drug use/abuse (Spider-man and Elektra) and more. They have done so over the years and while having controversial story lines they have helped to raise awareness about important issues.

Sometimes though, the message gets lost in the execution. I will give you a couple of examples of what I mean:

Brute Force--This was a four issue mini-series that came out in 1990. It is about some animals that defend the environment. How did this idea ever get approved? We are talking about comic books, so suspension of reality is a must, but this goes to far. Not to mention the heavy handed message, I am all for clean water and air, blah blah blah, but having animals basically turn into Transformers to do it? It is an ok message, just awfully executed.

Rawhide Kid--One of Marvel's old western characters starred in a five issue mini-series in 2003 in which he is portrayed as a flambloyantly gay character. There was a lot of controversy over the move. I personally didn't like the way it was handled, not because I had a problem with the character being gay, but I felt it was done more shock value then it was for character development.


What are your thoughts? Are agenda comics a good idea?

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GreenHalJordan
GreenHalJordan - 1/2/2011, 1:48 PM
i remember watchin something on the history channel. it was a comic book history show where they examined the begginnings to now adays and wat came with them. it said that in some comics back in like the 30s or 40s, characters were embracing juvinille actions and was said to be encouraging kids on a bad path. wen i heard that, i was so astounded to believe that people are stupid enough to take comic books in a negative way. comics are about good triumphing evil and heroes to look up to.
Personally i find comics enjoyable and i believe that if you look at a comic right, they will encourage you to go down a good path. just look at the all star superman saves a life story from a few months ago and the comments section. that right there proves that comics do help people not just in the cb worl but in the real one too.
GreenHalJordan
GreenHalJordan - 1/2/2011, 1:50 PM
oh and as long as the comics portray the messages right, then i think theyre fine. but i have to admit, a gay cowboy and transformer animals probably werent a good way to go about sending a message.
golden123
golden123 - 1/2/2011, 3:34 PM
Yes, comics should but what they are lacking is an unbiased opinion. The whole LGBT rights has gone crazy in the Batman and X-men mythos which to me is annoying sense I'm against that. DC has their signature Liberal superhero (Green Arrow) but they don't have a conservative that can compare. I love the idea of comics tackeling controversial issues as long as they don't take a side in a narrow minded way. If a character like Green Arrow covers something on the other hand then I would expect it to be from a left-winged side. If a right-winged hero (though there is a significant lack of true conservative heroes) takles an issue then I would expect the opposite.
@GreenHalJordan: In your second sentence you were talking about Seduction of the Innocent a book (a minor bestseller) written by Dr. Fredric Wertham. Just because he had the title of Doctor people listened to his insane ideas that Superman was a facist and was un-patriotic, that Wonder Woman was a lesbian, that Batman and Robin were gay partners, and that a lot of comics had images of female private parts hidden in their pictures. DC tried to change things by introducing Batgirl and Batwoman a long with more female characters to the bat-titles (though the relationships were kept at an elementary level), they made WW hang out with Steve Trevor more, and Superman started working with law-enforcement more. These complaints led directly into the creation of the comics code of authority. and I know the documentary your talking about too but I don't know the name. It might be Superheroes Unmasked.
SCOURGE
SCOURGE - 1/2/2011, 4:08 PM
I am not thinking in terms of right vs left, but is it really important to try to push political/social issues today? Look what happened when that insult to the Tea Party got into an issue of Captain America.

I will give you another example:

Gun Control--In the early issues of Batman, he used to fight a lot of one off villains (mainly gangsters) becuase he used to shoot them.

I have been begging for years for Batman to just finally shoot the Joker and move on already, but can you imagine the outcry from the gun control lobby if the did let that happen?
GreenHalJordan
GreenHalJordan - 1/2/2011, 4:43 PM
yes that was the guy @golden123, i couldnt think of his name, im also glad cuz u reminded me of the ccoa that was created. wen i was watchin it and heard that they made that, i was kinda mad that now they have to censor comics becuz of it, but at least in the past 20 years, it hasnt been that influencial i think. i mean look at wolverine, deadpool, and punisher. and ur right i think it was sometin unmasked. either superhero or comics unmasked
golden123
golden123 - 1/2/2011, 4:53 PM
@GreenHalJordan: Superhero was definitly a word that was used in the title. When it comes to the unmasked part I may of been confusing this with Batman Unmasked which was a documentary on the phycology of Batman and his related villains. But if I'm not mistaken this documentary also had the word unmasked in it. Oh and for the record the Comics Code of Authority isn't used by Marvel (if I'm not mistaken they were the very 1st to drop the code permenatly) or DC anymore. Actually there are very few comic companies that still use it. I know some companies such as Marvel have their own rating system.
golden123
golden123 - 1/2/2011, 5:11 PM
@Scourge: DC shouldn't waste it's time trying to kill off the Joker. He'll come back sooner or later and the readers we'll be forced to buy a whole bunch of storylines, one-shots, and mini-series that are related to this only to find out he's back again creating more trouble then ever. Fans will be complaining (or praising) out of control to DC. People will quit reading Batman. Also if I remember correctly Batman did go as far as to have a gun attached to his utility belt but he only killed three creatures (two of which were vampires so I used the word creature. The other was a human, though.) After the three the Editor said no more. Batman has been without a gun for so long that I think gun rights would make more sense to be covered by The Punisher Although Gunrights can still be covered by Batman but in a different way then you described. When it comes right vs left It's hard to escape that when it comes to real life issues Gun rights, Enviremental problems, LGBT rights, the government, and even vigilantism, which is the concept most superheroes are based around, have a right and a left view.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 1/3/2011, 5:28 AM
Not anymore. THey used to promote things in comics all the time, but thats when they were aimed more at kids.

My favorite, and most hysterical is Captain America: Streets of Poison. In it, Cap gets caught in an explosion in a meth lab and he inhales a bunch of the chemicals. The entire story is a methed-out Cap trying to stop a drug war in the streets. The funny part is that he keeps snapping on all his friends, and even throws down with Daredevil.

Its hysterical and it answers the age old question of What If Captain America was drug addict, lol. Anyway, it tries to send a message to kids that drugs are bad all that.
SCOURGE
SCOURGE - 1/3/2011, 4:07 PM
Streets of Poison was brutal...this is great example of I was talking about. Good message and horrible story telling.
marvel72
marvel72 - 1/4/2011, 5:00 AM
alot of the things they cover in stories are real life problems in society years ago as well as today,its good way of putting across to the readers the dangers that are out there in the real world.

so if a comic book can give a positive message to kids & adults alike that normally they wouldn't take notice off thats a good thing.

isn't it.
marvelguy
marvelguy - 1/5/2011, 2:48 AM
This is all so typical. The more artsy types take a stand because they have a soap box. They proceed to ram it down our throats instead of portraying it in a meaningful and respectful way. Peter being in love with MJ or Gwen doesn't define him. Trying to keep him and Aunt May financially solvent, stopping ne'er-do-wells, and protecting those he loves (platonic or otherwise) are what define the character.

Hollywood in film and TV in particular blast us with its vision of how they think the country/world should be. I find it demeaning that it usually does so by ramming stereotypes down our throats. I always thought stereotypes were setbacks and demeaning for the people and the cause...unless they are used by the progressive left. Sad, really.
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