Comic Art Propaganda A Graphic History

by Stromberg, Fredrik; Kuper, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780312596798
• ISBN10: 0312596790
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-20
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Summary

As one of the most effective and powerful forms of communication, it comes as no surprise that comic art has been misappropriated by governments, self-interest groups, do-gooders, and sinister organizations to spread their message. World War II comic book propaganda'”with Superman, Batman, and Captain America raising war bonds, and bashing cartoon Japanese and Germans'”was so ubiquitous that there was barely a US comic untainted by the war effort. The sub-textual sequential art continued well into the Cold War, with both sides producing comics extolling themselves and defaming the enemy. This book examines every kind of propaganda, and how positive or pernicious messages have been conveyed in the pages of comic books over the last one-hundred years. Subjects include racism and xenophobia, anti-drug comics, pro-drug comics, and Christian comics that spread the word of the Lord. Comic Art Propaganda is a fascinating visual history of some of the most outrageous, unbelievable, and politically charged comics ever published.

Author Biography

Fredrik Stromberg is a journalist, author, and historian, who has studied comics since the early 1990s.  He writes regularly for newspapers and magazines about comics, heads the Comic Art School of Sweden, and sits on the editorial board for the International Journal of Comic Art.