§ Nice art: well, sad art. Here’s a lovely and troubling webcomic by Cory Thomas about The weirdness of being black in white spaces after the election. Fusion continues to run some very important comics. More of Thomas’s comics can be read here.
§ Police in Denver are trying to apprehend a criminal mastermind they call the “Comic Con Bandit”. The perp has robbed two banks while wearing Star Wars and Marvel marks, hence the nickname. The thief first struck while wearing a Black Panther mask, but for for the next stop on his crime spree, he donned a Darth Vader mask.
He is described as a white man between age 20 and 30, about 5-foot-11 with a thin build and short, brown hair. Anyone with information on the robberies or on a possible suspect is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720 913-STOP (7867). A text can be sent to: 274637 (CRIMES) then title DMCS and enter a message.
§ Vox lists The 7 best new comics of 2016
§ Tom Spurgeon’s 2016 Year in Review is STUNNING. Also NSFW.
§ AfterShock gets a one year later profile:
Imagine you’ve got 20 years of experience in your field. You work for the captains of your industry and have a reputation as one of the best in your business. Would you take the risk of striking out on your own, founding your own company? If so, you’d better make sure to have a good strategy. That’s just what Mike Marts did, leaving behind comic book titles like DC’s “Batman” and Marvel’s “The X-Men” to become editor-in-chief of AfterShock Comics. On the company’s first anniversary of publishing, HowStuffWorks spoke to Marts about starting a new media business in today’s competitive market. He described the company’s founding, their first year goals and how diversity in storytelling is building a loyal audience.
§ Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau has designed a poster for a local Winter Carnival. As you do.
§ Houghton Mifflin will publish The Unwanted, a graphic novel by Don Brown about the Syrian refugee crisis. The book is due in fall 2018. Brown’s previous works include Drowned City and The Great American Dustbowl.
§ Here’s a nice interview with Jamal Igle, on his current work and what he learned while working at Action Labs as VP of marketing and why he left:
Igle: It was a combination of factors actually. First, and probably foremost was my scheduling was becoming unmanageable by my own admission. On the Action Lab end, the company has grown so much in the last three years since I came on board internally what was a part time job grew more and more. I found myself doing between 12 and 15 conventions and trade shows over the last three years on top of my normal work load. Now, these are all great things for everyone involved but I really had to make a choice, and it wasn’t easy. I loved being part of the staff and learned a lot about a side of the business (distribution particularly) that you aren’t privy to, even working in editorial. Unfortunately, it meant that I wasn’t spending as much time at home as well.
§ And a nice interview with Luke Healy, creator of How to Survive in the North and a CCS grad:
Paste: How did you decide to apply to/attend CCS?
Healy: In college I studied to be a journalist, and I really hated it. I was just making and posting comics online in my free time. I actually came really close to dropping out of college, but I asked myself what I was then going to do instead of journalism. Comics were the only thing I was really enjoying at the time, so I Googled “cartooning college degree” to see if that even existed, and that lead me to CCS. CCS offers a master’s degree program, so I decided to stick out the rest of my journalism undergrad and use my free time to work up a portfolio for my application.
It’s probably cold comfort, but I wouldn’t say 58% of white voters are *comfortably* allied with white supremacists; some are pretty uneasy about it. I’m by no means a Trump supporter, but I’ve talked to coworkers who are, and their support was pretty tepid and reluctant.
It’s not exactly good news, and I don’t expect it to make minorities feel any better about the ugliness they’re witnessing and experiencing. But, bleak as things are right now, there are a lot of Trump supporters who may not stay that way for long.
Hmm. So…is this an apology to all the white people who’ve crossed the street to avoid a group of young black men? ‘Cause that kind of thinking used to be called racist but it’s no different than what Cory Thomas is doing.
Mike
Trump won because States that voted for Obama (twice) voted for him over Clinton. But of course, Trump voters are white supremacists. That political analysis is simply flat out wrong and is fueling a narrative of fear. Why would you promote that, of all webcomics?
He doesn’t call 58% of white voters white supremacists. He says that they “comfortably allied” with white supremacists. Of course, you could argue the “comfortably” bit, but you can’t argue the white supremacy bit; Trump was endorsed by the Klan and Stormfront. Moreover, at first his disavowals ranged from non-existent to tepid until he eventually caved to pressure from the mainstream media. Still, he never denounced those folks the way he denounced Mexican immigrants, and he kept retweeting Neo-Nazis, so I can see why folks would remain unimpressed.
As to the “white voters who voted Obama voted for Trump” argument, even if we accept that everyone who voted for Obama and Trump is not a racist we still need to accept that these same voters decided that Trump’s racist statements (about Latinos most obviously and explicitly) weren’t disqualifying. This sends a pretty clear message to non-whites. Given this, I don’t think fear is unwarranted. What’s more, even if it was unwarranted, the comic isn’t “promoting fear,” it’s depicting fear.
Anyway,I think this is a great comic. It’s well drawn, conversational, and it offers insight into an individual’s experience.
Anti-illegal immigration sentiment isn’t exactly something new. It’s been around for many years, now. Rush Limbaugh has been saying nearly verbatim what Trump has been saying for decades, regarding illegal immigration.
“bit; Trump was endorsed by the Klan and Stormfront. “The Klan is practically dead. Today’s white supremists are really Eurocentists and white separatists.. They endorsed Trump because they think further immigration will replace White European cultures with inferior cultures.
Racism is never really *just* about race.
Most racists are mum about Asians since Asians assimilate well into European countries. Asian Americans don’t have a reputation for crime or terrorism, or entering the country illegally. Asians play by the rules. They also, on average, look more like Caucasians, than other groups.
I’ve met a left-leaning Eurocentrist. I defined him as left-leaning because he thought that European countries had a moral duty to impose a superior culture on non-European cultures for their own sake. This amounted to a kinder and gentler version of a White Man’s Burden–educate them, teach them the wonders of free trade, and democracy. This is a very familiar outlook—George W. Bush held this outlook. He didn’t call for a wall to keep out illegal immigrants or ban Muslims but he rammed European/Western values down the throat of Muslims. for sure.
@Saber Tooth Tiger Mike
How am I to interpret that? I’m pretty sure Limbaugh represents the right-side extreme of anti illegal immigration sentiment, and the man isn’t exactly famous for civility. If you want to say that this sort of rhetoric is normal among a majority of people then you’re sort of making the cartoonist’s point for him.
“. If you want to say that this sort of rhetoric is normal among a majority of people”
What’s normal depends on who you’re around. You need to step outside of your Progressive enclave. The anti-immigration rhetoric that Trump has been spouting, has been spouted by many conservative pundits–it is far from being fringe. I’m sure it’s very abnormal if you are the typical Caucasian who has a job in the Knowledge Economy. The concerns of the typical Caucasian who has a job in the Knowledge Economy is that there are too many old white dudes–immigration is not a problem because in his or her neck of the woods, his or her employer encounters difficulty in finding excellent candidates or his or her workplace is chronically understaffed–and he or she will think this is because the old white men around him or her are racist or because there is too much regulation on immigration that prevents them from hiring more immigrants.
If you don’t have that high-paying white collar job in the coastal city, you naturally won’t see issue of immigrant with such rose-tinted glasses. More immigration means lower wages for you. On top of further job insecurity, any attempt by you to bring attention to your problems is construed as racism until it actually becomes racism. The people who support open borders–no restrictions on human labor– tend to be people who don’t compete in the job market with immigrants–or are immigrants themselves..
Perspective is reality for many. People’s model of the world is often constructed from what they see out their own window.
So I’m not really sure what’s at stake for you here, Saber Tooth Tiger Mike. I’ll start by letting you know that I’m well aware of that racism comes in variety flavors, and that anti-immigration rhetoric is easy enough to come by. Moreover, as someone who grew up in farm country staffed in large measure by migrant workers, and currently lives in a state that went Trump by a comfortable margin I’m not exactly in a bubble. (Though I am part of the “knowledge economy,” you got me there.)
Anyway, I referenced the KKK because although they’ve been irrelevant as a political force, (in the sense that they wield little power or influence), they remain one of the most prominent symbols of white supremacy in the United States. As such, the KKK’s endorsement sends a strong and frightening message.
Also, I’ve read enough of writings by anti-immigrant groups and white nationalists to know that they’re not “mum” on Asian immigration. In an interview with Trump, Steve Bannon called for an end to South Asian software engineers.
Sorry I’m a little scattershot here, but like I said, I don’t know what you’re trying to argue here. If you’re simply saying that there are plenty of people who say incendiary things about immigration and immigrants, then I don’t disagree. Maybe you’re just saying you agree with the cartoonist?
The Klan is practically dead and has been for 50 years other than in the fertile imagination of the members and the media. You do know it is a two party system – who else are they going to endorse.?
It’s important to note that 58% may have voted for Trump, but only 57% of eligible voters actually voted at all. Consequently, Trump’s support is probably closer to 33%.
Nate A. says “So I’m not really sure what’s at stake for you here, Saber Tooth Tiger Mike. I’ll start by letting you know that I’m well aware of that racism comes in variety flavors, and that anti-immigration rhetoric is easy enough to come by.”
Nate A. says “, I don’t know what you’re trying to argue here.”
I was being really vague up there. Let me clear it up for you.
My point is not that racism” comes in a variety of flavors”. My point is that a lot of contemporary racism isn’t about *just* race. One major reason why many extremist groups grow is that they are willing to address genuine issues in a way the wider society they operate in don’t.
The fact that you didn’t touch any of the issues that und I’ve brought up tells me how little you genuinely care about those who exist outside your-not-exactly-a-bubble-bubble.
You grew up on a farm. Is that suppose to mean something? It seems to me that migrant workers served the same purpose to the farm you grew up on that African slaves once did to American agriculture, they’re a source of cheap labor.
To someone who depends on cheap labor to operate his business, anti-immigrant rhetoric might be terrifying because if his source of cheap labor is taken away, he will likely go out of business.
Nate A. says “I’ve read enough of writings by anti-immigrant groups and white nationalists to know that they’re not “mum” on Asian immigration. In an interview with Trump, Steve Bannon called for an end to South Asian software engineers.”
Doesn’t sound like you’ve read that much. First, you’re initimated by the KKK, a former vigilante group with waning power and relevence, which tells me you don’t know much. The KKK weld no symbolic power because they haven’t lynched anyone in decades and haven’t expressed a desire to return to that activity in recent decades. Then you focus on Steve Bannon because he is well-known but ais comments on South Asian software engineers sounds more like nativism than racism. He is suggesting that America should discourage the outsourcing of software jobs to South Asian engineers. He understands that there aren’t enough jobs for everyone and is saying the well-being of Americans, presumebly white, is more important than lifting South Asians out of poverty by providing them with good jobs via outsourcing.
The situation is more complicated than race but you’ve got to be willing to listen and understand instead o retreating into a cocoon of ignorance with statements like
“, I don’t know what you’re trying to argue here.”
OK, I was trying to be charitable in my interpretation of your comments when I said I didn’t get what was at stake for you, But your response tells me that I shouldn’t have bothered. You’re making excuses for racist rhetoric and policy through strategic definitions and claims to nuance.
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