On D. J. Coffman’s blog website George Washington stares at me from behind a "star-spangled" bandana, almost daring me to challenge him. Below is a quote from another founding father John Adams "An honest man will never have any other." Our founding fathers were real hell raisers that defied the British Empire, the legal government at the time, and we should all respect these hooligans for giving birth to our nation.

The 32-year old Coffman has come a long way since 1998 when he first self-published Yirmumah, with his own brand of slapstick humor to kick his sometime collaborator Bob in the nuts and our funny bone.

In June, Coffman allied himself with the Flobots while at the same time publically estranged himself from Platinum Studios over non-payment for his Hero by Night webcomic. He suddenly became a highly public figure in the struggle between creators and the company.

Today Coffman also shows a very serious side of himself; a sequential artist, a thinker to be reckoned with, and a dreamer with a lot of fans. I caught up with Coffman recently:

CMix: How did you hook up with the politically active Flobots musical group?

DJ: Fate I suppose, and it all started with a sign. I don’t consider myself in anyone’s party per se, but I found myself agreeing with [Barack] Obama’s ideas of change. His quote "We are the ones we’ve been waiting for" made me think about hard work, and if you want something done you have to do it yourself. Back in April I created my own yard sign encouraging people to VOTE. I had seen a lot of pickups go by with rebel flags, and some even shouting out racial slurs. The ignorance I was surrounded with, and that my kids might witness, made me sick. I felt like I was the only one that was thinking about the future. Before they took off, I downloaded the Flobots’ Fight with Tools album, which I listened to continuously on the trip to and from the New York Comic-Con. While I was away that sign was stolen and my yard was trashed, right before the Pennsylvania primary. I painted another sign, and I would have continued just to exercise my freedom of speech, and not to have it silenced by any "Hillbillies." The album’s politically charged lyrics stuck a chord inside me, so I emailed the band to inquire about making a webcomic or graphic novel based on their positive lyrics. I quickly received an email reply from Stephen "Brer Rabbit" Brackett, who had heard of my work, and conversations grew from there. I told him about my sign and he replied, "It’s time to paint those signs!"
 

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“Spain” Rodriquez and “Che” Guevara. Manuel and Ernesto. Two legends, one living, the other, well, not so much.

Spain has been a cartoonist for more than 40 years, one of the first and most visible and influential storytellers of the underground comix movement. While others were preoccupied (often brilliantly) with their X-rated tributes to Harvey Kurtzman, Max Fleischer and other visionaries of their childhood, Spain was telling adventure stories of urban America, often featuring his character Trashman. His works have a strong left-wing tilt. He continues to be active, contributing to [[[American Splendor]]], Blab! and [[[Tikkun]]], and he produced the highly acclaimed graphic novel [[[Nightmare Alley]]] for Fantagraphics. He’s been fairly active in recent years on the comics convention circuit, often appearing with S. Clay Wilson.

Che was a handsome medical doctor (specializing in leprosy) and revolutionary, part of the insurgency force that overthrew the Cuban puppet dictator Fulgencio Batista and his American mobster masters, Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky. When, in 1967, he was killed as he was organizing in Bolivia, Che became more than a mere martyr: he became an icon. Today, his likeness (inspired by Jim Fitzpartick’s classic illustration) is well-merchandised by capitalist clothing manufacturers in America. He even had floor space at the New York Licensing Show a couple years ago.

It was only a matter of time before Spain turned his professional attentions to Che. Actually, I’m surprised it took this long.

If you’re one of those people who reduce Dr. Guevara’s work down to that of an evil godless Commie, then this graphic novel is the exact right thing for you, as long as your life insurance is paid up. If you think the left might have had legitimate cause for their actions, you’ll like this as well. If you’re open-minded and curious about the events immediately to America’s south during the 1950s and 1960s that had such an overwhelming impact on our society and our political system, then this book is essential.

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