Capturing the Zeitgeist

After the election two Novembers back, I figured that the voices of the comic scene would eventually be able to speak for the rest of us., or at least to speak to the times. The first series that came up that was/is poised to do this, to try and capture the spirit of rebellious anarchy in the face of white-supremacist autocracy, was Black Mask's "Calexit:"

I written about Calexit here before, possibly more than once. I found it a very satisfying first issue. It has a tense pacing, a really good antagonist/bad-guy (beyond the autocratic president with a familiar haircut), and some potential with the unlikely pair of protagonists. The setting is the middle of an occupation, an occupation of a hostile collection of west coast cities. The book has some extra pages of story and a few more pages of essays from activists.

But that was to satisfy the thirsty readers who wanted to snatch up this offer as soon as it was announced, and had to wait just a bit longer. I was one of them. And being a fan of Black Mask, I knew that I should be prepared for a delay or two. It was announced in March, due out in May; it arrived in July and we await the second issue.

I was sure someone from this administration would have put the kibosh on the company by now, and that we would never get a second issue, but I hear it's due of later this month (February '19). And I can't wait.

The newest indie that is attempting to mine this vein is from Image, "Days of Hate:"

When I saw some of the interior art in the Image+ publication, I immediately recognized Danijel Zezelj, the Croatian artist I first encountered in Image's Starve. I remembered Ales Kot from a Valiant mini-series and The Source from a few years ago, and decided that this was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to try: two creators, writer and artist, both immigrants, trying to capture the anger and desire to fight that many people feel these days.

Whereas Calexit is taking place during an insurrection and occupation of coastal cities, Days of Hate is a little further down the war/Civil War avenue. The two main characters are an estranged lesbian couple, one infiltrating and bombing a white supremacist group, the other already captured by the ruling power authorities and being interrogated about the other, the dangerous member of the insurgency.

Both are riding a wave, an angry nervous and scary wave, and I'm curious to see how they settle their arcs.