History MisaimedFandom / ComicBooks

* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': Quite some European far-right politicians or supporters have used this series promote a romanticized idea of ancient Europe in a time when supposedly no immigrants crowded the country. It doesn't occur to them that ''Asterix'' is more historical fiction than anything else and that Asterix and his friends always get along fine with other nationalities. Even the Romans aren't always depicted as villains.

** Crumb has also draw quite some controversial comics in his life. His Angelfood [=McSpade=] comics about a stereotypical African tribeswoman and the highly controversial two-parter comic strip "When the Goddamn Niggers Take Over America" and "When the Goddamn Jews take over America" have understandably been accused of racism, the latter two predictably being used by Neo Nazi's and far-right supporters. Crumb himself was absolutely horrified by this, because all his comics are meant as {{Satire}}. He is also huge admirer of {{Jazz}} and {{Blues}} and drew many comic strips and album covers promoting his love for these Afro-American musical genres. Crumb also has many black and Jewish friends, including Creator/ArtSpiegelman, and is married to a Jewish woman, Aline Kominsky-Crumb.

* SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker - mass-murderer, torturer, MonsterClown, and has a MASSIVE fanbase.

** A better example from the pages of Batman might be Comicbook/HarleyQuinn. Although she is the girlfriend and accomplice of SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, and is often shown to be almost as AxeCrazy as he is, fans often seem to forgive her actions, hold her up as something of a heroic or anti-heroic figure, and she is often a KarmaHoudini in the actual stories.

** The emergence of comics like {{Irredeemable}}, with its BewareTheSuperman concept, also tends to put Batman in a better light in this storyline, given just how dangerous a lot of heroes could be if they really wanted to be.

* ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'': Some people read it just because they like the [[NinetiesAntiHero Antiheroes]]. This is missing the fact that ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' was written as a criticism of that kind of character. Others miss the idea that a big part of the story is that Superman and the new League trying to bring about world peace works horribly [[spoiler:and ends up getting everyone nuked,]] and wholeheartedly support/condemn them as [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] nostalgia.

** It got to the point that Magog, who existed exclusively as a self-righteous TakeThat aimed at 90's antiheroes (ComicBook/{{Cable}} in particularly), was given his own book that played his over-the-top attempts at badassery straight. The title itself was cancelled pretty quickly and Magog ended up being killed off shortly after it ended.

* Though the series was a massively controversial, there were a surprising number of readers of ''Comicbook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' who sided with Comicbook/DoctorOctopus and genuinely felt that he was indeed better at being Spider-Man than Peter Parker ever was. This is despite the series' final arc demonstrating in great detail ''why'' Ock's pompous, DarkerAndEdgier methods did not work, and even climaxing with him willingly relinquishing control and admitting that Peter was indeed the [[TitleDrop superior Spider-Man]] all along.

* Lobo started as a generic mercenary before being retooled by creator Keith Giffen as a parody of eighties "grim and gritty" heroes like ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and ComicBook/ThePunisher in a series of mini-series books. Needless to say, Lobo became a big hit with fans who took the satire at face value.

* Though the series was a massive BaseBreaker, there were a surprising number of readers of ''Comicbook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' who sided with Comicbook/DoctorOctopus and genuinely felt that he was indeed better at being Spider-Man than Peter Parker ever was. This is despite the series' final arc demonstrating in great detail ''why'' Ock's pompous, DarkerAndEdgier methods did not work, and even climaxing with him willingly relinquishing control and admitting that Peter was indeed the [[TitleDrop superior Spider-Man]] all along.

** ''Superdupont'' by Jacques Lob and Creator/{{Gotlib}} (and also Alexis and Jean Solé) is a French comic parodying the superhero genre ''and'' a satire of French jingoism. The titular character is an over-the-top stereotypical FrenchJerk with ''Superman''-like powers (which he loses when he hears the French anthem played in reverse) and battles "Anti-France", a shadowy group of people who all speak with a mix of all foreign accents at once and target French core values - such as replacing French wine with Italian wine and mass-producing berets made in China. The French extreme right-wing nationalist party Le Front National took Superdupont as their icon, which caused the authors of the comic to put it on hiatus for a few years. French far right politician Jean-Marie [=LePen=]'s approval was the main reason for the creators to do this.

* In recent years, Comicbook/ThePunisher has become very popular with members of the American armed forces, especially due to the influence of ''Film/AmericanSniper''. This has proven very aggravating for Gerry Conway, who was a conscientious objector during TheVietnamWar and intended for the Punisher to be a ''bad guy''.

** Also, yes. A [[OlderThanTheyThink book that came out in 1985]] was deconstructing the NinetiesAntiHero. The 90s was just when the archetype reached critical mass.

* ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' has an in-universe example: The Sons of the Batman, a group of vigilantes inspired by Batman using incredibly violent methods against mostly petty criminals (ie, stopping a three card monte game with napalm, cutting off the arms of a shoplifter[[note]]Not to mention the fingers of the poor clerk, for not defending the store.[[/note]]). Needless to say, when Batman finally meets them, he sets them straight.

** ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'', particularly the movie, spread the misconception that Guy Fawkes Day honors Guy Fawkes, the plucky rebel, instead of celebrating the fact that ''England narrowly averted a terrorist attack on the capital.'' It's like thinking [[TheWarOnTerror September 11th]] honors Osama Bin Laden. The holiday also has anti-Catholic overtones (Fawkes was a convert to Catholicism), which makes it particularly ironic in the film when V slays a pedophilic Catholic priest.
** According to [[Characters/VForVendetta this]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta_%28film%29 The Other Wiki]] and [[http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2005/vforvendetta2005.html Christiananswers.net]] the priest was Anglican.

** A lot of the unintended heroism of the character stems from the writers not really understanding their own context. A murdering vigilante in real life is unambiguously a bad thing, but in a world where even the heroes rack up body counts in the dozens or hundreds per year, the villains are worse, and the only punishment you get for burning a hundred people to death is a month of brooding from batman and six weeks in a revolving-door prison, being the one guy at least attempting to solve problems permanently gives you a lot more social utility than murdering criminals would in the real world.

* SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}} started as a generic mercenary before being retooled by creator Keith Giffen as a parody of eighties "grim and gritty" heroes like ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and ComicBook/ThePunisher in a series of mini-series books. Needless to say, Lobo became a big hit with fans who took the satire at face value.

* ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'': Some people read it just because they like the [[NinetiesAntiHero Antiheroes]]. This is missing the fact that ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' was written as a criticism of that kind of character. Others miss the idea that a big part of the story is that Superman and the new League trying to bring about world peace works horribly [[spoiler:and ends up getting everyone nuked,]] and wholeheartedly support/condemn them as SilverAge nostalgia.

** His villains tend to have their own beloved fanbases as well. Typically, one of the reason why Batman is considered so cool is because everyone thinks he has "THE BEST VILLAINS EVER!" When in fact, Batman villains are the most vile in the comic book mythos. Aside from the homicidal Joker, there's also the Mad Hatter who (in more DarkerAndEdgier tellings at least) is a child-molester with a blonde fetish, Calendar Man who has his own obsession with holidays, Anarky who is a kid-turned-terrorist/anarchist, the misanthropic Killer Croc, and Clayface who was once written to be symbolized as "AIDS with two legs" (And these are just a few). Seriously do you really think these people deserve a fandom-worship?

* Creator/JhonenVasquez repeatedly takes pages out of his ''ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'' and ''Squee'' series to TakeThat to various people he feels are enjoying his comic for the wrong reasons. One extended story in ''JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'' is about a serial-killing fanboy of Johnny's. Since Johnny is a character who goes around murdering the most annoying people in the typical Vasquez CrapsackWorld, it's not hard to see why some people might get the wrong idea.

* ''LexLuthorManOfSteel'' is taken by some as an excellent argument for why ComicBook/LexLuthor is a hero, or at least believing that it brings up some intriguing GrayAndGreyMorality and humanistic traits to the character because he honestly thinks that he is a hero and Superman is a villain. Many also agree with Lex's arguments against Superman's LawfulGood ChronicHeroSyndrome, which sees him rescuing Toyman from an angry mob, in this story a [[KickTheSonOfABitch pedophile who had just (seemingly) blown up a daycare centre.]] Except for the fact that it is ''strongly, strongly'' implied that ''Lex himself'' blew up that centre, and is behind a bunch of other horrible things in the comic, and the real point of the story is that Lex is deluded and insane to boot.
* {{Lobo}} started as a generic mercenary before being retooled by creator Keith Giffen as a parody of eighties "grim and gritty" heroes like {{Wolverine}} and Comicbook/ThePunisher in a series of mini-series books. Needless to say, Lobo became a big hit with fans who took the satire at face value.
** This happens with a lot of "satire" characters where the author "exaggerates" them just by taking all the elements that people seem to like in other shows and lumping them together without actually exaggerating anything. We've seen this in reverse with films like ''Film/SuckerPunch'', intended to "parody" exploitation literature but garnering reactions as if they were genuine because, well, the creators forgot the part where they make the thing they're parodying more ridiculous or extreme than the source material.

* [[RetCon Pre-Genesis]] Sally Acorn from ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' (Originally SonicSatAm) was supposed to be an adventurous TomboyPrincess and an [[{{Tsundere}} easily]] [[DeadpanSnarker annoyed]] leader of a Main/LaResistance. Fandom took her [[{{Stripperific}} fashion choice]], and ran it as if she's a selfish, wangsty, overly seductive MarySue and the [[DieForOurShip ultimate enemy of]] [[{{Tsundere}} Amy Rose]]. While she was criticized as a Main/CreatorsPet, the fandom tends to miss her characterization entirely.

* This attitude began even during the series' original publication. Both Waid and Ross were astounded that in the reaction of readers to the first issue, just about no fan understood that Superman's return was not a symbol of hope and things getting fixed but that Armageddon was on its way.

* [[RetCon Pre-Genesis]] Sally Acorn from ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' (Originally SonicSatAm) was supposed to be an adventurous TomboyPrincess and an [[{{Tsundere}} easily]] [[DeadpanSnarker annoyed]] leader of a Main/LaResistance. Fandom took her [[{{Stripperific}} fashion choice]], and ran it as if she's a selfish, wangsty, overly seductive MarySue and the [[DieForOurShip ultimate enemy of]] [[{{Tsundere}} Amy Rose]]. While she was critisized as a Main/CreatorsPet, the fandom tends to miss her characterization entirely.

* [[RetCon Pre-Genesis]] Sally Acorn from ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' (Originally SonicSatAm) was supposed to be an adventurous TomboyPrincess and a leader of a Main/LaResistance. Fandom took her [[{{Stripperific}} fashion choice]], and ran it as if she's a selfish, wangsty, overly seductive MarySue and the [[DieForOurShip ultimate enemy of]] [[{{Tsundere}} Amy Rose]]. While she was a Main/CreatorsPet, she's nowhere as bad as the fandom claims. The most ironic aspect of her actual character was that she's a best friend of Amy, among other female members of her team.

* [[RetCon Pre-Genesis]] Sally Acorn from ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' (Originally SonicSatAm) was supposed to be an adventurous TomboyPrincess and a leader of a Main/LaResistance. Fandom took her [[{{Stripperific}} fashion choice]], and ran it as if she's a selfish, wangsty, overly seductive MarySue and the [[DieForOurShip ultimate enemy of]] [[{{Tsundere}} Amy Rose]]. While she can be z rather inconsistent Main/CreatorsPet, she's nowhere as bad as the fandom claims. The most ironic aspect of her actual character was that she's a best friend of Amy, among other female members of her team.

* [[RetCon Pre-Genesis]] Sally Acorn from ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' (Originally SonicSatAm) was supposed to be an adventurous TomboyPrincess and a leader of a Main/LaResistance. Fandom took her [[{{Stripperific}} fashion choice]], and ran it as if she's a selfish, wangsty, and overly seductive MarySue and the [[DieForOurShip ultimate enemy of]] [[{{Tsundere}} Amy Rose]]. While she can be z rather inconsistent Main/CreatorsPet, she's nowhere as bad as the fandom claims. The most ironic aspect of her actual character was that she's a best friend of Amy, among other female members of her team.

* [[RetCon Pre-Genesis]] Sally Acorn from ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' (Originally SonicSatAm) was supposed to be an adventurous Tomboy Princess and a leader of a Main/LaResistance. Fandom took her [[{{Stripperific}} fashion choice]], and ran it as if she's a selfish, wangsty, and overly seductive MarySue and the [[DieForOurShip ultimate enemy of]] [[{{Tsundere}} Amy Rose]]. While she can be z rather inconsistent Main/CreatorsPet, she's nowhere as bad as the fandom claims. The most ironic aspect of her actual character was that she's a best friend of Amy, among other female members of her team.

* [[RetCon Pre-Genesis]] Sally Acorn from ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' (Originally SonicSatAm) was supposed to be an adventurous Tomboy Princess and a leader of a Main/LaResistance. Fandom took her [[{{Stripperific}} fashion choice]], and ran it as if she's a selfish, wangsty, and overly seductive MarySue, while DieForOurShip marked her an ultimate enemy of [[{{Tsundere}} Amy Rose]]. While she can be rather inconsistent AuthorPet, she's nowhere as bad as the fandom claims. The most ironic aspect of her actual character was that she's a best friend of Amy, among other female members of her team.

* ComicBook/OneHundredBullets: BrianAzzarello was surprised and disturbed to find that the violent, amoral homicidal rapist and torturer Lono had a devoted fan following.

* ''LexLuthorManOfSteel'' is taken by some as an excellent argument for why LexLuthor is a hero, or at least believing that it brings up some intriguing GrayAndGreyMorality and humanistic traits to the character because he honestly thinks that he is a hero and Superman is a villain. Many also agree with Lex's arguments against Superman's LawfulGood ChronicHeroSyndrome, which sees him rescuing Toyman from an angry mob, in this story a [[KickTheSonOfABitch pedophile who had just (seemingly) blown up a daycare centre.]] Except for the fact that it is ''strongly, strongly'' implied that ''Lex himself'' blew up that centre, and is behind a bunch of other horrible things in the comic, and the real point of the story is that Lex is deluded and insane to boot.

** Controversial British politician Enoch Powell, well known for his anti-immigrational "Rivers Of Blood" speech, owned a lot of cartoons starring himself and had them framed at the wall. But this way mostly done by his wife. In the BBC documentary "Enoch Powell: Odd Man Out" Powell even expressed feeling embarrassed by some, but his wife very staunchly defended him on the matter. Many of this drawings were critical of his ideas, but the couple didn't seem to grasp this.
** * ''Superdupont'' by Jacques Lob and Creator/{{Gotlib}} (and also Alexis and Jean Solé) is a French comic parodying the superhero genre ''and'' a satire of French jingoism. The titular character is an over-the-top stereotypical Frenchman with ''Superman''-like powers (which he loses when he hears the French anthem played in reverse) and battles "Anti-France", a shadowy group of people who all speak with a mix of all foreign accents at once and target French core values - such as replacing French wine with Italian wine and mass-producing berets made in China. The French extreme right-wing nationalist party Le Front National took Superdupont as their icon, which caused the authors of the comic to put it on hiatus for a few years.French far right politician Jean-Marie [=LePen=]'s approval was the main reason for the creators to do this.

* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': Sometimes used by European far-right politicians or supporters to promote the idea that ancient Europe was far better because there were no immigrants like today. It doesn't occur to them that ''Asterix'' is more historical fiction than anything else and that Asterix and his friends always get along fine with other nationalities. Even the Romans aren't always depicted as villains.
* In the infamous ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'', readers are ''supposed'' to agree with everything the protagonists say, but there is a significant "fandom" that finds the over-the-top nature [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious]]. In addition, on first reading them, many people assume that they are intended as a parody. [[PoesLaw They are serious.]] The sheer number of times he has [[StrawCharacter Straw Secularists/Liberals]] (especially in schools), such as the dystopia in "Last Generation" which has the security and language of [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour Oceania]], the religious politics of ''LeftBehind'', and the social politics of Straw Liberal states, with a touch of "concentration camps" for parents who discipline their children -- it makes it difficult for one to accept them as serious arguments unless one realizes that [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps there are more extreme people out there]].
* This happened to [[RobertCrumb R. Crumb]] ''a lot'' -- most notably with his iconic "Keep On Truckin'" character/pose, which was adopted by many rock-loving hippies as their "mascot," as it were. The truth was, Crumb was ''making fun'' of rock music lovers, who in his eyes were doing "The Dance of Cultural Death" (as he put it). He even explained it in a comic in The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book and told his (probably now disillusioned) hippie fans: "KEEP ON TRUCKIN', SCHMUCKS!". (This was followed by Mr. Natural remarking: "Don't forget, Bob, that it was the compassion, the loving forgiveness, that they found so appealing in your cartoons, that made you so popular, that got you laid, that earned you a living. Keep it in mind!")

* ''Superdupont'' by Jacques Lob and Creator/{{Gotlib}} is a French comic parodying the superhero genre ''and'' a satire of French jingoism. The titular character is an over-the-top stereotypical Frenchman with ''Superman''-like powers (which he loses when he hears the French anthem played in reverse) and battles "Anti-France", a shadowy group of people who all speak with a mix of all foreign accents at once and target French core values - such as replacing French wine with Italian wine and mass-producing berets made in China. The French extreme right-wing nationalist party took Superdupont as their icon, which caused the authors of the comic to put it on hiatus for a few years.

* JhonenVasquez repeatedly takes pages out of his ''JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'' and ''Squee'' series to TakeThat to various people he feels are enjoying his comic for the wrong reasons. One extended story in ''JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'' is about a serial-killing fanboy of Johnny's. Since Johnny is a character who goes around murdering the most annoying people in the typical Vasquez CrapsackWorld, it's not hard to see why some people might get the wrong idea.