Alternative Visions
Alternative Visions |
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Page 29 of 29  Palestine (Fantagraphics, 1993). Art/script: Joe Sacco. A remarkable piece of comics journalism, taking the reader to the front line of the Arab-Israeli conflict in East Jerusalem; its verite style was in some ways a return to pre-camera eye-witness illustrations in Victorian news magazines. How could the producers of alternative comics cope? The short answer was, they couldn't. Legal defence funds were set up, and angry articles were published in the fan press. But ultimately, it was a losing battle, and as the underground had discovered twenty years before, the costs of defiance were simply too great. Therefore, self-censorship became an inevitable necessity. Publishers increasingly refrained from putting out strong material, while distributors and shop owners cancelled their orders of comics which might offend. One publisher summed up the situation when he said: 'I think it's always a good idea, when you have right-wingers on a roll, to cover your backside'. The backlash was further proof, if it were needed, that comics were still not accepted by society at large as an artform with the same rights to freedom of expression as other artforms. Almost all of the material objected to would have gone unremarked if it had appeared in a novel, and while much of it might arguably have been indefensible on aesthetic grounds, it was clear that the official limits of creative endeavour did not stretch as far for comics as they did for other media. The fact that the complaints were of the same nature as those made against comics at earlier points in history, showed how little had changed. Further, the fact that the clampdown should have arrived at the same time when comics were reaching a pinnacle of artistic and literary achievement was the ultimate irony.  Palestine  Pages from 'Siege', World War 3 Illustrated (self published, 1990). Art/script: Seth Tobocman. A 'historical fiction' about a squatters' revolt.  Press cutting from The Guardian (1996) reporting the favourable outcome of the 'Crumb trial', and the judge's comment that the case was' preposterous'. Nevertheless, the fact that it had been brought at all was evidence of a mounting establishment counter-offensive against alternative comics. |