World Comic Book Review

28th March 2024

Russians in Comic Books

As tensions between the West and Russia have dramatically increased in the past year, so too has the characterisation of Russia in Western comic books.

As we discuss below, most of Western comics’ attention this century has been directed towards the menace of the Soviet Union and its state-sponsored spread of communism as an ideology and a system of government antithetical to Western democracy and capitalism. But in the past five years, particularly, there is a new orientation towards perceptions of Russia in comic books.

In addition, we also take a quick look at the contemporary Russian comic book industry, and its penchant for copying American concepts.

1. Vladimir Putin and Post-Soviet Russia

A brief rundown of the geopolitical sequence of events leading to where we are now is worthwhile:

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Harland Buck: Freesword #1 (Review)

Harland Buck: Freesword #1
Weldon Studio
Writer: Scott Weldon

After the fall of the Roman Empire, kingdoms rose and fell into obscurity. Waves of armies and their retinues – some nomadic and some seeking better prospects – settled into the niches left by the Romans. One of these, the Kingdom of the Rock, near Clydebank immediately west of modern day Glasgow, though once extensive and powerful is barely remembered today even by locals, and allusions to its existence can only be gleaned by careful consideration of contemporary records.

The writer of “Harlan Buck, Freesword”, Scott Weldon, creates for his readership the entirely believable world of the Kingdom of Alo’vyn and its colonies in Emeraein, both lands with vaguely Celtic names but in unspecified places which could easily have existed but been lost in the mists of time and the shifting of civilisations. The protagonist, Harland Buck, is a “freesword” – an independent mercenary. Buck’s face is scarred and he is a fearsome melee fighter. His dour exterior hides empathy: in circumstance where he could save himself from the elements, Buck is by his actions quietly determined to save the life of a bleeding and badly injured young soldier, a Realmguard who has taken to the king’s service in exchange for land to farm.

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“Litigation, Jim, but not as we know it”: Dr Seuss, Star Trek and Copyright Infringement in the US

It is a rare day that a Kickstarter campaign – and a successful one, raising $30000 – for a comic book goes on to detail intellectual property infringement as a legal risk for the venture:

While we firmly believe that our parody, created with love and affection, fully falls within the boundary of fair use, there may be some people who believe that this might be in violation of their intellectual property rights. And we may have to spend time and money proving it to people in black robes. And we may even lose that.

The statement was made by the project’s creators, Glenn Hauman, David Friedman, and Ty Templeton, and their Connecticut company ComicMix LLC.

ComicMix is a website providing news and reviews on comic books. (Interestingly, it features a column, “The Law is an Ass”, written by Bob Ingersoll, an Ohio-based attorney and comic book writer.)

Ty Templeton is well known for his work on various “Batman” comics, published by American publisher DC Comics, and has won various Eisner and Joe Shuster awards for his creative efforts on comic books. Glenn Hauman has worked on various Star Trek novels and electronic publications, and knows enough about the law, according to Wikipedia, to have been the chair of the Netlaw special interest group of the World Wide Web Artists Consortium.

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Infamous Iron Man #1-2 (review)

Infamous Iron Man #1-2 (review)
Marvel Comics, December 2016/January 2017
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

The conversion on the road to Damascus is well-documented in the New Testament: known as Saul, a Pharisee, the man who became St Paul was charged with the arrest of followers of Jesus when he was confronted by a blinding light. A voice identifying himself as the son of God ordered Saul to do the work of Jesus. And so Saul changes his name and became an ardent Christian – in many ways, the person responsible for the survival and rapid spread of Christianity in the decades following the crucifixion of Jesus.

In this title, “Infamous Iron Man”, perennial evil-doer Dr Doom, a doyen amongst American publisher Marvel Comics’ villains, has like Saul experienced an epiphany. The character’s purpose as a superpowered antagonist has become extinguished. There is no point to villainy any more.

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