Nov 25, 2008
on DMZ, the Death Of Irony, and Relevance For The Future
I was shown a couple blog posts last night just before bed, which had me up for a few minutes thinking. I’ll share them with you, and add my thoughts.
Both from a blog called Are You A Serious Comic Book Reader? the first mention of DMZ occured in the comments section of this post about a recent issue of Cable and a torture scene:
Is it just me or does it feel really cynical and played-out to be dealing with torture stuff now that Obama’s president? I know that’s silly but it’s sort of my feeling now towards this or ‘DMZ’ or whatever else
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i think that’s like, another reason it irked me–obama’s in, the argument is over, the pro-aggressive interrogation crowd lost this time. i mean, obviously this comic was penned months before the election took place, but still. and seriously, if DMZ doesn’t declare itself irrelevant and wrap up, i’ll never buy anther DC comic again!
I am assuming that last line is hyperbolic, but its an interesting thing they are suggesting – that the election of Obama signifies such a potential for Things To Be Different Now that examination of the last 8 years is played out or irrelevant? I had some of these same thoughts a few weeks ago, right after the election, wondering how DMZ was going to be perceived… and more specifically, how I was going to write it from now on.
The blogger followed up on this with a new post. It’s a good post, looking at the first issue of the current DMZ story THE ISLAND, and wondering how this shift in the overall story matches up to the election of Obama and what everyone hopes will be a permanent change for the better in both this country and in Iraq (I apologize for the clumsy summary, guys — everyone should go read that blog entry in full).
What I concluded about the future of DMZ (the series and the story) is that it will largely be unaffected by Bush going out and Obama coming in. My cynicism is still in full effect, since it is my job to look at politics in the most cyncical way possible… and I don’t think any of us expect that, come January 20th, Obama will flick a switch and everything from that point on will get better. From his FISA vote to the hawkish people he is appointing, to his pro-war stance on Afghanistan and Pakistan and promise to ramp UP the war there, things in these areas will no doubt stay very much the same or perhaps get worse. And we have a long, very messy process still to complete in regards to Iraq.
Iraq is very important to DMZ, not just how it connects to us as Americans, but how the struggling government there is, well, struggling. I’ve felt for some time now that DMZ has more in common with the Maliki government than it does with anything else, and I’ve been increasingly looking to that for inspiration for future storylines. I don’t expect that to change.
And with all due respect to these two bloggers, they are looking at a very incomplete picture. THE ISLAND is a two-part story only, sort of a breather before we get back to the main storyline featuring Parco Delgado and the new Manhattan government. It’s not the start of a fundamental new shift in the series’ focus. No doubt current events will continue to shape DMZ as a series, just like it always has. As well written as that blog entry is, it misses the mark just a little bit.
Some points:
DMZ makes sort of an easy target because the stances it has taken have tended to the non-controversial in the sense that they comport neatly with those of the country’s nascent pseudo-anarchist anti-war movement.
I am pulling this line out for a couple reasons. One, that I dislike any sort of broad, sweeping generalizations of my work, and two, I am not sure I even understand this. I agree that DMZ has, by and large, not stirred up controversy, and I put that down to when the series debuted. It came along after public opinion was mostly recognizing the war as a failure and the Bush Admin as inept (to put it very kindly). Had the series debuted in 2002, things would have been very different*. Also, “pseudo-anarchist”? Everyone I know is anti-war, and they come from all walks of life and political backgrounds. I’ve said early on that DMZ is an anti-war book… anti- not just THIS war, but war in general, and I would sincerely hope, and demand, that everyone on planet earth should be anti-war, in a very fundamental way.
(* I think of when CHANNEL ZERO came out (1997), incredibly harsh against Rudy Giuliani and his policies, and no one cared. When I revisited those exact same themes in JENNIE ONE (2002-3), I was blasted by all kinds of people, friends too, for daring to take a shot at “America’s Mayor”.)
Wood’s attention to the shifting winds of American politics doesn’t begin with “The Island.” The recently concluded series about the election of the populist hero Parco Delgado is at base a story of the power of the human spirit in the face of incredible tragedy. The fact that Parco’s story is most emphatically not Obama’s does nothing to lessen the series’ prophetic power.
I appreciate this, seeing the clear distinction between Obama and Delgado (the tendency for a lot of readers to make that immediate connection baffled me, and I always wondered how much it had to do simply with the the color of their skin?) and again, this storyline is just getting started. I look back and see that I wrote the first issue of the Parco-Election story in January of this year, so I probably had it plotted out in October or November of ‘07, well before Obama was on his way. The solicitations for this arc called Parco a “Che Guevara”, and I’ve since refined my description of him to equal parts Hugo Chavez and Al Sharpton. Just look at this photo, and you’ll make that connection. “The power of the human spirit”, indeed… but to what end? Parco will likely be a part of DMZ from now until the series concludes.
Obviously I don’t find DMZ irrelevent now, and I don’t think that thinking/talking/examining the impact of the Bush Regime is played out, or overly cynical (at least not any more cynical than what’s at the foundation of the book’s very premise). And certainly this story, the story of the last 8 years of American policy is far from over, even as we move into year 9. I think I can safely say, as much for myself as anyone else, that the instant DMZ starts to feel played-out, I will kill the book.
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As someone who lives in a city where I still see Blackwater mercenaries walking the streets fully armed without being stopped, I find DMZ fully relevant. Not sure how someone could not find the series to still have a story to tell.
And why would Obama coming in as president change the story? Things in the world are still pretty bad. Terrorism hasn’t ended. Iraq and Afghanistan have not all of a sudden become fun places to visit (today’s news had a report of girls being assaulted with acid on their way to school in Afghanistan). We are still struggling to rebuild down here in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast from Alabama to Texas (and no, casinos buying up land along the Mississippi Gulf Coast is not rebuilding).
Keep up the great work Brian. Just saw Jenny One is shipping to me.
Maybe I shouldn’t be so concerned, but I find it really troubling that anyone would view the election of Obama (or any President) to be some sort of resolution to things.
“Obama’s in, the argument is over”??? As you pointed out–not only does it show a lack of attention to the moves and appointments Obama’s actually been making, it seems scarily naive about how life works.
I’m with Jeff. I’m as devoted an Obama supporter as you’ll find, and as much a believer as you’ll find. I mean, I’ve *never* jumped up and down in happiness when the election was called, nor cried when the acceptance speech was given.
But the notion that Obama’s win is some sort of progressive endgame to the Bush disaster is wildly naive and dangerous. Obama is a lot of things, and he may indeed turn out to be the best President we’ve had in our lifetimes if he can live up to even half of what he was promising, but he’s still a politician, and he’s still got only four or eight years to work with. And there are plenty of problems that just aren’t gonna be solved in four or eight years, no matter that we’re maybe coming at them from the right direction.
Plus… millions of people voted for the politics of the other side. The notion of some kind of populist uprising like the one in DMZ is actually *more* likely, not less, with “their” party out of power. I mean, I’ve always seen the conflict in DMZ as right wing government vs. even more right wing militias and some left wing terrorists, with the moderates caught in the middle, and I don’t honestly believe things would be entirely different if the government was “center-right” or even “center-left.”
I think some folks want to turn the page and don’t want to acknowledge that the Bush legacy, his influence over the government, is going to be with us for a lot longer than the 8 years he served, no matter who is President next. There are a lot of folks who happily shaped or served the agenda of this administration still in their jobs. Government doesn’t turn on a dime.
And even if it did… the notion that things might not shift back in a few years seems like a pretty easy conceit to give, which is all that’s really required to still find DMZ relevant.
Obama is the leader of a mainstream, capitalist party, just like George Bush was. He’s not Thomas Sankara, he’s not Che Guevara. Without question the election of Obama is an important moment in history, it is important for the United States, and especially important for the African American community. But anyone who thinks the manner in which America conducts itself will be significantly altered by Obama’s presidency is naïve. Compared to most of the world, Americans live lives of gross indulgence (some more so than others), and the only way to subsidize this is by exploiting the people and resources of other nations, and in many cases, by exploiting the people of America.
With respect to DMZ – is it still relevant? I always thought the deal was along the lines of, “What if Manhattan were Baghdad?” The United States has bombed Iraq back to the pre-industrial age. That story is not going to be over any time soon. I do agree that initially the extended run seemed to be searching for a purpose (a Viking funeral comes to mind), and I have been impatient with the one-offs and stories that seem like fan fiction of your own book, and I have been considering saying good-bye to DMZ on that basis. But apparently Matty has turned yet another corner in his personal story arc and I am interested to see where that takes him. I do think Zee of late has been sacrificed to your other commitments, as have the other supporting characters. But whatever happens, I love the book, I love the art, and I recommend it to vendors wherever I go.
i commented on one of the other blog posts in disagreement with their jump from “obama’s elected, all bush-era stories are dead”. I agree with most of what everyone said, and for my piece, I’ll just say that the USS Empire is a HUGE ship, with a lot of competing factions on it, not a top down chain of command. A new Admiral is not going to change as much as we’d like when many of the crew is the same, or similar, and the same groups want the same stuff. Artillery wants more guns and shells. the Engine Room wants more coal and to go faster. blah blah, you get where this is going.
I think Brian and other writers will have a lot of very relevant material for a long time (sadly). If torture is banned, there’s always still Blackwater, the CIA, and the School of the Americas.
Hi sir. Thank you for the kind words and acknowledgement of my friends and I’s blog. Clearly, we suffered a bit from thinking we were having a fairly amongst ourselves discussion and therefore, didn’t see too much of a need to hyper-qualify our statements. As you can see, David worked his ideas out more fairly in his post.
The implication was not that all political dissent and discussion should stop, but indeed, one can’t help but feel a little psyched by the potential of Bush being out of office and yes indeed, a mainstream “capitalist”–a word none of us on the blog think of as a dirty word–but still interesting and engaging new president!
Rather, one would hope that real-world political change that’s possibly for the better would influence the series as much as real-world change for the worse.
Indeed, the problem with the serious or sorta serious criticism we’d like to think we’re doing on the blog is that you inevitably stuff words into artists’ mouths…
Brian et al-
First of all, I want to express my appreciation for your reasoned comments with respect to our humble blog. The points about my generalizations of your work and the significance of Obama’s election are well taken. Our blog is a new thing and one of the primary goals that I and my associates had in mind in starting it was to generate some legitimate discussion within the comics community–something of which i think there is woefully too little.
I hope also that you recognize that part of my intention in focusing much of my discussion of cynicism on your recent work with DMZ was to correct the too-hasty and undeserved criticisms that were directed to it in the earlier discussion. I don’t think I am going too far out on a limb in suggesting that there are significant differences between our respective political outlooks. However, I also think that the commentary you have provided with DMZ and some of your other books has significantly added to the conversation.
With respect to Obama’s election and the overall point I was trying to make in the latter post, I want to make clear that I neither view the election of Obama as a signal that all discussion of America’s foreign adventures is suddenly moot, nor do I consider that it is the “resolution to all things.” What I do think that it means is that Americans are neither as ignorant, nor as unsophisticated as we often seem to be. It also means that Obama was successful in his aim to demonstrate that his race and the perception of his inexperience and ostensible ‘radical’ views (this particularly laughable) were irrelevant to his candidacy.
Obama has a good chance of being a successful president for the same reason that those of the demonstrable political left are already beginning to be suspicious of him. He doesn’t view problems through the lens of a particular ideology, he views them simply as problems–problems in need of solutions. The fact is, the cards are stacked wildly against him. I don’t need to tell anyone about the shitty prospects that most, sort of regular ass americans are facing. Nor am I so naive as to think that the legacy of the Bush administration comes to an end when Barack takes his oath of office. He is going to have to compromise on a lot of things that will leave ideologues of all stripes disappointed. However, I think the measure of his success will be in determining whether young families are able to take the kids to the doctor and pay their mortgage and car payments in 4-8 years time.
I am as susceptible to cynicism as anyone who picks up a newspaper more than once a week. I also think that an excess of cynicism is the first sign of the decadence of a civilization. I won’t hide my disappointment at your suggestion that you consider it your job to be cynical. Bush 43 earned our cynicism by virtue of the duplicity, arrogance and destruction that are the hallmarks of his presidency. Obama will not be a perfect president, and I in fact agree that some of the incipient bluster of his rhetoric vis a vis pakistan is troubling. Be that as it may, I do legitimately believe that his administration will work to begin the process of undoing the enormous damage wrought by the current regime.
Lastly, your comment about getting into DMZ after our ill-fated adventure in Iraq was begun touches on something that is extremely important. One of the things that really bugged me about the rash of Iraq war oriented films that came out in the last few years was that it was like, where the fuck were you guys in 2002 when people needed to be exposed to this stuff. I actually wrote about this quite a bit in a blog i used to write about movies. One of the things that has made ME cynical with respect to some of the more vocal components of the anti-war community is that a good portion of them were silent when it really counted. Whatever the explanations for this lapse in American skepticism, I hope that we will have learned from our mistakes the next time this happens.
shit, i forgot to include probably the most important part of my comments. DMZ will continue to be relevant as long as you keep it relevant. clearly i think that the things you have done with the recent series (and i have to say that the “decade later” through “soames” run represents some of your best work, bar none) have succeeded in that aim. i think that your allusion to the connection to the maliki government in terms of the future of the series bodes well.
thanks again for reading!
Though I may be beating a dead horse here, I want to chime in with something I’ve discussed with friends for some time now (much to their chagrin): as much as I like Obama, I’m also skeptical, and believe that he must have his feet held to the fire for the next four years, without question.
I really think, at times, that Obama’s ardent supporters are just as dangerous as those who voted for and supported Bush–both carry unwavering dedication. The fact that, as mentioned, Obama’s voting on the FISA bill and his position on particular foreign countries get so overlooked and disregarded is a bit troubling. There’s a sentiment out there that Obama can do no wrong, and when he does, well, it must be for good reason.
Even if Obama were the prophet/savior some make him out to be, that doesn’t change the fact that he is surrounded by a congress that is as corrupt as it is mediocre. If there were any doubts about the ambitions of the democratic party pre-2006, they should be all but erased by now: in their two years of control, they still allowed what should’ve been a lame-duck president to do as he pleased. What does that say? And now with Obama filling his cabinet with more of the same, what ‘change’ can we really expect?
DMZ and other like titles should, and will, remain relevant so long as people care to truly examine our society, our elected officials, and the manner in which this government operates. If titles like DMZ ceased to exist, if movies like that stopped being produced, games and music that shook people by the lapels every now and again stopped being made, then we really know we’re doomed–that lacking is the mark of two things: utopia or totalitarianism, and after these past 8 years (hell, 20+), I’d say we’re much closer to the latter. And it’ll take more than Obama, willing as he may be, to change that. DMZ stands as a necessary reminder.
Ey Brian!!! Greetings from Spain!! You’re a really cool artist!
[...] can read the rest of the post here. [...]
I just want to say this. DMZ is an amazing piece of work. Having a social conscience sometimes takes a nation time, and we’re seeing that fruit ripening now in Media, writing, art and politics. What I loved about DMZ was the hard gritty look at a possible future/now based on the policies of the government. Yes, we have new leadership, and a huge legacy of bad policies and disregard for human rights. DMZ is a political and humanitarian tool to consider both the indivual perspective and the larger socio political ramifications of our current course. Please, keep up the excellent work.
[...] Wood wrote a bit about the post-Obama reaction to DMZ that I think you should all read. Really. Go read [...]
fascinating and communicative, but would participate in something more on this topic?
Brian,
I think alot of folks misunderstand the value of your work.
DMZ is not really about America.
We’re not dealing with an affluent empire on the verge of collapse…the United States under Obama.
Instead, we’re dealing with a society already on its knees…struggling to rise.
So really, DMZ is about THE THIRD WORLD!
Places like Iraq, Congo, & Bolivia.
You’ve taken the third world paradigm of instability, war, & desperation…& applied it to America.
This is genius!
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Also Brian,
You mentioned Hugo Chavez as a SLIGHT inspiration for Parco.
Have you read Greg Palast’s book “Armed MadHouse”?
If not, I highly suggest it.
There’s alot going on in Venezuela that applies to the DMZ universe.
It’s a million times more exciting than Obama or Che!
For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about:
http://www.gregpalast.com/hugo-chavez-an-exclusive-interview-with-greg-palast/
http://www.gregpalast.com/fear-of-chavez-is-fear-of-democracy/
Best wishes,
PAUL ESCOBAR
Just because Obama won the election does not mean that it’s time to forgive and forget.
History is littered with the stench of dead bodies of innocent people who were victimized by an oppressive government that has been enabled by its citizens who have quickly forgotten about its past.
Those who don’t learn from history, are bound to repeat it. And the fast way to not learn, is to not speak of it.