Occupy... the comic book

The Occupy movement – once viewed on the Left as the long awaited counterweight to the Tea Party – has pretty much faded from the news, depriving many of us of a ready source of comedy material. But while seemingly gone, they are not entirely forgotten. Former Hot Air Green Room contributor Howard Portnoy, writing at his new home, Liberty Unyielding, brings us up to date on the new home of the Occupiers… DC Comics.

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If you thought the Occupy movement was a laughing matter … well, you may be onto something. DC Comics — a company whose name is a reminder that its earliest product was meant to put a smile to its customers’ lips — announced on Friday that it will be releasing two new series. Both focus on the plight of the 99 percent.

Wired reports that the two titles in the Occupy series, which will debut in May, feature superheroes. “The Green Team” carries the motto “Money can buy them happiness — and they want to share it with you.” The motto of “The Movement,” meanwhile, is “They were the super-powered disenfranchised — now they’re the voice of the people.”

As Howard notes, DC Comics has been dipping their toes into the “social relevance” pool for some time now, including their decision last year to bring The Green Lantern out of the closet. (That one had me a bit stumped, I confess. I mean… who didn’t already think the Green Lantern was gay? Just look at that uniform. And don’t get me started on Batman’s somewhat creepy need to keep his “ward” around the mansion all the time.) But is this a good business decision on the part of DC? The Occupy movement couldn’t even get enough people interested in the actual movement to keep it going. Is there really a market for a series of comic books based on it? Besides, comics are something of a luxury item, albeit a not terribly expensive one. When your target demographic is composed largely of the homeless, sales may be an issue.

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What will the superpowers of the Green Team and The Movement be? Flying, x-ray vision or superhuman speed don’t sound like a good fit. Can they summon vast amounts of vegan food magically out of the air to feed the masses? Perhaps something more along the lines of being able to suddenly cause local property values to plummet? I’m almost curious enough to go purchase the first issue just to see what they do with this.

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