#chaykin

The beast you nicknamed Time Eater is back. One eye. One mouth. Two hands that don’t follow the rules. But this time… a new trick on its face. A new bite. A mechanical tongue that spins and a complication that is so Chaykin. A Time Eater Tourbillon, still carrying all the codes of the LE x KC saga. Two Tourbillon versions, one for him, one for us, with a price that doesn’t bite even with a…

Written by Dee Seabrook, Editor of Kamikaze Two days ago, 4 Muslim people were acid bombed in London and the media didn’t cover it. Yesterday a man tried to drive a car through a crowd in front of a mosque, and 8 people were injured near by because of a mass shooting. Mosques are bombed both in Asia and in western countries. They’re not labeled as acts of terrorism unless they occur at the hands of Middle Easter terrorist organizations. This supposed dystopic future that Howard Chaykin has “created” in The Divided States of Hysteria is someone’s reality.  

The voices of black and brown people are constantly silenced under the guise of, “Everyone faces hardship, get over it,” and “but what about [insert other persons tragedy here]?” and more. This is often said by people who don’t live the experiences of these marginalized groups. Chaykin may have had intentions of giving a voice to the voiceless but he missed his mark. What’s worse is after the interview with Freaksugar.com it’s clear he doesn’t know who his work has offended. He has taken strides to make sure he cannot hear of the trauma he’s caused unless framed through the voice of his friends and confidants. His target audience are the very people being hurt by this.

There is a serious disconnect between the creator and the audience he thinks he’s writing this for. Chaykin says that his point is to show how the bully mongering of the right-wing and the disorganization of leftists is going to create a future where people are tortured and lynched on the street without recourse. This overlooks the reality that we live in today. The Divided States of Hysteria opens with minorities either being terrorists or being graphically tortured. The tone of the comic overall gives the idea that everyone is horrible.

In his afterward he talks about how both political parties are nihilistic and only out for themselves. There’s something to be said about the hypocritical nihilism exuded when every character is doing something dangerous, cruel, or unlawful and your moral compass is a severely battered trans-gendered prostitute. The roles in which he’s placed people don’t do anything to better the lives of the LGBT community and certainly don’t help any other minorities. It only serves to perpetuate a fear of minorities.

If his goal is to show a juxtaposition to what is current reality and our impending future, he is extremely out of touch. The reality and lives of others are not his to capitalize on. Using a fear that people live every day to create torture porn for an audience, who he could only intend to be cis-gendered and white, serves only to create and sustain misplaced fears of terrorism for that audience.

Dystopias are not meant to be current reality. Handmaid’s Tale is bleak but still has hope. 1984 still has hope. Saga, another Image comic, is dystopic but still centered around hope. There is no hope in The Divided States of Hysteria. What we’re given is a make-shift terrorist organization which comes across as a darker version of the Justice Friends. There should always be a will or desire to rise above the evils that occur within a dystopian world. When hope is eliminated, all that is left is fear and loathing. Why should anyone want to experience a story if that’s all there is to offer?

As for the 4th cover that brought this comic to the forefront and inspired so many disdainful think-pieces, Chaykin shouldn’t assume that people are offended by just the image without context. Suggesting that people should get over it is incredibly dismissive. He should ask a Western Asian/Middle Eastern person how they feel seeing a graphic image of someone who could be them displayed in a way that portrays a fear they cope with every day.

Ask a Western Asian/Middle Eastern person what it’s like to have people call you a slur, spit on you, send death threats to your home or worse. Ask them what it’s like to find their struggle monetized for shock value on the cover of a comic as if it’s no big deal. Better yet, ask yourself how you would feel if you woke up to see an image of someone who looks like you in such a vulgar display. Decide for yourself if that’s the type of media you would like to see.

A note about Image: Image Comics has been a spearhead of diversity and inclusion when talking about the top comic companies. Their work includes stories by marginalized people with a wide array of wonderful and talented storytelling and subject matter. To see a company who has earned so much respect by minority groups publish a book, and later stand by said publishing after being told they’re hurting people, feels like a betrayal. We as fans and as creators deserve better.

The Divided States of Hysteria does not fit within the repertoire of Image Comics, and is an extreme oversight in their approval process. This was not their quality control’s finest hour. Because of that, our team would like to recommend other publishers who also hire minorities. Valiant, Aftershock, Iron Circus, Oni Press, Stranger Comics, Top Shelf, YouNeek Studios, Peep Game Comics, and Lion Forge are all companies who maintain integrity through careful curation and thoughtfulness of their content. We highly recommend checking out this twitter thread by TheBlerdGurl where you can find recommendations for great titles by minority creators.