CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE TEA PARTY

Over two weeks after its release, Captain America issue #602 caused quite a controversy over an overt political message in one of the comic panels. The story broke on 2/8 after Warner Todd Huston took exception to the content of the issue. Fox News picked it up and the comics blogosphere and others followed, becoming a big enough story that even my wife knew about it. Being a 28 year reader of 'Captain America', beginning with issue #274, and a supporter of the Tea Party movement, I feel compelled to weigh in. [SPOILER ALERT - if you don't want to know what happens in #602, read no further!]

A bit of background for the non-comics folks - The current Captain America is Bucky Barnes, Cap's former junior partner. Barnes agreed to become Captain America after the apparent death of the original, Steve Rogers. Though now Rogers is alive and well, he's asked Bucky to stay on as Cap. In this story, entitled 'Two Americas: Part 1', Captain America is joined by his friend the Falcon, also a former crime-fighting partner of Steve Rogers. They've gone to Boise, Idaho to infiltrate the Watchdogs, a violent militia group whose goal is to impose their values of morality and decency by force. They are a high-tech threat, using military gear to carry out their goals. They have fought Captain America on and off since their 1987 debut. Upon arriving in Boise, the pair come across this demonstration - Falcon says, "Some kind of protest rally...looks like some kind of anti-tax thing." Falcon, who is black, then voices concern about their plan of infiltration, because he doesn't think he'll fit in "with a bunch of angry white folks." Bucky tells him that it's all part of the plan, that it's "perfect". That night they go to a bar, where Falcon poses as an IRS agent. Bucky poses as a trucker who beats up the IRS agent, drawing the attention of some Watchdog members who are there and could use a guy like that. The story is then 'to be continued' next issue.
The signs in the above panel are the main source of the controversy. Huston's article accuses Marvel Comics of attacking the Tea Party movement as a bunch of racists who want to overthrow the government. I think Huston connects too many dots. Yes, the protest is clearly a Tea Party rally. Who else is having anti-tax, anti-big government rallies these days? Huston complains that the crowd is all white. Well, it is Boise, Idaho, which as of the 2000 census was 92% white and less than 1% black. It's the people of Boise who should be complaining, as artist Luke Ross makes it seem like they gathered all the Wal-Mart shoppers and carnival workers of southern Idaho into one spot. We also never see any racism on the part of the people at either the rally or in the bar. The only racism really is on the part of Bucky Barnes, who assumes the people of Boise are racist. "And don't forget your briefcase, Obama!" he chides as he throws Falcon out of the bar. Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada has asked readers "to read the whole thing and not just judge a story and its intent on the first issue." This storyline lasts four issues, so I hope they address some of the galling racial assumptions.

Quesada made those remarks to Kiel Phegley in this article on Comic Book Resources.com. He claims that the writer, Ed Brubaker, did not intend for the protest to be a Tea Party protest. Quesada's explanation is that in the original art the signs were blank, so the book's letterer, Joe Carmagna, was asked to put something on these signs. He innocently found these signs on line and put them in the blanks. They never meant to show a political agenda, or offend anybody, or blah blah blah. Nonsense. Marvel wants to have it both ways. They want to be the company whose characters live in the "real world" (e.g. New York and not Metropolis), but then they present a real world situation and it's just some protest group in comic book land. They just don't want to offend half the readership, or by extension the larger audience they want to buy tickets to a 'Captain America' movie in 2011. Then there are the political leanings of the creators. Given that the internet is all-seeing, someone recovered some of Brubaker's tweets, such as "Memo to [Michelle] Bachman and the rest of the tea crowd -- We had a revolution already, it's called an election." I wonder if he would have said the same thing to the war protesters in 1970 - 'Hey, Nixon won. Get over it!' How else do I know that it's intentional? Because the comic works without the protest scene. The page before the protest scene, Bucky and Falcon land in Idaho.
Falcon - "And just how do we go about infiltrating a grassroots anti-government army?"
Bucky - "I've got an idea...but I don't think you're gonna like it."
Falcon - "Oh great..."
Then you can skip the next two pages with the protest, go directly to the bar scene, and it all makes sense. I'll hang with this story because Brubaker's one of the best writers 'Captain America' has ever had. He saved the book after it had been mishandled for years by writers who didn't know how to write a good Captain America story. So, I normally trust him to take me somewhere, it just seems a little sloppy right now.
The "Tea Bag" sign doesn't bother me. That's an example of someone trying to deflect the insult of others. Liberals just feel super-clever every time they refer to Tea Party activists as "tea baggers", adding more vulgar overtone than actually exists for a fairly mundane sex act. No, the sign that bothers me is the most popular - "America not Americant". Shouldn't it be "AmeriCAN not AmeriCAN'T"? It doesn't make sense the other way. Marvel has promised to change the "Tea Bag" sign when they collect the comic book in trade paperback. Even without it, the intent will be clear.

WATTERSON POST CARTOON - 30 JUN 1980

Bill Watterson was in the news last week after he granted the Cleveland Plain Dealer a rare "interview" (answering questions via e-mail). I also learned that in the early '80s, after he left the Cincinnati Post he continued to draw editorials for the Sun Newspapers. They've posted a nice archive, with better quality than my scanned photocopies of scratchy microfilm. It was an interesting coincidence that it came out the same week as the death of J.D. Salinger, as both are famous for their reclusive natures. Watterson hasn't published any art in the 15 years since ending 'Calvin & Hobbes', and has remained elusive to reporters and comics fans who try to track down his whereabouts.

[click to enlarge]
In this strip from June 30th, 1980, Hamilton County and the city of Cincinnati were at odds over money to build a new jail for "low-risk" prisoners while a new county jail was being built to replace the Cincinnati Workhouse in 1984. The Workhouse was a massive building that dated back to 1870. It was still in use after the Hamilton County Justice Center was completed, on a limited basis, until it was demolished in the early 1990s.

In an 'everything old is new again' vein, the lack of adequate jail space is still a hot button issue for Cincinnati and Hamilton County. A 2007 levy to build a new facility, in addition to remodeling the existing jail, failed by a wide margin. The result is a revolving door justice system where some offenders are released because there's no space and others are shipped to jails in neighboring counties at taxpayer expense. The cops of today are feeling the frustration of the cops in Watterson's cartoon, going after the bad guys but having nowhere to put them.

A REPLICA BY ANY OTHER NAME...

Want to dress up as your favorite super hero? Not happy with the plastic facsimiles that came with your Ben Cooper costumes of 30-40 years ago? Have no fear, true believer! Costume replicas are upscale these days. Witness this latest entry...

What little girl in the '70s didn't want to wear Wonder Woman's tiara, bounce away bullets with metal wristbands, or wrap up criminals in a magic lasso? Well, now those girls (and probably some boys) can get their chance. Or can they? I was upset by the disclaimer in the corner of the ad - NOT TO BE WORN OR USED AS WEAPONS. Not to be worn?!? Why else would I want this thing? Don't they know the Iron Man helmet is too cumbersome to be worn while driving (or so the cops keep telling me)? The tiara is the perfect solution. The wristbands may not be bulletproof, but that's ok. I don't exactly have the reflexes to move my arms in the path of random oncoming bullets. And the lasso may not force it's captives to tell the truth, but aren't there some truths I don't want to know (especially when I'm in a tiara and gold bracelets)?

There's something a little grim about the whole "trophy room" concept. Wouldn't I have to kill Wonder Woman to get this stuff off her? And then you get it home, and it's shiny in it's replica-ness and all, but your wish fulfillment is left a little wanting. I've suffered through web-shooters that don't shoot spider webs, Bat-Signals that summon no one, and Red Kryptonite that doesn't turn Lois Lane into a super-giantess. I know why my Star Trek communicator doesn't work. The Starship Enterprise is out of range (duh!) Ok, I do have one replica that does work. My Green Lantern ring. Yeah, baby!

The JLA Trophy Room: Wonder Woman Tiara, Bracelets and Lasso Prop Replica is available for $325 from your favorite comics retailer.

Special thanks to Kendall Swafford (props & original photo) and Eric Wagner (super colossal photo editing).

notes on The Complete Peanuts, 1973-1974

This book represents two peak years for Schulz creatively. There are many memorable storylines - Snoopy tries to break Hank Aaron's home run record, Sally befriends her school building and Peppermint Patty's has a revelation that Snoopy is not just a "funny looking kid with a big nose." I had to whittle down the oddities/strips of interest that I wanted to share, there's just so much great stuff...[click the strips to make them larger]

This stands out to me because by this point in the strip's life, Schroeder was normally only seen in his catcher's uniform or behind the piano. A week later we'd see the original Patty in a rare appearance (but no Shermy sightings). - 1/31/73

The first time we see Rerun, younger brother of Lucy and Linus. We only heard about him in 1972 when he was born and named, but as a baby he was "off camera." Probably for the best. I'm having trouble picturing what a Schulz infant would look like. In the next day's strip we learn Rerun is one year old. I think he was in pre-school or kindergarten by 2000, though the bigger he got the more easily he was confused with Linus. - 3/26/73

Charlie Brown is on the hotseat with the Little League president when it's discovered someone's been wagering on his team. Linus sage warning in the last panel illustrates the distrust of the adult world in the 'Peanuts' world, where the kids seem to govern themselves. - 4/17/73; Adults screw things up for the kids again in a later winter sequence in which the building of snowmen becomes regulated... - 11/30/73

Peppermint Patty stays with the Brown's for a few days. She sleeps in Snoopy's doghouse (which she thinks is a "guest cottage"). With this strip, 'Peanuts' once again proves its timelessness. - 10/4/73

In one of the strip's most celebrated storylines, Charlie Brown becomes so obsessed with baseball that he develops a strange rash on his head. The doctor recommends a rest at summer camp. Charlie Brown wears the sack on his head 24/7 and ironically becomes the most popular kid in camp. - 6/18/73

Charles Schulz with a rare direct spoof of himself in this strip. He was that year's grand marshal. - 1/1/74

The first (and maybe only) storyline where Lucy and Peppermint Patty team up. In this case, they make a pact to get their ears pierced. I'm not sure why Peppermint Patty refers to Lucy as "Lucille" in this story, when she uses the informal "Chuck" with Charlie Brown. I think "Lucille" would be more Marcie's style. - 5/31/74

Going to camp appears to be a dreaded, compulsory event in the 'Peanuts' world. Was this Schulz's comment on the Vietnam draft? If so, it comes a year or so after the draft had ended. - 6/28/74

Charlie Brown gets in a rare dig on Lucy. - 11/1/74

Even Snoopy learns the folly of underestimating Charlie Brown... - 2/25/73

DR. JOSEF

Dr. Josef Halfter passed away this month at age 88 in Berlin, Germany. He was my second cousin twice-removed, and a man I would not have known if not for his own efforts. My great-grandfather, Julius Halfter, came to America in 1909 with his family, but the other Halfters remained in Europe. The families eventually lost contact and even awareness of each other. "Dr. Josef", as our family came to refer to him, sought out the American Halfters, eventually locating my great-uncle Erich. This phone call led to an eventual visit by Dr. Josef and one of his daughters, Gisela, and a subsequent visit by the two with Gisela's husband, Matthias, at our family Thanksgiving.

Dr. Josef had researched the Halfter family tree, all the way back to the birth of my great-great-great-great grandfather, Ignatz Franz Xavier Halfter in 1776. It seemed fitting, then, that on my own genealogical pilgrimage to Germany that I would visit him in Berlin. I stayed with Dr. Josef and his wife, Ilse, in their home in Frohnau, a suburb of Berlin. We did touristy things, like a bus tour of Berlin and a philharmonic concert. We ate at a Chinese restaurant, and at a French restaurant where his meal seemed to be a deep dish of cooked asparagus covered in cheese. We also had dinner with Gisela's family, and I noticed that everyone was referring to him as "Tee-ger". I quickly learned they were calling him "Tigger". It was a term of affection from Gisela's childhood, where she and her sister were Pooh and Piglet (if I remember correctly) and Ilse was Owl. My favorite activity was the two evenings that Josef and I spent just talking at the dining room table, drinking sparkling wine and eating Crunchips, passing the German-English dictionary back and forth. It was then that he told me some of his life story...

Josef was born in Poland, but in an area that had been part of Germany when his father, Johann, was born, so the Halfters all retained German citizenship. The exemption for their German citizenship was to expire in 1936, when they would have to choose between becoming Polish citizens or emigrate to Germany. They chose the latter in 1935, which presented another problem. Johann Halfter ran five large greenhouses, which he had modernized with an automated sprinkler system. He couldn't get a good price for his business, because everyone knew he had to sell. Good fortune came when the ground cracked open and the business flooded. A nearby coal mine had dug under their land. The coal company agreed to buy the land for so good a price that Johann bought two houses in Berlin.

Josef was drafted into the German army in 1941 at age 20. He originally worked as ground personnel for the Luftwaffe. When it was discovered that he also knew Polish and English, he was sent to the French coast. Polish pilots who had escaped the German invasion were now flying for the R.A.F. in separate Polish squadrons, such as the celebrated No. 303. Josef's job was to intercept the Polish pilots speaking with the ground (sorry, R.A.F.!) He then went to Paris for 14 months duty with the health service. This was his best duty of the war, far from any fighting.

Six days before D-Day he was sent east to the infantry to serve in Vlasov's army. General Andrei Vlasov (pictured at left) was a Russian general who had been defeated and captured by the Germans. In prison he asserted his position as an anti-Stalinist and collaborated with the Nazis to create a Russian Liberation Army, which was comprised of Russian and German soldiers.

My details are sketchy as to when he left Vlasov. He told me he was in Dresden for the bombing, which was in February 1945. Then he was sent back to France where he was soon captured by the U.S. 11th Armored Division. He was discharged in June 1945. Discharged German soldiers were normally sent home, and Josef's I.D. listed his home as Berlin. He did not want to return at that point because Berlin was under Russian control and he heard rumors that Germans who had fought Russia were being sent to Siberia upon reaching Berlin. Josef convinced the authorities to let him go to his sister's in western Germany. He later moved to West Berlin after it had been divided into sectors by the Allies.

I'm kicking myself for not asking him about the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall, etc. Now it's too late. I will miss this kind, generous man and fellow genealogist. Rest in peace, Tigger.

MARY WORTH

What can I say about 'Mary Worth'? Parodied in popular culture for her inveterate meddling, the old gal has lasted 70 years on the comics page and is the mainstay of the 'soap opera strip' genre. I never really read the strip until the late 90s, and only then to commiserate with my pal Jeff about it's awful and agonizingly long storylines.

The strip was created by writer Allen Saunders and artist Ken Ernst, debuting in 1938.
This strip from May 1, 1966 is near the middle of their four decade collaboration. Note how the writer's name is mispelled "Ernest" above the strip. I wonder if that was just for this week or an ongoing error. It seems that this time Mary's meddling has gotten her stuck going to Atlanta to straighten out another mess. From the context, it would appear that she's going to be buying that ticket at the airport (never cheap) and she's only got her purse on her. Hope you like that green outfit, Mary!

Saunders' son, John, took over for him in the 1970s. The current strip is written by Karen Moy, who took over after John Saunders' death in 2004. It's drawn by Joe Giella, a legendary DC comics inker who took on the strip in 1991. In the current storyline, Mary's neighbor Wilbur Weston has learned he has an adult love child.

Mary Worth is no stranger to the blogosphere. For a daily offbeat look at the strip, check out the blog - Mary Worth and Me. There's also another blog, Mary Worth, Style Mavin where a young woman provided analysis of the fashion choices in Mary Worth. It went defunct in '08 (presumably because the author went mad). There are several bizarre YouTube videos in tribute to Ms. Worth. Here's my favorite -


Before we go, just a reminder that Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and nothing says "I love you, but in a grandma kind of way" like some Mary Worth merchandise.

COMIC DEATHS 2009

Here is my list of 2009 deaths from the world of comics and illustration.. Special thanks to Mark Evanier and The Beat for the original and informative reporting on many of these...

Comics 2009 Final