Political Views

[CityBreak]

Do you think that if you were to share you political views with your fans that you would lose some? maybe even to the point alienation?

e.g. Let say a fan looks at you as an artistic role model or whatever. they want to be like you so they copy your style. they find out your a democrat or a republican. do you think they'll take on your political views?

Tom Preston has been known for showing a political side which has on deviant art sometimes caused flame wars

Let say you just found out that your favorite comic's creator has a completely different political view then you. could you really enjoy their comic the same way again knowing that this person agrees with everything you hate?

Sorry about this mini rant about politics but I would like to hear your thoughts on the subject

[eishiya]

If they merely have different views and mention them sometimes, I don't care. I'm comfortable with people not sharing my political views.
If they talk about their views constantly or use their comic as a soap box, I'll get fed up with that and stop reading their comics even if I agree with their views. Chances are, I'm not reading their comic for the political/social commentary. If the commentary is somewhere where I don't see it, such as a separate blog, then I probably won't ever know/care.

An exception to my usual "if I don't see it, I don't care" attitude would be bigots and such (and general jerkwads). If I'm aware that an author doesn't meet my standards for a decent human being, then I will not read or support their work even if it's not a soap box.


I haven't thought how my fans would feel if I started sharing my political views in public because that's not something I'm likely to ever do.

[RyoSoulreaper]

None. So Unaffiliated?

I don't like any. I've looked into the logistics and track record of a lot of political and government systems and they just don't do it for me, they either have failed or are not excepted by the people regardless of how it works.

[Ddraigeneth]

None. So Unaffiliated?

Not the question. On that note, however, a different topic title would probably get more appropriate views/responses.

I pretty much agree with what Eishiya said. I tend to avoid political commentary.

e.g. Let say a fan looks at you as an artistic role model or whatever. they want to be like you so they copy your style. they find out your a democrat or a republican. do you think they'll take on your political views?

The person would have to be pretty impressionable to begin with. I wouldn't think you could make any kind of blanket statement here, it relies on too many unique factors.

Of course being vocal about your views will alienate some fans, while making others latch onto you all the tighter. People love bipartisan arguments.

[robybang]

Tom Preston has been known for showing a political side which has on deviant art sometimes caused flame wars.

I think people hate Preston expressing his views because he does it so badly. He either strawmans the opposition to make himself look smart or put-upon, or he just expresses his opinions so unclearly or ham-fistedly, you'd take the opposing stance on principle. I think he did one where he had one of his characters gleefully reading a book report about Native Americans killing Americans, and a comic comparing the Aurora shooting to Jar Jar Binks. The fact that he has to explain what he really means in the comments under the pictures (that the Native Americans didn't deserve to be killed and stripped of their land by white people, and that the media was fanning the flames of the Aurora shooting for ratings) is a testament to his ability to articulate himself. Of course, his inability to express himself in comic form without coming off like a douche allows him to continue his self-delusion of being the only sane man in a world full of evil trolls who want to crush him for taking a stand.

To be fair, Preston isn't the only one with these problems, and these mindsets and tactics are the reason I get alienated by political works. Not so much the existence of politics, but how those politics are expressed. When the author wants to turn their work into an allegory where every character is either a strawman or a sock puppet, it all begins to feel like propaganda. If they don't let their ideas ruin the comic or they're expressed in a way that aren't ham-fisted, I can turn a blind eye to whatever they have to say. I don't know what I would do if they were a bigot or something though. My only experience I've had with it was Orson Scott Card, but the book I read was one of his later works where you could totally see his beliefs even while knowing nothing about him. But I think if I became a fan through one of his less-sucky works and then found out, I'd still enjoy what I read, but would find ways to enjoy the work while cutting off all financial support (buy used, use adblock so they don't get money from my pageviews, etc.)

[KirbyHead]

I'd much rather politics stay in politics and comics in comics, so it bugs me when people find ways to push in their political views in their comic, even if it's just in the author's comments and not in the actual comic itself. And, yes, it bugs me even if I agree with their political views. I know comic authors are people too and they're more than allowed to have their own stance on political affairs, but I feel like that should really have no place or bearing on a comic unless the comic is already politically inclined. In which case, I probably wouldn't be reading it anyway.

(Unless it's fake politics, like in the Tales series or something. I can get behind good presentations of fake politics any day.)

Robybang brought up Orson Scott Card, who I've always heard was something of a dick? I'm glad I read Ender's Game before I learned that, otherwise it might have negatively affected my reading experience. I know quite a few people on Tumblr who've made posts that have pretty much turned me off their comics, which are often fairly decent otherwise.

[UrbanMysticDee]

I DO read a comic by someone who agrees with everything I hate. I think it's inertia. I've been reading since 2002 and just keep coming back. Sometimes reading about people like me being made fun of is funny, sometimes it's annoying strawmen, but I keep coming back. As long as the story is good it doesn't bother me that much.

As for my couple of readers? I don't discuss economic policy in my comics, just the moral stuff, but that's because I focus on religion instead of politics. Moral issues are sort of my thing, and it's pretty hard not to notice, so if any of my couple of readers decide to stick around it must not bother them that much.

[SpiralPen]

I've actually run into two people whose work I'm rather fond of having political views that make my spine shiver. Or at least, my impression of their political views. At first, I was pretty irked, because I think your political views boil down into morality in the long run. They're representative of how you think things should be done in and for the place you live in and the other people who live there. So when somebody disagrees with you on that, it can be sort of jarring and make you think that perhaps you don't click with their opinions or style as much as you thought you did.
That said, taking a couple steps back will almost always do you good. I shook my head and told myself I wouldn't let those kind of silly things get to me, because really, those artists' political views had no place in me enjoying their work or them as people. I still watch and love these artists and continue to follow their work.

I think it's just jarring at first and that initial head-against-the-wall feeling of realizing this person you really like has fundamentally different views on something you think is so important can scare a lot of people off before they have the chance to rationalize.

But I think this is particularly relevant for people following other artists', comic authors or otherwise, because art is appealing in such a personal and individual way. I think people can't help but feel as though they understand or can relate with an artist when said artist's work really resonates with them or speaks to them. I think they feel as though they share something with the artist, and to suddenly find out that artist they thought they understood has "important" views that couldn't be further from their own can shatter that fragile, one-sided wall.

[corruption]

I don't have a comic but plan one. I am speaking strictly as a reader.

I live in Australia, and have no idea what is going on with American politics, and don't really care. i don't even know what is going with Australian politics, and don't really care as I know the parties are going to stuff us up no matter what, and the politicians never keep their word.

I hate it when political views are forced in webcomics as it messes the story up. Sometimes I do find it acceptable if it is properly woven into the comic, like in Edge: the Devilhunter and Sore Thumbs. Then again, as I don't really care about politics, it's no wonder I enjoy obsessed people like Fairbanks in Sore Thumbs making fools of themselves.

[DragonHat]

my comic sorta deals with politics??? not real politics but like, fakey fake politics that are more "media circus" than discussing the issues.

but given the content of the comic, i'd be kinda surprised if people didn't know i'm like, hella liberal

[SuperBiasedMan]

Of course I wouldn't lose fans, because my views are the correct ones.

[pwii]

Of course I wouldn't lose fans, because my views are the correct ones.

^THIS

But also

I like reading political comics as long as they're good. Watchmen was satirizing in my general direction, but I love it to death because it's done WELL. Political comics are supposed to be good arguments too. Even if they don't change people's minds, they should give them something new to think about.

But as a general rule, a story should be about politics or not. You can't hook readers then sneak in your rants and hope you'll get away with it.(I'm looking at you Maxximum Ride 4)

[mosama]

I don't think my readers would care if they disagreed with my political perspective. And I would still enjoy my favorite comics regardless of their political views, religious views, or whatever else. Bleedman's a borderline pedophile and I still love him.

[blankd]

I don't really share political views because there's no real place for them in the author's comments or necessarily in my comic. The only "politics" in my comic are of course fictional ones and relate more to ethics/philosophy(??) than politics. If one of my fans were to outright ask me what my political views were, I might answer them but I can't think of any real reason otherwise to share it. I think mild political jokes are fine to make, but even then I wouldn't really risk doing it myself.

I've also noticed (and this could just be me) but the artists that tend to REALLY vocalize their political views in their comments or in their comics do it in such a ham-handed way that I drop their comic and any real contact with them. (For those curious, one would make a habit of linking completely unrelated political news in their author comments. Another tried to rally up their supporters to attack someone else on the internet for having differing views.)

I have nothing against political comics or comics that explore ideas in politics since it can be interesting and intelligent, I have yet to really find a comic that openly and explores this well, but then again my memory might be selective. I figure if a comic does it well enough I won't really notice it. If it's plainly a soapbox comic though, chances are I wouldn't follow it.

In that same vein, authors are allowed to express what views and stances they hold but aside from the examples I gave I think they're more of a case by case basis, unless the author is doing something morally wrong, in which case I'd stop supporting them in any way possible.

[ZephyrPrower]

I'd like to mention that there are several factors that would affect the likelihood of losing fans and how many. There is probably a correlation with the extremity of the political views. I think a political extremist, regardless of whether right or left-winged, regardless of which party, is more likely to lose fans than someone more centered. There is probably also a correlation between the frequency or depth of the political discussion. Most people would probably pass over an occasional comment or two that relate to politics, but if there's an entire political paragraph or if it shows up in every other comic/comment, its persistent returns can come across as pushy.

First impressions do create an influence, too. Sometimes, if I get hooked into a comic first, I tend to brush aside small things I learn about the author/artist that don't necessarily agree with me. But if I'm not hooked into it, or if it's not something I read regularly, I'm more likely to be affected by how I see the author/artist.

For my webcomic and I, I prefer to never mention politics or religion in the comic, alt text, or author comment. Those topics are pretty much reserved for my personal Facebook (ie. real-life friends).