As you may know, I do a cartoon on Big Hollywood every Sunday with Batton Lash called Obama Nation. It gives us the opportunity to lampoon the WPE* since few others seemed willing to do it when we started. But Big Journalism offers the opportunity to mock the “mainstream media” which constantly fails to report the facts or deal with reality. So I called up another friend, comics veteran and fellow libertarian, Val Mayerik to enter the fray and have a few laughs.
The strip we’re doing is called “Useful Idiots.” A term coined by the Soviets as the pet name they had for Western Lefties who believed any lie they were fed. It will feature a cast of familiar characters you may have seen on TV while changing channels. For the sake of storytelling we’ve put them all at the same network which we call BSN. And we focus on showing how the so called infotainment world provides neither. Info nor entertainment. Just a lot of partisan noise dressed up as “news” or “commentary”.
We show the behind the scenes editorial meetings where the “news” is “crafted” and the resulting “product” that issues forth. Why do they tell such blatant falsehoods? Stay tuned, kids. We’ll show you.
It’s no surprise that journalists are viewed with the same disdain child molesters and politicians are. I know it seems unfair to the child molesters, but the MSM has mostly become a press release house for any Democrat or radical who issues a decree. The press is supposed to be a watchdog, instead they’re a lapdog for a select group of masters. Instead of taking on the establishment, they’re the propaganda arm of the establishment. It’s a joke. So I decided to make it one. The inspiration is endless.
Rather than be angry, I always think the best way to criticize something is to show how stupid it is. And comics are a great medium for communicating ideas. It’s a “Show, Don’t Tell” medium if you use it correctly. And besides, who doesn’t want to laugh at the things that annoy you? I know I do.
As you may or may not know, I’ve worked in the comics field since the mid-’80s. I had a TV show made from one of my books, been nominated for awards. I’m even an Eisner Judge this year, which is the comics’ industry’s Oscar. Val Mayerik has been doing comics since the ’70s. He was the artist on Howard the Duck and did the Savage Sword of Conan among many others for Marvel and DC. He’s since become an amazing painter and commercial illustrator. Val decided to use a “Mort Drucker” style on the strip. Drucker was one of the main artists of the classic Mad Magazine parodies.
Look for the first ‘toon tomorrow. We plan on doing it weekly from then on out.
* WPE – Worst President Ever