Copaganda in Superhero Comics: Have We Made Progress?
โ Books ๐ 2025-08-13 ๐ค surdeus ๐๏ธ 9Four years ago, I discussed the history of copaganda in superhero comics. I reviewed how comics and their adaptations have historically depicted the police and other authorities in an unjustifiably positive light while supporting the idea that itโs okay to violate peopleโs rights if you claim to have a good reason for it, and how a few stories were inching towards more enlightened storytelling.
A lot has changed since 2021. Has any of it been for the better, at least in terms of copaganda in superhero comics? I decided to find out.
Methodology
My first idea was to read the bestselling superhero titles from 2024 and examine how they depicted the police. Alas, DC and Marvel are stingy with their sales figures, so we donโt know what their bestselling titles are. Instead, I went with Comics Beatโs multi-pronged analysis of the most popular individual issues from 2024 to select which series to read.
For DC, that worked out pretty well. These are the series I read:
- Absolute Batman (debuted October โ24)
- Absolute Superman (Nov โ24)
- Absolute Wonder Woman (Oct โ24)
- Justice League Unlimited (Nov โ24)
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