POLITICS AND POLITICIANS 473
interest to women, including reproductive rights, workplace discrimination, and the
sexism prevalent in American culture—even in the counterculture. Gay and lesbian-
focused titles such as Roberta Gregory’s Dynamite Damsels (1976) and the anthology
Gay Comix (1980–91), created by Howard Cruse, provided a venue for post-Stonewall
reconsiderations of the intersections of the personal and political.
Although underground comics contained the most detailed and sustained treatments
of the counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s, some mainstream writers and artists
sought to examine the ways in which the counterculture was re-shaping the political
landscape in the United States. Th e most notable of these was Captain America creator
Joe Simon, who was responsible for two unusual, original, and short-lived series at DC
Comics that explored the phenomenon of active, sometimes radical, political engage-
ment among young people: Brother Power the Geek (1968) and Prez (1973–74). Lasting
a mere two issues, Brother Power starred a tailor’s dummy who comes to life in a hippie
community and sets out to understand the nature of his existence. Simon’s ambi-
valence about the counterculture is plainly evident: Although the hippies are portrayed
as friendly and accepting, they are also depicted as directionless. While Brother Power
appreciates his new friends, he is motivated to make something of himself, fi rst running
for political offi ce (where he intends to promote “Love, Peace... Flower Power” (#1) and
then becoming plant foreman at a factory making missiles for space exploration—where
he eventually employs his hippie friends on the assembly line. Developing and extend-
ing some of its predecessor’s themes, Prez is an exploration of the relationship between
youthful idealism and political pragmatism, and of the ways in which revolutionary or
subversive political energies can be appropriated and redirected by those who would see
the status quo preserved. Its title character, Prez Rickard, “First Teen President of the
U.S.A.,” is swept into the U.S. Senate and then the White House following the 1971
constitutional amendment extending suff rage to 18-year-olds. Winning the presidency
with a “ Truth-and-Love campaign which polarize[s] the generations” (issue #1) Prez
initially seems to represent a radical break with political orthodoxy, as evidenced by his
diverse and unusual cabinet: Prez enlists his own mother to serve as vice-president, and
he recruits a (rather stereotypically characterized) Native American youth named Eagle
Free to serve as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Yet though he promises
a new and peaceful approach to the problems of the United States, his eventual com-
promises on the use of military force turn his once enthusiastic constituency of young
people against him. Although the series ended before Simon could explore this tension
further, Prez still stands as a fascinating consideration of the United States’ political
landscape in a complex time.
Another off beat comic from a mainstream publisher which frequently dealt with
political issues was Marvel’s Howard the Duck (1976–79, 1986), written by Steve
Gerber. In 1976, the anthropomorphic title character decided to mount a third party
campaign for the presidency of the United States, appealing to a public uninspired by
either Jimmy Carter or Gerald Ford. After dumping a smooth-talking campaign adviser
who has written all of his speeches before fi nding out what his candidate believes on the
