Collective Action Comics

CW: Discussions of assault Between commodifying relationships and driving the need for imperial expansion, capitalism sure has done a number on this world. While all workers are victims of it, there are those upon whom the blows fall more heavily. Concurrently, there are those who, by the very nature of capitalist occlusion (and exclusion), are either bribed or hoodwinked into being foot soldiers...

Found on 1/25/23 Is this a message? A warning? Who left this for us? If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of the subject of the recording, please email collectiveactioncomics@gmail.com. Solidarity.

[Heads up for this one: The intro contains a real 911 call that some might find disturbing. I certainly did.] Do you have an adequate support structure in times of crisis? Beyond your family or your personal savings (if you've even got any)? Social safety nets are being taken from us every day. Some more rapidly and violently than others. This is deliberate and nefarious, but it can't begin to com...

In the corporate-funded presentation of politics, the actions of a "destined" few among the "everyday" many are highlighted and made to seem necessary and inevitable. This is reinforced by an entertainment industry that delivers these narratives in flashy and convincing ways. This trope of the "heroes" being removed from or above the masses serves only those currently benefitting from our belief i...

Things are being taken from us. Even many who have been systemically shielded from the violence of this decay are beginning to notice. What is there to do about this rot from the right? Who can save us from it? Don't go looking to the Ultimates for answers. (Ultimate Celebrity Sighting Count: 3) Follow the show here: https://twitter.com/cacomixpod https://www.instagram.com/collectiveactioncomics/

People deserve heroes. People deserve aspirational stories. People also deserve the truth. All time and forever. In this episode, we discuss the modern myth making of the Bush administration and its complicit media and how this may have manifested itself in the Ultimates - a cinematic trudge through the mud of nationalism and the lionization of the US response to terrorism. (Ultimate Celebrity Sig...

Broke my dang microphone.

It's a brand new season here at Collective Action Comics! Last time, we cringed as Ronald Reagan molded the world for a capitalistic and mean-spirited Justice League to thrive in. Now, we must stare horrified into the storm of war. New York has been attacked. An oil-rich scapegoat has been chosen. All that's left is for George W. Bush to whip the country into a frenzy of bloodlust, and he knows ju...

Setup: What do cannabis and kryptonite have in common? Punchline: Comics publishers and US Presidents have no idea what they actually do to people. Today we sit down with senior staff writer for ScreenRant Shaun Corley( https://twitter.com/CorleyonthShore )as he hits some key notes on the history of superhero comics and their often antagonistic relationship with illicit drugs and their subsequentl...

As an idea, Superheroes are inherently right wing - at least in some regards and with only a cursory investigation. Foremost recipient of this criticism is Batman, and generally rightly so. But is there more to him than the surface-level misuse of capital? The Black Casebook is in the studio with CAC to present Batman as the shifting reflection of many philosophies and many, MANY personal masks.

In this bonus episode, we get to hear from J.R. Hughto and Curt Merlo, the creative team behind the fantastic dystopian sci-fi comic "That Distant Fire." We sit down to talk about comics, corporate crunch, and the crafting of a conscious narrative. I also have the pleasure and privilege of making a special announcement for the comic! As promised in the episode, here's a link to sign up for Black E...

Are things really as bad as they seem? No. They're so much worse. In this season finale, we conclude our deep dive into power and influence. We see how the Reagan era truly marks the point of no return for the capitalist world. We'll learn just why we're made to believe that other countries are evil, despite the United States doing everything it accuses our "official" enemies of and far more. Our...

You filthy animals can get the rest if you subscribe to the Patreon!

What makes a country "free?" Is it the right to do whatever you want all the time? Some of the time? Within reason? The United States fails to meet any of these arbitrary qualitative plateaus. Is it the right to food? to housing? to basic dignity? The US is lightyears from approaching this definition. Is it the right to be physically subdued by a mind controlled child of unspeakable magical power?...

Y'ever get the feeling you're just screaming into the void? Have you ever felt like you can only ever express your dissatisfaction by breaking something? Or possibly by performing an ancient ritual to give you an all-seeing eye and the power to shape reality? Your feelings are valid! In this episode, we tackle the idea of the utility of rage and protest, and (importantly) we cover why anger isn't...

So you want to be a billionaire. That's gonna cost you. But not really. In fact, you'll make money just for having money! And then you'll make even more money by stealing from the labor of everyone who works for you. But where are you going to put this money? Who's going to keep an eye on it for you? What are you going to do to the people who try to take their lives back? Congratulations! You've j...

It's pretty convenient that all of the enemies of the United States happen to be very strong and also very weak at the same time, right? It's also pretty cool that they're definitely not normal people like we are, because they all like the same things and have no opinions, agency, or autonomy. Or is that...us? In this episode, your host discusses some primo examples of American media flailing betw...

Long-term nuclear warnings substantially lose their sting when you consider that this Justice League series might be around for the rest of human history. Speaking of history...we do just that in this episode. We're trotting out the worst villains of all time - Saddam Hussein, the East India Company, and of course, the New York Times.

On this first episode of the pod, your host gibbers and howls about how neoliberal alienation resulted in a very bad superhero team and some even worse jokes.