International Fiction

# A Worldwide industry

## The Industry begins

While the comic book industry began before the revolution of 1933, it was the cultural revolution that really brought the industry in America to a new height with the spread of the concept of the Superhero. (WIP)

# Quirks of the Industry

## Sexuality

The UASR is somewhat infamous for its acceptance and promotion of free love, body positivity, acceptance of nonstandard sexuality and gender, and perhaps most unusual; acceptance of sex and nudity in the media. To the Americans, this is simply something people do; so why get worked up about it? This means that American comics are often willing and certainly able to show acts and states of dress that the Alliance; even in the more liberal countries such as the Kalmar Union and Germany, would simply not be able to countenance in something not marketed as a pornographic book out of the reach of children. Even Syndicated countries can come off as rather prudish when it comes to showing off the human form next to the Americans, and to more traditionalist countries like Japan and Britain; this is most certainly a degree of frankness with the subject of sex that can be somewhat off putting.

Latin America has followed suit in terms of cultural more and the rest of the Comintern is following suit; especially in longer term members of the Communist International such as the USSR and Iran proper after new generations have been raised knowing nothing but this new standard. But overall, International Comics are frequently seen as decadent and pornographic outside of their country; though this is a sweeping generalization as many if not the majority will show nothing particularly racy, and when skin is shown; it is often in a much less erotic or titillating context than one would expect from Italian pornographic comics or Imperial "hentai" as adult manga have been called across the world. In the communist world, it's simply a thing that happens and does not have to be tied to sexual contexts.

## Politics

Media in the Communist International as a rule is more overtly political than it would be elsewhere. Most people have an agenda that can be deciphered by an examination of the themes in the work; what things triumph and what things fail, and which characters are lionized and which ones are demonized. How thinly veiled the metaphor is will depend on the work, though subtlety is certain as common in the Comintern as it is anywhere else. This does mean that quite a lot of villains in the comic books of the communist international end up being from the Comintern's foreign enemies; such as the Alliance and the sprawls of the Syndicate though in recent years the Axis, the Dominion, and Atomic China have taken their places in the pantheon of villain homelands. And with the strange events of today's world, many authors and artists have chosen to delve into the fascinating world of cryptolore for ideas.

# Characters

## Americana

An American superheroine meant to take the concept of the Ultimatist New man and turn it on its head to make it an emblem of the revolution, with the mighty shield to defend the meek and a spear to spread the revolution, Columbia draws on both American identity and the hoplites of the past. (WIP)

## Valor Vanguard

A popular child superhero team who hails from all over the Communist International, the Valor Vanguard is composed out of bright and high minded kids who pool their talents together to create fantastical gadgets; including incredible suits of power armour to explore the wonders of science and fight evil in whatever form it crops up in.

## Comrade Cosmonaut and the Quantum Quartet

Scientist, Explorer, Spybuster, Crime Fighter, Military Man, Comrade Cosmonaut is from the Soviet Union proper and works closely with his support team and fellow Cosmonauts; including the monstrously strong Bannerclad; Lady Force, and Madam X-ray. Affected by cosmic energy when they went into space, the four use their powers for the good of science and all of humanity and go on fantastical adventures.

## Colonel Howler and the Furious Commandos

An elite special forces team lead by Lupe Howler, a supersoldier from Mexico, Colonel Howler's Furious Commandos engage in clandestine operations against the terror of the Allies, the Axis, the Dominion, the Green Chinese; and her frequent nemesis of the terrorist group Scorpio. More a soldier than a superhero, Colonel Howler frequently teams up with the likes of Commander Columbia, the Quantum Quartet, the Valor Vanguard and others; but tends to deal with enemy combatants more than conventional villains.

## Liberty Squad

Consisting of a team of crack military and intelligence operatives (WIP)

# Notable Adventures

## Americana and the Revolution Brigade

***Thornley's last gambit***

***Terrible trials of the tyrannical mind tyrants***

***Bye-bye Bushido lies***

(WIP)