It may be virtual but it still counts.
It may be true that politics being injected into comics is nothing new. People love to bring up Captain America for example. The problem is HOW it’s done. Back in the old days it was usually subtle and tried to be fair to all sides even if the author was clearly picking one over the other. These days none of that is true. Political points of view seem to be the dominant reason any decision is made, from changing characters to creating new characters to how the enemy is depicted to who is hired to work on the thing in the first place. It’s heavy handed but not really properly examined and at times you risk making the hero look bad and end up being raked over the coals by a liberal black man who uses a cartoon character for his avatar. By the way, go watch Just Some Guy’s reviews. They’re hilarious and make a good point.
That point is you CAN discuss politics and make a statement. Superhero stories are at least in part science fiction and sci-fi has always been a good way to discuss the world around us and make commentary while still telling a good story. That doesn’t mean the reader will always agree. According to most science fiction my religion is a lie, and I certainly don’t agree with that. Star Wars doesn’t get into that but both Star Trek and Doctor Who, two of my favorite franchises, have been telling me that for as long as I’ve been watching them. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the stories, just that I disagreed with their sentiment. The question is how you do it right?
In 1970 writer Denny O’Neil decided to make some political commentary in the pages of Green Lantern in a multi-issue arc that saw Hal Jordan and Oliver “Green Arrow” Queen go on a road trip so Hal could experience the “real world” or some junk. It began in issue #76 and it’s a story that features a rather infamous panel of Hal being called out for not helping people of a certain skin color. I always wondered about the context so when I had the chance I looked into the digital posting on comiXology. I think it was a part of a set of comics put up for free after O’Neil’s passing, though I don’t remember if that was the reason for its inclusion. Well, it’s time to actually look at the story to see how well it holds up and to get proper context for that scene.
“Oh, you have that dumb lamp shaped like Black Canary’s leg and you’re going to critique MY décor?”
Green Lantern (co-starring Green Arrow) #76
DC Comics (April, 1970)
“No Evil Shall Escape My Sight”
WRITER: Denny O’Neil
ARTIST: Neil Adams
no colorist credited
LETTERER: John Costanza
EDITOR: Julius Schwartz
And just a heads up. We’re going to be doing a lot more sociopolitical talk here than usual. You may hear perspectives you agree with and ones you don’t. If you can’t read both with an open mind (and that’s is NOT the same as agreeing with it, just understanding where the other person is actually coming from…something people on Twitter refuse to do) you aren’t going to enjoy this. Because yes, some of my views have to come out as well. I’m doing a review and while I may make jokes and discuss how the story is being told I am going to have thoughts here. Getting the discussion going was hopefully what O’Neil was trying to do here. So you have been warned, here’s the review.
Continue reading →
Tell others about the Spotlight:
