The good folks at my local comic store, A Comic Shop, have gone and broken the internet once again. In the latest piece of news to come out of the small shop here in Orlando, a seemingly harmless yet noteworthy local advertisement has managed to capture the attention (and fury) of both comic book and manga fans on the web. The new advertisement features DC’s latest character in their ‘New 52′ lineup, ROBAMA….ok, well, not really (it’s Cyborg) but you get the joke…right?
The ad playfully encourages folks to stop by the shop and trade in their volume 1 manga volumes in exchange for any first issue from DC’s ‘New 52′ lineup for free. The tongue-in-cheek ad encourages folks to “Buy American” and, while knowing full well that the ad might raise some eyebrows, has seemingly set off a firestorm of controversy in the progress.
Most of the confusion stemmed from the fact that both comic book readers and manga fans mistakenly assumed that the ad was created and distributed by DC Comics themselves. This is simply not true, despite the fact that the ad was approved and generously paid for by the company courtesy of it’s co-op advertising programme. In just 24 short hours, legions of manga fans blasted the ad for shamelessly suggesting that they should throw away their manga in order to trade-up for American goods. The ad has been called out as a cheap shot, “nationalist crap” and has even been labeled as racist for depicting President Obama as Cyborg (what?).
Did they think the shop was going to hold a manga book-burning event in the parking lot?
Relax, folks…it’s a joke. It’s SATIRE. I know full well that the folks at A Comic Shop are proud supporters of both manga and the fans who support it. The shop hosts a slew of manga-related events at their own entertainment venue, The Geek Easy, and simply know how to ruffle the feathers of fans for the sake of amusement. If you know the people who work at the store, you know the humor that comes along with it which is a large part of how A Comic Shop has positioned themselves as one of the most forward-thinking and enjoyable comic stores to visit in the world.
As store owner Aaron Haaland put it, “I don’t think any advertising or promotion that doesn’t use some humor, satire, or trolling is fun.”
We wholeheartedly agree. Lighten up, internet.
