Captain Confederacy returns

[trochee]

debunkingwhite posts about Captain Confederacy (now published on blogspot), which I remember from being a kid in Atlanta.

There's some controversy there (and elsewhere) about whether it's a racist comic.

In my opinion, it's a transparently dystopian, anti-racist piece of SF -- it's set in an alternate present where the Civil War ended in separation, and Jeremy Gray is the actor hired to play Captain Confederacy, a media symbol for the Confederacy. Over the course of the comic, he comes to doubt his handlers and the role of being a blue-eyed blond white guy being the media-created hero of a racist culture. (Captain America anyone?)

The discussion on debunkingwhite is also valuable, [ETA: and includes a link to this interview with CC's writer Will Shetterly].

Comments

[xaosenkosmos.livejournal.com]

You talk about these "comic books" as if they have artistic merit. A "comic book" could never convey the subtle nuances of emotion and meaning captured through such high forms of art as painting, poetry, or dance!!~

[seaya.livejournal.com]

Um. Surely you jest?

[xaosenkosmos.livejournal.com]

I won't directly answer your question, but i will point out that this userpic is swiped from Johnny The Homicidal Maniac.

I will also state that i have never been to a dance recital that wasn't required for school, and that i do not anticipate ever changing that fact.

[trochee.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure he's kidding.

If he's not, there will be words.

Words, I tell you.

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

Now that's my kind of party !

[trochee.livejournal.com]

nice icon, capt. reynolds.

[chr0me-kitten.livejournal.com]

I haven't read the comic, but I've seen some of the controversy about it (I avoid debunkingwhite for several personal reasons, and that post is protected, so I don't know what direction that discussion is going). Neil Gaiman posted about it in his blog and mentioned that the way in which it's being posted takes the story out of context. Now I'm curious enough to read the comic.