The Comics Canon

Today’s episode was supposed to be about The Sandman: The Doll’s House. But we felt that we just couldn’t ignore the protests taking place around the United States and across the world over the needless, senseless deaths of George Floyd and many other black Americans. So instead we’re discussing the historic but little-known Martin Luther King and The Montgomery Story, published in 1957 by a group called the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

This 16-page comic explores the events surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott, gives a brief biography of Dr. King, and outlines the principles of nonviolent resistance. And it inspired a young man named John Lewis, who would go on to become a leader of the Civil Rights Movement and U.S. Congressman, and whose comic biography March, Vol. 1, we reviewed back in March of this year.

Original copies of this book are hard to find, although an authorized reissue was published in 2013 by Marietta, Georgia-based Top Shelf Productions. It’s also available on Comixology for $1.99. (And here’s some background on it by March co-writer Andrew Aydin.)

In addition to our thoughts on the book itself, we discuss the ways in which superhero comics can be problematic, particularly in their sometime glorification of violence by authority figures. We also briefly discuss the 2019 HBO miniseries Watchmen, and spoil some plot points.

We plan to be back in two weeks with that episode on The Doll’s House, pending other world-shaking events. In the meantime, we encourage you to donate to Black Lives Matter or to a bail fund or other activism-related funds: you can find an extensive list here and here.

Thanks for listening, and stay safe and well!