Class war comics

by Clifford Harper

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Rick Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally projected to be at least six issues, Cliff Harper's Class War Comix was set to, in his own words, deal with "two basic problems that have always faced our society: how to change it and what to change it to." Though the series never progressed beyond this first issue, the foundation for Harper's vision was pretty clear here. We observe a utopian rural commune composed of a couple thousand people that work together for the betterment of everyone. There is no governance, instead all decisions are governed by collaborative enterprise. Even traditional social conventions of marriage, education and commerce are not dictated by conventional norms, but are all rather flexible.

Harper's artwork is rigid and bold, giving the comic a vibe of a "how to" more so than it reads like a traditional comic narrative. The blocky text also reads a lot like a pamphlet or manifesto, which one could readily argue this is. I'm a fan of overly political comics and cartoons, so this really scratched that itch. A shame there was never more of this, but as I understand it, Harper went on to do a lot more political illustrations and publications throughout his career, all while espousing his militant anarchist philosophies.