[Peter]

Hey all,

At the end of May, CGS and ISR spearheaded the Comics Podcast Theme Week focusing on Diamond. You can find info on that here:
http://www.comicrelated.com/commentary/themeweek.html

Out on the beach in San Diego, Charlito and I came up with a new topic for October: POLITICS IN COMICS! What better timing right? Everything from political cartoons to propaganda to heroes meeting Presidents to characters becoming Presidents to governments using comics for education to campaigns, administrations, political intrigue, etc. It's a wide topic with a variety of angles to choose from. For example, one of the eps on CGS will be on Prez: First Teen President! With the elections around the bend, it'll make for a good cross-podcast topic.

If you're a comics podcast and you want to participate, all you have to do is put out an episode or two (or 3 or whatever) in the month of October on the topic at hand and let us know you're participating! Since this is a huge topic we thought it would be good to let it run the full month of October. That way there's less pressure to try and get it out all in one week. This also gives us two full months to record the episodes - which I thought would be helpful for those shows that only put out an episode once a week or less. Once September hits, we can start promoting the event. In full election-style, I'm going to have our voice over guy create an "I approve of this message" type promo for everyone to use. And of course we can use our shows and other sites to help push the event.

Feel free to spread the word and forward this to any other comics podcast/forum! This isn't a thecomicforums.com or comics podcast network or league or society thing - it's a Comics Podcast Theme Event thing!


(By the way - don't get all off-topic and start talking about politics in this thread. Shoo. Go away. That's not what this is for. lol)


Participating podcasts to date and potential topics:
CGS - Prez: First Teen President
ISR - Veeps graphic novel
Amazing Spider-Cast
Around Comics
Catch the Craze
Collected Comics Library
Comic Book Roadshow - 4 political cartoons from 4 different eras and their impact
Comic News Insider
Comic Related
Comic Timing
Dafixers Hideout
DC Noise - on DC Decisions
Fbombcast
Geek Nights - political manga
Geek Syndicate
Geeks Unite - Superman as President in Armageddon 2001 Annual
Just Bill's Comic Book Drawerbox - Englehart's Cpt. America & Squadron Supreme/Serpent Crown in Avengers
Kwok Talk - Top 5 villains to be President in times of crisis
Major Spoilers - Ex Machina and talking Frederick Wertham with Dr. Peter Coogan
QPAW
Radio Wayne - Green Arrow as Mayor
ReAnimators Podcast
Two True Freaks
Wednesday's Haul - Eagle: Making of an Asian-American President

[atomic99]

I think I'm the only guy left out since I'm the only one without a podcast here!!
I'm a sad panda.

Seriously, if someone is talking about political figures in comics, we got....

The What If story (which is now canon) where the All-Winners Squad save a young JFK in 1946 in Boston which resulted in Steve Roger's secret replacement for Cap being killed and Jeff Mace taking over as the new Cap.

Englehart's Secret Empire Captain America storyline in the mid-1970s was a metaphor for Watergate. The villain in the storyline was never properly revealed but one assumed it might be Nixon.

President Reagan became a snake in the mid-1980s in the Cap book.

President Clinton was in the Man Without a Country Storyline of Cap in the mid-1990s.

And, of course, Cap almost ran for President and a What If storyline played with the notion of what if he ran and won?

Really, the Captain America books over the years have been a good barometer of the country's mood and the creator's political leanings over the years. It's worth a look at.

[Solitaire Rose]

Same here...and there are SO many more examples of creator's political leanings in comics:

-Kirby's series about Hippies saving the world
-The "Preachies" in EC
-The early Superman stories where he was almost an enforcement arm for the New Deal
-Stan's soapboxes against racism, prejudice, etc...
-ANYTHING Steve Gerber wrote
-Wally West,Midwestern conservative
-Green Arrow and Hawkman. Nuff said.
-Ditko's Hawk and Dove, as well as his Question and Mr. A
-Underground comix
-Chuck Dixon and Mike Baron's run on Punisher

And so on, and so on.

I'd love to have a podcast just for this theme.

[gardnerisgod]

Wow i think we should put me and solitaire on a show becasue having such opposing views would be fun. Anyway let me talk it over with my co host and i'll let you know peter.

[Steel]

Ooh cool idea. I'm psyched to listen.

[DocSampson]

Maybe you guys should talk to IDW about their Obama/McCain biographies. Its getting lots of mainstream coverage. Check out some of the articles here:

The New York Times:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07...bier&st=cse

The Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et...0,4105897.story

The National Enquirer:
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/obama_mcca...celebrity/65232

Reuters:
http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/2008/07/2...ic-superheroes/

The AP wire:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/30/...Comic-Books.php

Time Magazine:
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,85...=rss-topstories

[RickM]

One of the reasons I liked Civil War was the highly politicized environment it created for the heroes. It mirrors the debates we have in the U.S. regarding support or opposition for military options. It was also a reflection of the divisiveness of our last two Presidential elections, which were especially bitter. Many of the Marvel characters had to make agonizing choices about what to do and who to follow, and that's something we can all understand.

[The Raph Radia]

I probably will discuss one of my first comics, the Superman Annual tie-in of Armageddon 2001 - Superman as President.

[mguy1977]

I probably will discuss one of my first comics, the Superman Annual tie-in of Armageddon 2001 - Superman as President.

That is certainly better than Luthor's time in office that started in 2001.


Matthew

This post has been edited by mguy1977: 01 August 2008 - 11:01 AM

[RadioWayne]

Cool, maybe I'll cover Green Arrow's Mayoral Career!

[max headroom]

Moore's 'Big Brother'/facist society in V for Vendetta - with the cop turning his back on society

Miller's 'liberal' society in The Dark Knight Returns

[JamFool]

As we at Q!PAW are well known for our high-brow, intellectual musings on all of the important topics in the comic book world, We'll see what we can do to include this theme into one of our future heated debates.

[scott cederlund]

I'm in. I'll be talking about the manga EAGLE: THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT.

[Dave Faust]

Jim Starlin--Ten Nights of the Beast, Cold war. Reagan has a cameo.

[Chris Murrin]

AWESOME!!! Anything that gets Prez more pub is much appreciated!

Someone might consider interviewing Dave Kellett of Sheldoncomics.com. He's got two master's degrees in comics, one of which is specifically about comics as wartime propoganda (or somehting like that).

[Katapult]

Oh cool!! I love that you guys are doing this. I was really excited about the last ones on Diamond and this one looks like it's going to be just as interesting.

-Kat

[Peter]

You bet!

[Phoney Bone]

I probably will discuss one of my first comics, the Superman Annual tie-in of Armageddon 2001 - Superman as President.

You have a podcast?

[mguy1977]

Jim Starlin--Ten Nights of the Beast, Cold war. Reagan has a cameo.

A very underrated Batman mini inside the Batman books of the 80s.

Matthew