Any time a Republican US president is elected, there’s discussion about the idea of California seceding from the Union, an idea that has currently been dubbed as “Calexit”, in a similar manner to the equally-terribly-named “Brexit”. Thanks to a near-future, alternate reality comic from Black Mask Studios, California will finally make the break.
Created by Young Terrorists‘ Matteo Pizzolo and Amancay Nahuelpan, the premise of Calexit finds itself rooted in a world where America finds itself under the rule of an autocratic President besieged by widespread protests. The series diverges from reality a little there when said entirely fictitious President issues an executive order calling for the removal of all immigrants from America, leading to California declaring itself a sanctuary state. As martial law looms and the country stands on the knife edge of conflict, the series follows the lives of 25-year-old smuggler Jamil and a resistance leader named Zora as they escape from occupied Los Angeles to join their fellow Californians in breaking free from fascist rule.
It’s all very ripped from the headlines, framed through the lens of fiction just enough to stop itself from feeling like too grim a commentary on the first few weeks of Trump’s time in office. But Calexit also wants to inspire readers as much as it does depress them — each issue of the series will also include non-fictional material pointing readers to upcoming Senate and House seat midterm US elections in 2018, in an attempt to drive wider political engagement.
The premise of Calexit might cut a little too close to the bone for some, but the idea of trying to push a wider level of engagement in the political process is definitely a noble one.
The first issue of Calexit is set to hit shelves in May.
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