QUOTE(Glen Davis @ Dec 28 2007, 06:19 PM)
Green Lantern #26 came out today. On the whole it was a decent epilogue type issue.
My concern is that the commentary and references to the War on Terror are more numerous and more obvious. While I'm very mucha Freedom of Speech kind of guy, I think it is dangerous for DC to do this, especially with the shrinking comic book market. Looking at the utter failure of the recent spate of anti-war on terror movies like Redacted and Rendition, it seems...downright stupid, if not suicidal to wade into those waters. And no, I don't think putting pro war messages in the GLC book would help matters any.
Please note: This is not a political post. I'm just questioning whether inserting such messages is a smart way to sell comics in the current market.
You make a good point. Everyone's crazy button -- whichever way you stand on the issue -- seems to be set off when opinions on the war are voiced. ((I think mine just got set off.))
But on the other hand, I'm getting sick and tired of living in a world where we have to self-censor and withold our very valuable opinions becuase we don't want people on the other side of the issue to pick up rocks and start throwing them on us. "We" being both a community of comic book lovers and writers in general.
Maybe "we" as a comics community should start insisting on more civility when we discuss matters such as these. Keep those stones from being thrown. Tempers and passions get WAY out of control and innocents get caught in the crossfire. And the point of what we're saying gets lost in the chaos.
I remember a couple of years ago when my ex-wife, who lives in Texas, told me she was going to take my son with her to an anti-war protest. This is Texas, where being a Democrat is a very lonely position to hold.
All I did for the next 24 hours was fear for my son's safety. Perhaps that was an overreaction on my part, but like I said, everyone has a CRAZY button. Look at what happened with the Dixie Chicks. The last thing I wanted was my baby boy, who was basically just there because his mom took him there, being confronted by people demanding to know why his mom was holding an anti war sign. All I could see in my mind's eye were the torches and pitchforks of the angry mob. (Didn't happen, BTW.)
I guess my point is, the war is a very real and valid part of our lives. Every one of us has SOME connection to someone who is serving in that war and running the very real risk of dying. This isn't some intellectual argument.
Very real people, very honorable people, are going to go off to fight that war. Many of them won't come back. But what are they fighting for? Shouldn't we allow every person who has an opinion to speak their minds without fear of reprisal? Isn't that ultimately what we are Americans are fighting for, be it in Iraq or in the courtrooms or on the streets or at the polls?
Sometimes writers who feel there is something very valuable that needs to be said and explored tuck their convictions into their writing. A lot of the reason they do that is because they feel no one would listen if they said this stuff out loud. That's where a lot of our finest literature comes from.
I haven't picked got my copy of Green Lantern #26 yet, but if Geoff Johns indeed tucked observations on the war into it as you said, it wouldn't be any different than what Jonathan Swift did in 1729 when he published "A Modest Proposal," a satirical essay in which he suggested the Irish eat their own children to deal with the hunger, poverty and overpopulation problem. I'm fairly certain Swift didn't REALLY advocate canibalism, but he sure as heck got people's attention. Passed it off as entertainment and we remember it to this day.
Bottom line, let's stop treating the war as some issue that's separate from our everyday lives. Becuase it isn't. Let's stop having to couch our thoughts with prefaces like "this isn't a poltical post." Say what you have to say, Brother. I promise you someone will listen. And if you feel threatened, stand behind me while you talk and I'll shield you from the rocks while you finish your sentence. Whether you are for the war or not.
God. I think I'm channeling Dennis Miller with this rant of mine. I'll stop now.
Thanks.
