“If mommy is a Commie, then you gotta turn her in!” From The John Birch Society, written by Michael Brown.

First of all, I ain’t no commie. Overall it’s kind of a dumb idea, although in actual practice 20th century “communism” would have been unrecognizable to its founders, Karl Marx and Freddy Engels. For the record, I also ain’t no capitalist neither. It, too, is a dumb idea, and both have left a hell of a lot of damage in their wake.

Having said that, I am all quite aware that many Americans conflate communism, socialism, liberalism, progressivism and the Democratic Party. These lazy camp followers are fools and idiots.

Yes, this piece is about communism in comic books. Hang on.

It wasn’t a big deal before Stalin, but that was because comic books didn’t exist before Uncle Joe. By the time the presses were pushing off-register four-color booklets, we were in a hot war with fascism and the commies were on our side. When World War II ended, those who were intimidated by communism lashed out at the anti-religious nature of Soviet (Russian) communism. Indeed, pulputeers were unleashing the Red Scare on all media. A Wisconsin chicken farmer turned senator started running around complaining about his ever-changing list of commies in government, churches lost their shit. The 1885 Pledge of Allegiance had to add the phrase “under god” to its verse, and the New York Yankees started tossing people out of their stadia if they declined to stand up and sing “God Bless America.” This is why I’ve never been to a Yankees game in New York City: I believe in freedom of religion. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Better Read Than Dead!” →