Reel Politik

by Nathan Gelgud, Tracy Hurren (editor)

An absurdist comic strip satire of cinephilia in the attention economy


A specter is haunting the cinema. A contrarian crew of small town theatre employees trade quips about directors, film criticism, and contemporary moviegoing, but underneath their banter and clashes with customers, an ideology begins to take shape. With the help of a dissatisfied cinephile and some witchy magic, the employees radicalize, take over the theatre, and seize the means of projection.

What starts out as a workplace comedy simmers and then explodes into an absurdist Marxist-Leninist cinema-focused tract. The Reel Politik revolutionaries demand that we ditch the small screens in our pockets for the big ones in the theater as they take on streaming services, phone addiction, algorithms, phony democracy, and the conventions of moviegoing etiquette. Does that mean they hijack the Criterion Closet van? You bet it does.

Cartoonist Nathan Gelgud both champions and lampoons the aspirations and failures of cinema and not a single sacred cinematic cow goes un-punched in this manifesto for revolution through film.

Genres: Comics, Film, Graphic Novels

172 pages, Paperback

Published November 4, 2025

Reviews

[Ryan Chang · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the funniest book I’ve read this year.

When my buddy Davis sent me one of Nathan Gelgud’s comic strips on Instagram, I felt like I was instantly hooked. Reel Politik is a hilarious send up of movie going culture in its current moment, mixing it with leftist politics. As a frequent Los Angeles rep theater attendee, i saw so so many types of people I know lovingly made fun of in this book. It’s like Nancy but for cinephiles.

[Lightmyacid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t tell if it was tankie or making fun of tankies and I couldn’t tell if it was cynical or just self critical but I saw myself and everyone I know in this, and I laughed at us, which is nice.

[Jason Pollard · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

A fun time at the movies! Not a very satisfying or complete narrative, but I suppose that narrative IS merely a tool of the bourgeoisie...

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely pocket-sized collection of the comics that kept me sane on a daily basis for the past year. Genuinely funny and smart as hell.

[Kieran Westphal · Rating 3 out of 5]

not exactly what I’d call “funny”—occasionally a punch line lands well enough to elicit a brief, sharp exhale. perhaps my proximity to the material stifles the humor a little. as a guy who’s worked in arthouse cinemas for entirely too many years, and who spent his elective credits at clown college on film & labor studies, I suppose I’ve heard it all before. but then, if this book isn’t for me… who in the world is it for?

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great fusion of what are clearly Gelgud’s deep interest in and knowledge of cinema and revolutionary politics, with the humor to lovingly poke fun at each of them. Also has a lot of the structural pleasure of a funny pages strip with a gag at the end, and occasional digressions from the main plot (some of which were my favorite parts).

[Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I associate Drawn & Quarterly and Fantagraphics and all the in-group cool kid publishers of indie comics with decades of promoting right wing libertarianism so it’s sort of funny to see them publish a tankie comic but I suppose they don’t actually care as long as it sells.

[Michael Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Chris Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Some clever, niche jokes here (Godard! Letterboxd!)

[Katelyn Schreiver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly little quick read