Art Spiegelman Says Marvel Refused His Essay Unless Trump “Orange Skull” Comment Removed

Art Spiegelman says Marvel Comics refused to publish an introduction to a forthcoming book because he took a jab at President Donald Trump.

The legendary Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novelist told the Guardian that he was informed the publisher was trying to stay “apolitical” and that the reference to Trump needed to be removed from “Marvel: The Golden Age 1939–1949” — or the entire piece would be scrapped.

In the initial essay, Spiegelman wrote, “In today’s all too real world, Captain America’s most nefarious villain, the Red Skull, is alive on screen and an Orange Skull haunts America.”

The Red Skull, Captain America’s archnemesis, is a Nazi agent.

“I didn’t think of myself as especially political compared with some of my fellow travelers, but when asked to kill a relatively anodyne reference to an Orange Skull I realized that perhaps it had been irresponsible to be playful about the dire existential threat we now live with, and I withdrew my introduction,” Spiegelman told the Guardian. “International fascism again looms large…and the dislocations that have followed the global economic meltdown of 2008 helped bring us to a point where the planet itself seems likely to melt down.”

Billionaire and Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter is a known Trump supporter and has reportedly donated large sums to Trump’s campaigns.

The publisher may wish to be apolitical, but Marvel Entertainment is another story.

Numerous stars of Marvel films, including Captain America actor Chris Evans, have been outspoken about their dislike of and disagreements with Trump.

Evans said in previous interviews that not only has he never been reprimanded for sharing his views, but also Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has encouraged him to speak his mind.

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