Muse-ing for Free Speech in Missoula

By Chris La Tray, Unfiltered 6-30-06

Muse-ing for Free Speech in Missoula


"There is a comic book for every reader," says Amanda Fisher of Muse Comics in Missoula. "Comics can give you something that prose literature and art can’t accomplish alone." Saturday the spotlight of comic book fandom shines bright on Missoula, thanks to Amanda and Muse Comics, when "Superman Returns" hits the big screen. Sure, the movie actually started on Wednesday, but what makes Saturday so special is that for a $10 donation to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, you can see the movie in the company of one of the most important artists in the comics business today, Jim Lee. Lee, accompanied by fellow creators Ale Garza, Carlos D'Anda, and Sandra Hope, will be in town signing all manner of who-knows-whats at Muse Comics on Saturday, prior to heading over to see the movie.

Although the Man of Steel has been an icon since the 40s, and is one of the most recognizable “brands” in the world, Jim Lee is a huge part of the character's recent surge in popularity. Lee’s provided stunning artwork during a run on the legendary hero's title book in 2004. That stretch followed a critically-lauded 12-issue Batman run in 2003, when Lee worked with writer Jeff Loeb, that produced the iconic hero’s story "Batman - Hush.” Considering that Lee has also produced sales milestones for titles like The X-Men, one of the flagship books for Marvel Comics, it is clear this artist has been an integral part of some cornerstone elements of modern comics culture.

One may wonder what is so special about an event like this; after all, it's just comic books, right? Comics, and all that go along with them: games, toys, video games, anime, etc., are a huge industry. For fans of the art form, like me, this is a very, very big deal. It is made all the sweeter because it is not happening in Chicago, or New York, or San Diego; it is happening in my home town. It almost brings a tear to my eye imagining Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons stating, "This event is the greatest comic event . . . ever."

Comic Book Guy, like the image of buff men and buxom women in tights, are comic culture stereotypes. Those elements can be found all too often, but it is important to note that what we have happening in Missoula is not supporting this stereotype. Amanda Fisher is nothing if not the polar opposite of Comic Book Guy. Where that archetype brings to mind images of a shop that appears like some smelly guy's basement bedroom (in his parent’s house, no less), Muse is a bright, clean shop, and Amanda is no fanboy. First and foremost she is a small business owner filling a niche market, and so far things are going quite well. Not just a comic shop, Muse also sells games, toys, and collectibles, in addition to being a gathering place for youth. Walk in any night of the week and you will find kids of all ages engaged in card games, board games, or role playing games in the area at the back of the store. Those pickup events combine with the regularly-scheduled weekly events for various other acrtivities to make Muse quite a bustling scene of youthful, and not-so-youthful, activity.

The Jim Lee extravaganza is just the most recent example of Amanda's hard work on behalf of Missoula and comicdom; Amanda's networking in the industry has seen Missoula pop up in some unusual places. Take last year's Justice League of America #110 comic. Open up to page 4, and there you see an image of downtown Missoula, with a Muse Comics signpost hanging on a building face. The Flash and Green Lantern are eating in a diner that could be The Uptown, just before taking off to smite villainy elsewhere in Missoula County (the idea of burly men in tights in downtown Missoula isn’t so difficult to fathom, is it?). This didn't happen because some writer happened to throw a dart at a map that stuck in Missoula. Writer Kurt Busiek, another creator enjoying significant mainstream success in the industry, provided the nod to Amanda and Muse as a friendly gesture. At the opposite end of the spectrum, earlier this year indie creator Brian Wood's "Local" comic unfolded entirely at Dixie's Diner in East Missoula. In this story we see a dark tale of estranged brothers arguing over the inheritance from their dead father. No mere coincidence either, this story; Wood was a guest of Muse two years ago, and Amanda even provided reference photos for the artwork. In particular, “Local” is an example of the great work being done in the genre at the independent level.

Muse Comics began it's life in Missoula in 1996 as The Splash Page. Amanda, a college student who had worked for the Billings owner of Muse, was the manager. In January of 2002 she and partner Jeff McElroy took over ownership of the store. A new name and a complete facelift later and Muse Comics was born. As a word, Muse makes reference not only as a source of inspiration, but is also a term that means to ponder, or wonder. "I like that," says Amanda, "because I love the idea of comics-as-inspiration to readers and art lovers, and yet I still think that most people don't quite understand the beauty of this medium. We played off the meanings of 'wonder' in the tag line in our logo, 'Words — Pictures — Wonder.'"

As a market, comics have changed in the years that Amanda has been in the business. In the 90s the industry was booming for collectors. Much like sports cards, there were huge conventions where people were buying and selling issues for astonishing amounts of money, and the publishers responded in kind with alternate versions of comic titles with limited release fancy foil covers and rare, variant artwork. While some of that practice remains, the boom for collecting faded, and the market changed focus. Now much of the industry relies on the sale of graphic novels – longer stories or collections of a series of stories -- and for many this is where the strength and attraction of comic storytelling reaches its zenith. Just ask Hollywood.

The past year alone has seen a couple movies released based on graphic novels, John Wagner's "A History of Violence" and the enigmatic Alan Moore's "V for Vendetta." Both movies were successful, and, for Moore, it was his third story to be adapted. The first two were the Johnny Depp vehicle "From Hell" and Sean Connery in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." Those movies didn't fare so well, but box office success, and Moore's own vocal grousing to anyone who will listen about the “twisting of his work”, has not slowed down SoCal's rush to turn more comic property into popcorn sales. This week it was announced the reins have been picked up on another Moore story, the groundbreaking "Watchmen" graphic novel from 1986/87. That story, along with Frank Miller's classic Batman tale "The Dark Knight Returns", are by consensus the watershed moments when the comics genre became a viable "adult" market at the mainstream level. That point is critical, as a large part of today’s comic buying demographic are adults.

Comics in the movie theater are a big business, and big bucks. The steady stream of releases over the past few years alone should make that obvious: Hulk, Daredevil, the Blade trilogy, Hell Boy, The Fantastic Four, the revived Batman franchise that bounced back strong with last year's "Batman Begins" movie, and last month's “X-Men: The Last Stand”, just to name a few. More are on the horizon as well; “Ghost Rider” is imminent, the trailer to the third installment of the Spider-Man franchise is being teased at Superman, and sequels to Hulk, Batman, and The Fantastic Four have been green-lighted. Finally, other characters are being queued up for tinsel town, including Wonder Woman, The Flash, and even Captain "Shazam!" Marvel. Not to be left behind, the small screen is eyeing the lucre. Always a mainstay on cable channels like F/X and The Sci-Fi Channel, super-powered humans are being featured in a show premiering on NBC called “Heroes.”

From a purely economic standpoint, comic movies work. "X-Men: The Last Stand" was the highest grossing Memorial Day debut in history, raking in over $107 million, soundly thrashing the previous record of “Jurassic Park: The Lost World.” Of all Friday - Sunday debuts, "X-Men: The Last Stand" ranks fourth best, behind (you guessed it!) "Spider-Man" ($114.8M), "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" ($108.4M), and "Shrek 2" ($108M). By its third week of release it was the top grossing film of the year at around $200M. Superman, if the positive reviews hold up, will likely surpass it. X-Men wasn't even reviewed particularly well, but that didn't matter -- people kept going. We love our big explosions and bright characters, and comic movies more than give us our fix. Cyclical or not, the end is not yet in sight for comic book movies.

Blockbusters and dollar signs are only part of the comic industry, and for those of us who appreciate it as an art form it isn't the best side either. Like music, much of the truly compelling work is being done at the independent level, all around the county, by small publishing houses and DIY self-publishers. Curious about Superman but don't necessarily want to throw your hard-earned dough at the big studios, then? Muse can help you out. For a $10 donation to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, you can get a ticket at Muse to see the movie Saturday night. The CBLDF exists to fight censorship and defend the first amendment rights of comic book professionals throughout the United States. In the past five years, the CBLDF has raised over $200,000 to pay expenses related to defending freedom of speech and expression, and the battle continues. As conservatism and consolidation seeks to overwhelm the publishing industry, the CBLDF continues to raise the money and awareness needed to fight the censors at each point. These aren't the big houses like DC and Marvel that are getting pinched necessarily, it's the little independent guys . . . but it wasn't always like that.

We have quite a tradition of censorship in this country. It starts as early as 1792, when The Alien and Sedition Acts, which regulated the activities of foreigners and the political speech of citizens, were adopted by Congress. Newspaper publishers immediately muzzled their writers and cartoonists for fear of fines and incarceration. Since then, censors have always tended to pick on the comic industry because they regard comics as products for kids and thus view adult/mature comics as inappropriate, or even illegal. This concern led to the creation of the Comics Code Authority. The CCA was founded in 1954 in response to public concern about what was deemed inappropriate material in many comic books. This "inappropriate material" ranged from violence and gore (as depicted by the horror comics that were surfacing in those days, which seem quite tame to 21st century eyes) through seductive titles heavy with sexual innuendo. Originally, per the Code, artists and writers could not depict scenes of excessive violence, gore, or sex. Figures of authority could not be disrespected or ridiculed, and the good guys always had to win. The CCA never had legal authority to enforce these measures, but often magazine distributors refused to carry comics without the CCA's seal of approval, so following their requirements was almost a necessity by anyone who wanted their work on the newsstands.

In the 1960s, independent and DIY comics, produced and sold underground, began to appear. These works couldn’t reach newsstands anyway, so they were free to snub their noses at the CCA. In 1971, Marvel Comics bossman and Spiderman creator Stan Lee was approached by the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to do a comic book story about drug abuse. His story would not pass the CCA stamp of approval -- they did not like the appearance of drugs in the story, regardless of the context -- but Marvel did it anyway. The 3-issue run was well received, and the stranglehold the CCA had on the industry was weakened. Slowly the CCA began to relax its requirements, if grudgingly, and always behind the times. As societal views changed, and new distribution channels opened up to creators that allowed them to skirt the newsstands where the CCA reigned, the relevance of the CCA dissipated. Today, Marvel comics has abandoned the CCA in favor of their own ratings system, and only a couple of DC lines still bear the CCA seal of approval. As a result there are titles that exist specifically for children, but there are also titles, whether from Marvel’s “M” line of comics or DC’s “Vertigo” line, that cater to adults.

None of this means that censorship doesn't still exist. The CBLDF's guiding principle is that comics should be accorded the same constitutional rights as literature, film, or any other form of expression, and there are many cases each year where that principle is assaulted, particularly in the more graphic instances of adult comics and the stores who sell them. These "obscenity" cases have seen the closing of stores, the loss of livelihoods, and the upheaval of many lives. Given the swing rightward of much of the country in recent years, it is clear that much more work will need to be done, and like every non-profit, the CBLDF needs all the money they can raise.

This event with Jim Lee, Superman, and Muse isn't the first time Amanda has spearheaded drives to raise money for the CBLDF, and it certainly won't be the last. It just happens to be the best yet, and it's happening this weekend. Head down to Muse, get a comic book signed by one of the best in the business, and make a donation to a worthy cause in return for a ticket to what promises to be a pretty entertaining flick. Support free speech, and support a local small business owner!


Jim Lee & co will be signing from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM, then it's off to the theater. Muse Comics & Games is at 2100 Stephens #107, and can be reached by phone at 406-543-9944.

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