It looks like the Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book creator of Maus, Art Spiegelman, no longer plans to work on his Marvel project after he was asked to remove criticisms of incumbent President Donald Trump from his work.
According to a report by the Guardian, (via Vulture) Spiegelman has decided to withdraw his introduction essay for Marvel: The Golden Age 1939 – 1949 collection by Folio Society after being asked to take out criticisms against the president in his written piece. In the essay for the collection, the Maus comic book writer decided to explore Marvel's political background, pointing out how the publication's stories and offerings were used to deal with political issues during and immediately after World War II. These stories made commentary about the Nazis and about fascism, something which Spiegelman tied to the present by referring to Trump as a comparison.
In his essay, Spiegelman calls the President as an "Orange Skull" that "haunts America," a reference which nods both to Trump and to the classic Captain America villain, the Red Skull.
The comic book writer completed his introduction for Folio Society's anthology during the end of June, however, an editor from the publication late on contacted him saying that Marvel Comics wanted to stay "apolitical." Spiegelman was asked to remove or edit the Orange Skull reference, saying that if he didn't, then the introduction wouldn't be published.
The Maus creator decided against making any changes to the essay.
"I didn't think of myself as especially political compared with some of my fellow travelers, but when asked to kill a relatively anodyne reference to an Orange Skull I realized that perhaps it had been irresponsible to be playful about the dire existential threat we now live with, and I withdrew my introduction," Spiegelman explained.
Though the essay didn't make it to Marvel: The Golden Age 1939 – 1949, it did get published in Guardian along with an explanation from Spiegelman.
What do you think of this issue? Should Spiegelmen have edited his piece, or do you admire him for standing up for his work? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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