Editorial: Comics Unmasked Shows the Politics and Mischief of British Comics

So this editorial is going to be a little different than usual, but it should be lots of fun for comics fans, especially those who want comics to be appreciated as serious literature. This Wednesday, instead of picking up my usual comics, I went to the special Comics Unmasked exhibit at the British Library in London. This exhibit was part art installation, part comics history exhibit, and full of work by comics’ biggest names, including Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, and more. It was set up by Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl; co-founder of Gorillaz) and Dave McKean (The Sandman; Arkham Asylum) and showed both the narrative and political potential of comics ranging from 19th-century cartoons making fun of Great Britain’s foreign policy to video exhibits showing recent films, like Dredd and Kick-Ass, showing how comics have crossed over and influenced other mediums. There were also fun little bonuses along the way, like a short history of female British comics creators, some notes and sketches from Kieron Gillen’s and Jamie McKelvie’s The Wicked and Divine, and even a section on erotica and sexuality in British comics. This editorial will cover the first three parts of Comics Unmasked dealing mainly with mischief and political elements in British comics along with the diversity and lack thereof in them.

The first part of the exhibit was called “Mischief and Mayhem,” and it focused on the violent and trickster elements of British comics from the Mr. Punch character of British puppets shows from the 17th century onward to the works of Garth Ennis, especially Preacher. There were even pages from a 2010 experimental comic where the writer/artist ended up killing himself after creating a comic that showed various stages of the protagonist flaying himself. This part did a great job showing the development of the themes of mischief and mayhem in British comics from the Victorian-era cartoons of the 19th century to modern works. One such theme was a fascination with legendary serial killer Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel murders, which were heavily covered in period newspapers with graphic illustrations showing his activities. This fascination continued in the 1998 graphic novel From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, which was an examination of society around the Jack the Ripper murders. However, this part of the exhibit wasn’t all violence and death. There was some strips from the British’s children’s comic Beano, which is filled with slapstick humor and unruly children like the famous Dennis the Menace. These stories didn’t have a moral tacked on at the end or any kind of punishment or consequences for the protagonists. They got to keep pulling pranks and making mischief, safe in their role as trickster.

The second part was called “To See Ourselves.” It was prefaced by an excellent quote from Alan Moore’s and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen. It looked at the stereotypes and lack of representation of women and minorities in British comics and how some recent works were trying to remedy this. There were a bunch of comics that took a look at various social issues from different perspectives. For example, there was the 2013 autobiographical comic Lighter than my Shadow, which was about its author Katie Green’s eating disorder. Using a variety of greys and browns and spare pencil lines, this comics memoir is brutally honest and deals with something that is taboo for some. In addition to the recent memoirs and webcomics, including the first British manga, there were some early examples of breaking stereotypes in comics, like the 1978 underground comic Heroine by Suzy Varty. This was a small press, all-female anthology which allowed female British comics creators to break into an industry. However, this section of the exhibit drew attention to the lack of diverse voices in mainstream and even indie comics as evidenced by the 2014 Image Expo, which featured sixteen white men and two white women. I felt bad because I could only remember one female British comics creator (other than my friend Ari Carr), and that is Leah Moore, mainly because she is Alan Moore’s daughter.

With mannequins wearing a Guy Fawkes masks strewn throughout the exhibit, the transition to the third part “Politics: Power and the People” was quite smooth. Also, the political nature of British comics was made evident from an early-19th-century cartoon poking fun at the lavish lifestyle of Charles X of France to a Judge Dredd story that has Dredd trying to bring justice to an Arkansas town torn apart by rival burger chains. But the most impressive parts of this exhibit were all the V for Vendetta paraphernalia and the rise of the short-lived Crisis anthology. The script page for V for Vendetta on display showed a real collaboration between Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd. Lloyd came up with the Guy Fawkes costume for its protagonist turning a symbol that is burned annually in the UK to a sort of revolutionary hero. However, like many characters and comics in the exhibit, it is ambiguous if V is hero or villain. His infamous garb combined with his heroic intentions creates one of the most complex characters in comics.

Along with V, there were several strips displayed from Crisis, a British comics anthology that ran from 1988-1991 and featured the early of work of creators, like Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Steve Yeowell, and Sean Phillips. Even though it was rooted in the sci-fi and superhero genres, Crisis dealt with a variety of social and political issues. There was the chilling True Faith, written by Ennis, that was a biting religious satire mirroring his personal loss of his Catholic faith with the political turmoil in Ireland. This comic was protested by religious groups, and its trade paperback was no longer sold. Two of the other big comics that caught my eye were Third World War by 2000 AD stalwarts Pat Mills and Carlos Ezquerra and New Adventures of Hitler by Morrison and Yeowell. Third World War was Crisis’ s flagship strip and showed the impact of corporate greed on young people and underdeveloped nations. It had a huge scope looking at political issues both in the UK and overseas and had a neopagan and eco-terrorist as protagonists. New Adventures of Hitler didn’t have such a grand scope but was a humor comic with Hitler as a main character living in Liverpool in 1913. The strip only lasted four issues and wasn’t the last time Morrison would push the envelope of free speech in his comics. In his popular Vertigo series The Invisibles, he took shots at everything from supporters of fox-hunting to the royal family. The combination of the “Mischief and Mayhem” and “Political: Power and the People” showed me how subversive British comics were and how they integrate political satire, humor, and genre-bending storytelling in one tight package. For example, one Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill “Tale of Green Lantern Corps” story contained brilliant art and world-building concepts. Geoff Johns got most of the ideas for his Green Lantern from it.

The first exhibits of Comics Unmasked rekindled my interest in the social relevance and power of comics to shape and influence society. I definitely want to try to track down some of the Crisis stories and get around to reading Invisibles, Preacher, and From Hell. (Yes, I’m a horrible comics fan.) I enjoyed seeing the early work of creators, like Morrison and Ennis, and their narrative abilities and ideas that would blossom in their later work. If you can deconstruct Hitler, Superman should be a piece of cake. I was also challenged to try out works by lesser known creators, like autobiographical webcomic creator Rachael Smith. McKean and Hewlett did a good job putting comics in the larger context of British history and showing the evolution of the medium from 15th century illuminated manuscripts to digital comics.

Stay tuned to Capeless Crusader as I will write about the second part of Comics Unmasked and talk about some really cool stuff, like Neil Gaiman’s writing process, Judge Dredd helmets, and the experience of listening to Aleister Crowley chant on a phonograph record.