Did you know that comic books have a professional obligation to refrain from expressing political opinions, at least of the variety that could convince readers to vote for Democrats? Neither did I. But apparently, it’s supposed to be an earth-shaking scandal that Spiderman is paling around with Obama in one of the latest issues. Newsbuster told me so.
I for one think it’s an act of charity. The last thing your average comic book geek needs—-and I say this with full love, a comic book on my lap, and piles of them around my house—-is to dig way past the adorable geeky stage into the scary misogynist Republican geek stage, from someone who maybe strikes out on occasion to someone who radiates so much loathing and self-loathing that potential sex partners flinch and run away. If seeing Obama shaking hands with Spiderman can reach the eyeballs of enough geeks that they take a left turn into the rumpled-glasses-cute-indie geek arena and away from the anti-choice-“libertarian”-khakis-and-Limbaugh geek arena, then Spiderman has done its readers a great service. Your choice, crossroad geeks: Crush on Tina Fey, or crush on Ann Coulter.
I’m amused at the ever-growing list of media outlets that are not news outlets yet have, according to hysterical wingnuts, an obligation to either lean right (which is “fair”) or, if they can’t lean right, they have an obligation to pretend that their creators have all been struck so stupid that they can’t tell one candidate or side of an issue from another on a dare (which is “balanced”). This list of media outlets required to shut up or give equal or greater time to the looniest of right wing nuttery include: