Politics have always played a large role in Star Wars. The saga's namesake "wars" -- the Separatists vs. the Republic and later the Empire vs. the Rebellion -- were essentially political conflicts. Padmé and Leia were diplomatic senators first, gun-toting heroines second. And, of course, Palpatine will probably be remembered as the most Machiavelian politician of all.
While there's a heavy dose of politics in Star Wars, there's also a pinch of Star Wars in modern politics -- at least in the hands of today's political cartoonists.
Collector Bill Plumb has been a Star Wars fan just about as long as he's been politically active -- he marched for civil rights as a teenager and worked for the United Farm Workers of America after receiving his Masters in Social Work at UC Berkeley. In other words, Bill was a Star Wars political cartoon collector waiting to happen.
"Political cartoons offer a new perspective on current events," says Plumb. "Historically they have triggered events that change the course of history. Next to the sports page, the first newspaper section I would read as a child was the op-ed pages. I loved the political cartoons."
In the spirit of the political season, we asked Plumb about the extensive collection of Star Wars political cartoons he's compiled over the last three decades, and how he chased down some of his favorite pieces.
What first got you interested in collecting Star Wars political cartoons?
My Star Wars collection started evolving in the late 1970s. I first collected all of the Marvel comic books, graduating to the toys with an emphasis on the Kenner small action figures. At the 1981 San Diego Comic Con, I saw the original art for the first Star Wars comic poster, created by Howard Chaykin. It was gorgeous. I pondered its purchase, but the price seemed very high for my meager finances. On the final convention day I decided to bite the bullet, but I missed the purchase by an hour. My total collection emphasis changed at that moment. Original Star Wars artworks were gorgeous. They were one-of-a-kind. From that day on my collection pursuits switched to original art.
What was the first Star Wars-related piece of cartoon art you found?
The first was one created by Tony Auth, political cartoonist of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Ronald Reagan is asleep, dreaming of his SDI [Strategic Defense Initiative] proposal. Overhead in his "balloon" dream are X-wing fighters in battle. Upon purchase I subsequently developed a great friendship with Mr. Auth and eventually added more than 20 of his editorial cartoons to my collection of over 200 cartoon original artworks.
Why do you think Star Wars was so popular among cartoonists?
Pop icons present a particularly effective method of portraying alternative realities. Star Wars the movie was seen by millions of people. Everyone recognizes Darth Vader and Yoda. It was only natural that political cartoonists would utilize these easily recognizable icons in their cartoon political commentaries. The icons capture the imagination and spark a dialogue of what might be. In the early 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan was first proposing the Strategic Defense Initiative, the newspaper political cartoonists had a field day utilizing the pop icons of Star Wars. The reader could relate to the Star Wars characters and thus to the cartoonist's desired message. It can be said that these editorial cartoons had a hand in the defeat of Reagan's SDI proposal to Congress.
Do you collect the cartoons from the humor magazines as well, such as MAD and Cracked?
I certainly added humor magazine original artworks to my editorial cartoon collection. My emphasis was on MAD Magazine because of their wonderful satires on world leaders, current events and pop culture. I soon became aware, however, that the cover artworks were unobtainable because George Lucas himself was enamored with MAD. All of the cover artworks are in his possession.
How did you go about researching and finding the cartoons?
It was more difficult in the early '80s because there was not an Internet. I would go to the local library and peruse the Sunday editions of the newspapers they had on hand from around the country. Many of the larger newspapers would do a week ending (Sunday) compilation of the best editorial cartoons that week. Newsweek magazine also did a year ending tribute to the best cartoons that previous year. Pelican Press has done an annual book publication of the best editorial cartoon each year since 1972. These were my bibles. I would then handwrite letters to the artists creating cartoons utilizing Star Wars pop icons. I would ask to make a purchase of the original art as well as any related preliminary sketches.
Things got a lot easier with the advent of the Internet. Each day I could go to the web site of each newspaper and peruse their particular editorial cartoon of that day. Eventually the editorial cartoonists themselves had developed their own websites. I then discovered the cagle.com website. Mr. Cagle, an editorial cartoonist himself, had created the ultimate website showcasing on a daily basis every single editorial cartoon created by almost every single editorial cartoonist in the country, and in the world for that matter. I was in political cartoon heaven!
How do you think Star Wars might be used among today's political cartoonists?
Star Wars is about good versus evil, the lure of the dark side, greed for the one versus doing what is best for the good of many. All common themes of today's world. Today's economic calamity has become the newest fodder for political cartoonists: Darth Vader lurking behind the walls of Wall Street; Yoda trying to extol a "common sense" within congress; R2-D2 as John Q. Public just trying to make sense of it all as his home and retirement plans evaporate...
To visualize what must change one must look at things from different perspectives, from another person's reality. Political cartoons offer just such a new perspective on current events. In one image they speak 1000 words.
To check out some of the more recent Star Wars-themed political cartoons hitting the media, check out cagle.com/news/starwars.
