The Four Color Media Monitor

ComicsGate from Sergio Cariello on Vimeo.

In a short interview clip at the Tampa Megacon, Chuck Dixon gave his explanation what he sees Comicsgate as being about:

“Comicsgate seems to be an umbrella phrase or word for everything about conservative comic creators that the left hates. They use it as a pejorative. It’s supposed to be an insult. Really, being anti-comicsgate, is simply being anti-free speech. People of different political beliefs have a right to believe what they believe.”

And also reminds what DC/Marvel have done to themselves as a result of their political pandering:

“No, no we love comics and we want to create our own brand of comics. We want to create an alternative. DC and Marvel, in particularly Marvel, they have every right to do the comics they are doing now that have a political agenda. They have to pay the consequences in the market, which they have. All we are doing is offering an alternative. And for the most part the comics created by the so-called Comicsgate creators are apolitical. There is no politics in them.”

But if there is to be politics, let's remember what the Big Two and quite a few of their smaller counterparts have done: censored all negative commentary on Islam and won't tackle challenging issues like terrorism, if at all, unless the villains are depicted as generic white supremacist fanatics, or worse, as Judeo-Christians. A very sad reality about the entertainment medium, for a very long time, to be sure, is that censorship not only still prevails, it's practically been the norm for years, and gotten worse by the turn of the century. A good way to counter it is to do one's best to set up a separate industry. In Japan, there may be 3 different manga industries, and it could set a good example if conservatives and all others concerned would follow that example in order to improve everything.

Labels: conventions, dc comics, good writers, indie publishers, marvel comics, politics