Can anyone remember an election year in which presidential politics intruded any more obviously into the insular world of comic books than it has in 2008? Presidential (and now Vice-Presidential) candidates have increasingly graced the covers of comics and since IDW’s even-handed McCain and Obama biographical comics (see “IDW’s Comic Book Bios”), the depiction of these political figures has become increasingly controversial with Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon endorsing Obama (see “Endorsement Gets Noticed”), and the cover of Bluewater’s Hillary Clinton comic drawing criticism for its similarity to IDW’s McCain and Obama covers (see "Hillary Clinton Comic").
Now along comes news that Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be depicted on the cover of half of the copies of Papercutz’ Tales from the Crypt #8, which ships to retailers later this month. Governor Palin is shown brandishing a hockey stick and asking, “Didn’t we get rid of you guys in the 1950s” as the traditional narrators of EC Horror comics, the Crypt Keeper, the Old Witch, and the Vault-Keeper, flee in panic.
The issue will include a special editorial by Cathy Gaines Mifsud, the daughter of William Gaines, the original publisher of EC Comics and Mad Magazine. Gaines Mifsud’s editorial links the cover image to the controversy surrounding Governor Palin’s queries (while Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska) to a librarian about the possibility of removing controversial books from the public library (no books were actually removed from the library, see “Palin Library Censorship Issue Raised”).
In her editorial Gaines Mifsud writes, “Tales from the Crypt is not endorsing any political candidates…nor are we attacking any candidates, but Tales does care about freedom and censorship.” Gaines, whose father was forced to quit publishing Tales from the Crypt and other horror comics in the 1950s because of a wave of media and politically-inspired censorship (The Ten Cent Plague is David Hadju’s account of what happened to comics publishing in the U.S. in the 1950s see "The Ten Cent Plague"), sees the issue of book-banning in terms of free speech. “What usually seems to be behind banning books is an attempt to repress ideas that may offer alternative political views," she wrote. "This is not only un-American—blatantly violating the very concept of free speech—but it is assuming that people are unable to come to their own informed conclusions.”
The chioce of a Palin image on the cover to make that point may be controversial, but will probably juice sales. The Obama and McCain comics are doing well, and Palin's appearance as an action figure (see "Sarah Palin Action Figures") also got a lot of attention.
