Matt Miner’s Animal Liberation Comic Gives Hero Themes a Reality Check
by Rabb!t / Earth First! Newswire
The second installment of the ALF-inspired comic series, Liberator, comes out this Wednesday [Update: street date changed to 7/31], and I have to say this issue is even better than the first. The story, characters, and political issues are complex, the art is sharp, clean and vibrant, and the moments of ecologically-motivated property destruction and animal rescue are even more satisfying this time around. If you haven’t read the first issue or our first review, you may want to do so before you read on, in order to get some context for the following analysis. Be warned, there are a few minor spoilers ahead (but nothing you probably couldn’t guess from looking at the cover).
As an activist who enjoys reading comic books, I knew the Liberator series would resonate with me, but I was concerned that it wouldn’t be accessible to non-activist comic book fans, or non-comic book-reading activists. While portraying underground animal rights activists as superheroes sounded like a great idea, it had the potential to be forced into place, and consequently come across as either too hokey for the political issues or too serious for the medium. As it turns out, my concerns were unfounded. In fact, rather than alienating either set of potential fans, the unique combination of underground activism with classic comic book structure offers something for everyone, and adds a refreshing dose of realism and depth to traditional superhero themes.
EF! DAM
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