Those watching the Congressional testimony on Wednesday of former Trump fixer Michael Cohen were privy to a special sight: five minutes of rigorous questioning from freshman New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Sober, methodical, lawyerly—and potentially highly damaging—her line of inquiry was highly praised for its directness and ability to open new facets of investigation.
Call her a hero, which is exactly how she’s depicted in the new comic book Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Freshman Force.
The project, which will hit bookstores May 15, is the brainchild of Josh Blaylock, publisher of Chicago’s Devil’s Due Comics. Some of the proceeds are going to Raices Texas, which offers free and low-cost legal aid to immigrants and refugees. (You can order the title at OcasioComic.com.)
© 2019 Devil’s Due Publishing.
Comics fans will find lots of familiar names among the contributors, such as Dean Haspiel (Emmy-winning title designer and collaborator with Harvey Pekar on the comic American Splendor) and Jose Garibaldi (one of the artists behind Lego Movie 2). The cover is by artist and writer Tim Seeley (an illustrator who has worked on Green Lantern and Batman). Other artists and writers include Christa Cassano, Marguerite Dabaie, Jill Thompson, and Peter Rostovsky, and the list is still growing.
© 2018 Devil’s Due Publishing.
Blaylock and company are clearly having a great time: on their website, in addition to English, you can read about the comic in “Presidential,” a riff on Trump’s distinctive voice: “It’s Alexandria O’Casio Cortez and the Freshman Force of ‘Congress’ vs. the estableshment [sic] in this all new special full of UNFAIR LIES!!!” And, speaking of targets of Trump’s wrath, Devil’s Due comics has paid tribute to popular Democrats before (see the house’s previous title Barack the Barbarian: No F#¢*s Left to Give).
“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Freshman Force:
New Party Who Dis?” © 2019 Devil’s Due Publishing.
Ocasio-Cortez weighed in on the comic book, speaking to—of all news outlets—TMZ. “It’s certainly an honor that people would put so much of their own time and talent into that all on their own,” the Congresswoman said when they caught her on camera. “If I can be that for a little girl somewhere where she can see herself being a superhero, I think that’s important for us to see we all have a superhero inside of us.”
As it turns out, a comic book devoted to the New York politician is not much of a stretch.
© 2019 Devil’s Due
“When you’re a comic book creator, you try to figure out how you can make every idea you have into a comic book,” Blaylock told artnet News by phone. “It’s a neurosis we have. I quickly became a fan of hers, but what really kicked it into high gear was her response on Twitter to a Politico story about establishment Democrats trying to rein her in. She responded with a line from the Watchmen comic, by Alan Moore, from when Rorschach gets locked up with all these bad guys he’s sent to prison: ‘None of you seem to understand. I’m not locked in here with you. You’re locked in here with me.’”
“The comics social media world went wild,” Blaylock said. “A million more geeks were falling in love with her. So we thought, ‘We’ve got to do this before someone else does.’”
See more images from the comic below.
“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Freshman Force:
New Party Who Dis?” © 2019 Devil’s Due Publishing.
© 2019 M. Dabaie.
© 2019 R. Sikoryak (after Frank Thorne).
“Where’s Mitch?” © 2019 Josh Baylock.
“Pence Man”© 2019 Josh Baylock.