Comics Lowdown: Spiegelman withdraws essay after Marvel wanted to remove Trump reference

Plus: Hector Gonzalez Rodriguez III on the El Paso shooting, thieves caught selling comics to their actual owner; and more!

Captain America vs Red Skull

Marvel asked legendary comic creator Art Spiegelman to remove a line from his introduction for a new Golden Age comic collection for being too political. The essay refers to current president of the Unites States Donald Trump as an “Orange Skull.”

“In today’s all too real world, Captain America’s most nefarious villain, the Red Skull, is alive on screen and an Orange Skull haunts America”

The graphic novelist decided to withdraw his entire essay meant for a Folio Society deluxe collection and published it online at the Guardian, fully intact, and added a few paragraphs at the end about his experience with Marvel, being edited, and about how CEO of Marvel Entertainment Ike Perlmutter donated $360,000, the maximum amount allowed, to the “Trump Victory Joint Fundraising Committee.”

Politics: Speaking of Ike Perlmutter, the Comics Journal (you’ve been warned), RJ Casey makes the argument for boycotting Marvel because of the political activities of Ike Perlmutter, Trump supporter, friend, and in fact part of his shadow government. The readers make the counterargument in the comments section.

Hometown Hero: Hector Gonzalez Rodriguez III, creator of the Latino superhero El Peso Hero, reflects on the El Paso shooting and why he does what he does.

“I wanted to create someone like Luke Cage in Harlem,” said Rodriguez, a comic book creator of Mexican-American descent, “but living in between southwest Texas and north Mexico, who fights cartels, and defends unaccompanied minors and families crossing the perilous border.”

Crime: A woman entered Apotheosis Comics & Lounge to sell a newly acquired comic collection. Martin Casas, owner of the St. Louis comic shop, looked over the comics and PLOT TWIST! It was . Police were called and the woman and her boyfriend were apprehended. The police have recovered the remaining comics.

The Biz: The Jewish Exponent profiles Josh O’Neill and his publishing house, Locust Moon, which publishes a handful of high-quality books, many supported by Kickstarter. His Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, which paid homage to the classic comic strip with work by 140 creators, won two Eisner Awards.

Youth Literacy: Pairing known young fiction writers with DC Comics characters is a win to encourage youth literacy. Middle Grade readership is up 26%. Meg Cabot, Ridley Pearson, Michael Northrop, Kirk Scroggs, and others will bring Swamp Thing, Black Canary and more to kids this fall.

Cosplay: The world’s largest queer comic convention, Flame Con, happened last weekend in Manhattan, and Wired Magazine featured a handful of the thousands of cosplays on display at the show, noting that cosplay has always been inherently  queer with gender-bending and same-sex shipping.

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