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The Vigilante World of Comic Books

Scott Bradfield The New Republic
A sweeping new history of American comics traces the rise of characters caught in a Manichaean struggle between good and evil.

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Golden Age Superheroes Were Shaped By the Rise of Fascism

Art Spiegelman The Guardian
When Art Spiegelman wrote the introduction (below) to a collection of vintage Marvel super-heroes, a passing negative reference to Trump was enough for the publishers to jettison the quality introduction.

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s the Labor Movement!

Paul Buhle In These Times
Comics have the power to reach beyond political arguments and slogans, revealing true-to-life heroic stories or showing how gains have been made in the past and can be made again. Perhaps now, as organized labor threatens to fade away entirely, the struggle to reach younger audiences may press home the urgency of using comics as a medium to spread labor’s message.
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