Supporters of the Occupy Movement are stepping up their efforts to become even more comical than they are already. They have taken to the comic book world to spread their message, starting what they call Occupy Comics.
Matt Pizzolo, organizer of Occupy Comics, wrote of the project: "This book is intended to be a time capsule of the passions and emotions driving the movement. We are comic book & graphic novel artists and writers who've been inspired by the movement and hope to tell the stories of the people who are out there putting themselves at risk for an idea."
The Occupy Movement has already been heavily influenced by the comic book industry. V for Vendetta imagery figures prominently in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Guy Fawkes masks, which in the V for Vendetta comic books are worn by an anarchist antihero who attempts to destroy a totalitarian government, have been adopted by protesters as a symbol of their defiance of authority. The hacker group Anonymous identifies itself with Fawkes imagery. (Guy Fawkes was a real person who plotted to blow up Parliament in 1605.)
Numerous comic book writers have joined this project, including Alan Moore and David Lloyd, co-creators of the original V for Vendetta comic book. According to Wired, Pizzolo said that, "It's fair to say that Alan Moore and David Lloyd are unofficial godfathers of the current protest movement."
Moore himself is a fan of radical movements, arguing of the 60’s protests: "And when the state started to take us seriously and initiated countermeasures, the majority of us folded like bitches. Not all of us, but a good number. We weren't up for the struggle that had sounded so great in our manifestos."
It is doubtful whether Moore and others have examined their own rhetoric. The proceeds from the sales of Guy Fawkes masks worn by protesters go to benefit the Time Warner corporation. Since the movement is ostensibly opposed to big business, the irony is delicious and speaks volumes. But the OWS movement has always struggled to define its goals, and Occupy Comics is no exception. The about section of its website states: "This is an attempt to add the voices of comic book artists and writers to the chorus of 'We are the 99%.' That's all we know so far."
