Cartoonist Daxiong: Justice and courage in the face of evil

San Diego Reader: Case in point: this particular rendition of the Dark Knight, as rendered by Daxiong Guo, artist on WildStorm’s Top 10 Special #1. Daxiong is Chinese and was at one point a celebrated teacher, producer, and publisher of comic illustration in his home country. He won awards at home and abroad, but it wasn’t enough to keep him out of trouble with the authorities. A follower of the quasi-religious practice of Falun Gong, he grew increasingly critical of the government as it carried out its infamous crackdown on the movement.

“I believe the reason for China’s disaster in humanity is because of the dirty evil acts of the Chinese leader Jiang Zemin,”

he writes in the self-illustrated apologia given me by his translator.

“The Chinese Communist Party is dragging people down into the pits of the underworld.”

(The booklet includes a cartoon depicting Zemin as a puppet operated by a Communist devil, delivering a scolding to Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and bin Laden.)

“In 2008,” he continues, “the Chinese Communist Party convicted me of lies and slander, so again I was arrested” and, according to his translator, tortured.

But “with the help of friends overseas, I was able to escape to the United States and find my freedom.” Part of that escape involved being invited to Comic-Con 2008.

(When he inscribes his sketch with the slogan “Justice and courage in the face of evil,” it gets a little easier to take seriously the notion that Batman & Co. are called superheroes.

Visit Daxiong's Website here and check the amazing gallery here

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