Michael Medved discusses the last year’s worth of Captain America stories and the decidedly “America = bad” tilt that they’ve taken. I can’t say that I disagree with it much aside from Medved’s thinking that the comic books are aimed at kids and teens when in reality it’s teens and adults who will read it.

I’ve only read the first issue of the latest Cap series. And even that is a rare exception, since you all know that I don’t read Marvel, but it was September 11th-related and had a great cover. But I was offended that it had yet another “racist Americans will brutalize the first random middle easterner they find on the streets” incident. (The two 9-11 books DC worked on had enough of that…and Young Justice and Superman…) To add insult to injury, the racist would-be murderer is a family member of one of the 9-11 victims!

(Note to comic book writers: Assuming that white Americans are xenophobic brutes is ALSO a form of racism!)

I have to wonder at the mentality that thinks this Captain America book will be popular if it insults America. Is it a matter of a New York publisher who thinks America-at-large resembles the peace marchers outside the office? I’m not asking for a propagandistic effort akin to what Captain America was like in the 1940s, but is it too much to ask that Captain America be written by someone who thinks Americans are the good guys in this?

Oh well…it’s nice to see comics getting discussed in National Review!

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