Every time I hear someone say "today's comic creators only care about the politics and not the actual stories", I have to roll my eyes.
Really? All of them? Or are you conflating a small amount of people with the entire industry?
9 times out of 10? The people saying that are CG, CG adjacent, or rapidly spiraling down that drain.
Open up Action Comics #1 from 1938. That first Superman story? It. Is. POLITICAL.
In fact, a lot of Golden Age comics didn't shy away from politics. The Comics Code, of course, neutered that.
Like it or not, a person's politics is going to be baked into what they write, intentionally or otherwise.
Are there some creators who are a bit too forceful about putting their views into mainstream comics? Of course. But on the other hand, the CGers who screech that want politics in comics as well...it happens to be THEIR retrograde politics and not the more liberal politics baked into superhero comics.
And I'm not going to lie. My comic, American Dreams, does have some of my politics. It definitely is wrapped up in my identity as an American Jew. But that hasn't stopped gentiles from LOVING THE HELL out of it. (I also once awkwardly found out some CGers liked it to which my quip was "did they actually read it?").
But this has led to...one unfortunate incident in the past where I saw someone react pretty poorly to the book having a Jewish lead. And you know what? F-- them! I chose to have a Jewish lead for this book so my people could have more representation in an industry they built which unfortunately has a lack of Jewish superhero leads (and an even more unfortunate surplus of antisemites among creators it seems of late).
But would I change my book to make it "politically neutral"? NO! I'd be doing my book a disservice. I'd be doing *me* a disservice. I'd be robbing myself of my voice.
So don't be afraid to inject your politics, your voice, your identity into your work, in the amount that's needed for that specific work.
Otherwise you're just playing it safe...and no creator wants that!
-DK
PS: I have a Halloween surprise for you guys, Tuesday at Noon.
Can't Wait for the surprise