Sarah Palin the Crypt Keeper

I've made mention before that Omnicomic is not going to be an advocate for either Presidential candidate. I will admit though were Stephen Colbert actually running for the office outside of next week's Amazing Spider-Man I would vote for him in a heartbeat, but I digress. In any case, more and more publishers are getting on board with bringing politics into comics, and EC Comics is no exception. In Tales From the Crypt #8 (which ships later this month), Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is depicted on the cover as the hockey mom that she is. Wielding a hockey stick, she is chasing down the Crypt Keeper, Vault-Keeper and the Old Witch while asking "didn't we get rid you guys in the 1950s?" Now comic book fans know that EC Comics editor William Gaines dealt with his fair share of censorship issues from the government back in the day (if you haven't read Ten Cent Plague I highly recommend it), and an editorial in the issue written by Cathy Gaines Mifsud alludes to this. The cover is a response to Palin's comment made to a librarian about removing controversial books from the library but is also a representation of what Mifsud's father went through. Comics have come a long way. Gone are the days when they were seen as poison for the minds of youths. Now they are one of the biggest forms of entertainment around, and are drawing top name writing and artist talent. But they like so many other mediums of entertainment they will continue to be questioned in terms of validity in general. It is important that we not lose sight of the value in comic books and books in general, in that they are important in fostering creativity and imagination in youth. Banning books of any type should never be an option (unless you're banning the Necronomicon, which of course has world destroying capabilities).