Comic-Con Sticks It to the Man
SAN DIEGO — As magnetic a draw as he proved to be during a 48-hour swing through town, Rep. John Lewis hardly cornered the market on political speech at this year’s Comic-Con.
Per the show’s handlers, the Georgia Democrat’s visit marked the first time a sitting politician had come to mix and mingle with the make-believe obsessed. Lewis made the trip to promote the first volume of “March,” a retelling of the civil rights leader’s career of nonviolent protest lovingly rendered in graphic novel form.
If one needed any proof that Lewis’ life lessons are not just still culturally relevant, but perhaps more important than ever in today’s troubled world, art posted all around the fantasy fest suggested that the struggle for equality rages on.
Posters used by the anti-corporate Occupy movement echo the very strategies Lewis advocates in the new book.
One attendee became his own billboard, urging others not to forget the horrors of Hurricane Katrina.
Some egged comics fans to stay forever vigilant, think for themselves and, above all, “read irresponsibly.”
Others openly scorned elected leaders — some real (Ronald Reagan) some totally imagined (A “Planet of the Apes” version of Che Guevara) — taking creative license with many of the qualities (strength, aggression) demonstrated by the modern ruling class.
Whether thumbing their nose at the tea party:
Or throwing bruise-purple street knowledge in the faces of the rose-colored-glasses-wearing set:
The message came in loud and clear: We know what you’re up to.
And we’re not going down without a fight.