Graphic Antifascism and a B. Traven Comic

B. Traven.

Art and politics should mix. In fact, art and politics do mix. This is true whether or not the viewer of the art recognizes this truth. There are some artists whose works leave no doubt. In the modern world, most art is used to sell things. The reader might argue that what I am talking about is advertising, not art. Unfortunately, the fact of the latter does not eliminate the fact of the former. Most advertising is art. The fact that it is used to sell things is what adds a political element; it is being used to uphold, maintain and promulgate the system of capitalism. In doing so, this art supports and proselytizes for the political structure designed to keep the capitalist economy in command.

Sue Coe’s art serves no profit-seeking enterprise. Neither does it support political systems constructed to protect the profiteers. It does not hide behind pretense or lies and it does not promote either. It exists to disturb our comfort and expose the lies—lies essential to a political world that seeks conflict, encourages prejudice and thrives on war. Her art is not pretty and neither is her subject matter. Like George Grosz or Kathe Kollwitz; Spain Rodriguez, Greg Irons or Ron Turner and his Slow Death comics, Coe excels at portraying the darkness inside the men and women who exist, rule and even revel in that world.

Her latest book—a joint effort with writer Stephen Eisenman—is titled The Young Person’s Illustrated Guide to American Fascism. The artwork, which takes up the bulk of the book, is composed of mostly single reproductions of blockprints and drawings. All in black and white with occasional shades of gray, the works provide a relentless litany of a future we are already in, but one that is pretty certain to get much worse. Eisenman’s commentary describes in a very accessible style Coe’s approach to her work and her subjects, while also presenting quick discussions of topics like art-for-art’s-sake versus “political art.” His introduction to the text features a brief history of US fascism and its roots in the legacy of chattel slavery. An important point he makes that echoes an understanding of US fascism popularized by Black Panther George Jackson(among others) can be found in these sentences: “Not everyone agrees on when a regime is fascist; it exists in the eye of the beholder….If you were an African-American in the US in the era of lynching and racial terror…,fascism was the dominant factor of social life.” (13)

The Young Person’s Illustrated Guide to American Fascism is not just for young people. The fact that it will likely be banned from young adult and juvenile sections of public libraries in parts of the United States illustrates why its primary target is young people. It’s art, however, makes it a book for everyone who is convinced the United States is already fascist (or awfully damn close); if for no other reason so it can be shared with those one knows who need convincing.

B. Traven is one of the twentieth century’s most popular writers. It is estimated his works sold more than 25 million copies in more than a half dozen languages. Yet, his actual life remains something of a mystery. He used different names throughout his life; a life that lasted almost a hundred years and traversed at least three continents. A revolutionary who was part of the German revolution that began near the end of the First World War, Traven was a member of the workers council that briefly governed the German state of Bavaria. That council, like the other revolutionary committees that blossomed during the revolution, was destroyed by an alliance between the Social Democrats (SPD) and a right-wing militia composed of many future members of the Nazi SS.

His most recognized work in today’s world is probably the novel The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which was turned into a very popular film directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart. His novels were told from the perspective of the world’s downtrodden. The Death Ship was about the lives of sailors on a tramp ship carrying illicit cargo—most likely illegal weapons. His series known as The Jungle Novels chronicles the lives of indigenous peoples in Chiapas, their work, their oppression, their families, their resistance and rebellion. The books in that series are among several that reflect his years of living in that part of Mexico.

Golo (Guy Nadaud) is a French-born artist. His multitude of graphic novels include travelogues, biographies and more. His most recent work (translated into English by Donald Nicholson-Smith is titled B. Traven: Portrait of a Famous Unknown. Simultaneously an unveiling of the mystery that is B. Traven and an addition to the self-same myth, the story flows easily across the works and the life of the writer, revolutionary and vagabond. The drawings alter between black and white and color; occasionally somewhat cubist in their viewing, at other times rudimentary and stark. Then, other times the art is painstakingly detailed, every line in the building bordering a city street sketched in. The graphic novel format tells Traven’s story effectively and captivatingly, doing justice to a man whose life meant more than he wished to accept and acknowledge.

Ron Jacobs is the author of several books, including Daydream Sunset: Sixties Counterculture in the Seventies published by CounterPunch Books. His latest book, titled Nowhere Land: Journeys Through a Broken Nation, is now available. He lives in Vermont. He can be reached at: ronj1955@gmail.com