With the U.S. once again looking down the barrel of an exhausting election cycle, thank God for another installment of Justice Warriors.
This fall, creators Matt Bors (The Nib) and Ben Clarkson (Adult Swim) return to the world they built in their scathing, unflinching, and hilarious comic Justice Warriors with Justice Warriors Vol. 2: Vote Harder, out in September from AHOY Comics. Vote Harder sees voting crop up in the perfection of Bubble City and how elections can be just as corrupt there as we see in our world. How will this turn of events impact not only Bubble, but our protagonists, law enforcement officers Swamp Cop and Schitt? And how are giraffe assassins and orbital lasers involved?
Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson spoke with me recently about the idea behind Justice Warriors, the state of Bubble City at the beginning of Vote Harder, examining how the democratic process impacts the world of the comic, and how Justice Warriors draws inspiration from the real world.
The original Justice Warriors excels at what satire is meant to do: use its story to entertain and question the norms and framework of society that we take at face value. You can take what Bors and Clarkson’s tale and enjoy it for the story itself as well as ponder the lingering questions that the story asks of readers. Vote Harder looks to do the same and be a comfort in this skewed reality in which we currently find ourselves.
FreakSugar: Before we get to Vote Harder, for folks unfamiliar with the comic, what is the conceit of Justice Warriors?
Ben Clarkson: Justice Warriors is about the world’s first perfect city: Bubble City. The city rose from the ashes of climate collapse, nuclear exchange and high interest rates and accomplished what no other society has ever done: eliminated crime, poverty and discrimination. The only problem for this domed mega-utopia is the endless filthy slum, rife with mutants and freaks, that has sprung up outside of the Bubble’s support wall in the uninhabited zone —or “The UZ”.
The comic follows the exploits of two members of the Bubble City Police Department, Swamp Cop and Schitt, who are the boots on the ground in the war against crime in the UZ.
It’s a comedy.
Matt Bors: It’s a buddy cop satire that goes after a lot of targets. Kind of like if Robocop was too online. The first volume dealt with economic crashes and social movements. Now we turn our focus to elections…
FS: Where do we find Officer Swamp and his partner Schitt at the beginning of Vote Harder?
BC: Swamp and Schitt are doing what they do best: playing on their phones and getting food in their urban assault vehicle—when they are called into a dangerous shoot out with extremist landlords holding out for a tax adjustment. While tensions in the UZ escalate the political coalition ruling the Bubble falters over the mayor’s plan to use public funds to carve his face into the sun.
MB: Voting is a new concept in Bubble City, so the potential for criminal activity is high. Some mutants even get the idea that they can change society with this democracy concept. That’s a dangerous way of thinking, if you ask me!
FS: It’s the biggest of understatements to say that the political climate in America is volatile at the moment. Does that climate impact how you approach a story like Vote Harder?
BC: Something we struggle with is outdoing the news. We had jokes in the first volume —heists of baby formula, economic collapses, rampant financial speculation—which all came true before we went to print. Our world is insane and something we focus on in JW is making Bubble City wacky, which is a sort of respite from what we see every day. Justice Warriors is a response to the wild politics we see every day but we do try to push the noise over the limit which transforms it into being revelatory—without ever talking down to our smart and good-looking audience.
MB: We’re well aware a big election is coming up and the population is generally not psyched about it—me included! We have a lot to say about the political process in this book, but it’s not meant to be about the U.S. election in particular. In some ways it’s the exact opposite of our world: due to this being the first Bubble City mayoral election, the population isn’t exhausted by it all yet. But they’ll get there.
FS: Following up on that, given the subject matter, do you take inspiration from real life when approaching the story? I imagine life gives a great deal of inspiration.
BC: The world of Bubble City is a cartoon version of our own world so we do need to know what actually happens here in our world. Matt and I both do a lot of research before we pen the story of a volume of Justice Warriors. For this volume we dove into accounts of undercover policing, the social implications of having spies throughout society, and how these undercover officers behave.
Cops have gone undercover to break up democratic movements, pit people against each other and even fathered children with activists – that they later abandoned when their cover was blown.
MB: Yes, building on what Ben was saying, we did pull a lot from the real world here, but less from Trump and Biden than, say, COINTELPRO. We’re interested in how the powers that be shape our choices, be they the people in power or the media. We pulled a lot from the political thrillers of the 70s and that vibe or being paranoid about what the authorities are up to, but for good reasons.
FS: What kind of reception do you get from Justice Warriors? I feel like it has to hit so many in so many different ways.
BC: People have gone nuts for the book, many telling us it is the best comic they read all year, some have said it was the best comic that they ever read. We’re really floored by the reception.
The best response I have heard, the one that made me believe we had accomplished what we set out to do, is that Justice Warriors explains the world better than the news.
MB: I’m always pleased to see the cross section of people who enjoy Justice Warriors. There’s the satire and commentary, but also I think it’s just a fun action story on the surface so you can enjoy it on a couple different levels, which is what I see people doing.
FS: What are you two reading right now?
BC: I have a copy of Howard Chaykin’s Time² which I am flipping through while I take breaks from this dense, but incredible, book from the 70’s on filmmaking and editing called Grammar of the Film Language by Daniel Arijon. I’m always hunting to learn more about the craft of visual storytelling.
MB: I’m currently reading the novel American War by Omar Al Akkad about a civil war 50 years from now and a bunch of EC Comics, which I adore for their inkwork.
FS: Do you have any other projects coming down the pike that you’d like to talk about?
BC: I’m developing an animated series about a Hot Dog trying to kill God to retrieve a motorcycle stolen from the President of Space. It’s called Space Hot Dog.
MB: I’m writing a new Toxic Avenger series for AHOY with artist Fred Harper. We have been given a lot of leeway by Troma to do an updated version of the characters and have been having a lot of fun with it. The first issue drops in comic shops this October.
FS: If you had one final pitch for Justice Warriors: Vote Harder, what would it be?
BC: If your brain has been melted by years of riots, lockdowns, and “elections” —and want an escape into a runaway political thriller with incredible art, razor sharp writing and wild characters—grab a copy of Justice Warriors: Vote Harder. You will want this book. I do recommend you grab it in pre-order. Justice Warriors books have a habit of selling out quickly.
MB: Vote with your dollar.
Justice Warriors Vol. 2: Vote Harder goes on sale Tuesday, September 10, 2024, from AHOY Comics.
From the official graphic novel description:
An all-new, timely graphic novel continuing the hit futuristic satire JUSTICE WARRIORS, now in its third printing!
It’s election season in Bubble City, the ultra-protected enclave that keeps the rich safe from the mutants of the so-called Uninhabited Zone. But when veteran officer Swamp Cop embarks on a dangerous undercover mission, politics just might wind up coming between him and his beloved partner, Officer Schitt.
And from the official press release:
JUSTICE WARRIORS, the scathing satire of capitalism and police in a future of severe inequality from Matt Bors — the founder of The Nib and a political cartoonist who has twice been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist — and Ben Clarkson — an acclaimed filmmaker and illustrator whose art has been featured on Adult Swim and Vice Noisey — is returning to shelves as a brand-new graphic novel entitled JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER.
“JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER takes the feel of paranoid political thrillers of the 70s and updates it for the online age of conspiracy, partisanship, and the desire to break out of the confines of the ballot box to do something far more radical,” said Matt Bors. “Unlikable candidates. An unfair media. And a system designed to prevent real change. It’s the most important election of everyone’s life—and possibly their last.”
The first JUSTICE WARRIORS series followed police officers Swamp Cop and Schitt as they patrolled the crime-free metropolis of Bubble City and its surrounding mutant-packed Uninhabited Zone. Now in VOTE HARDER, Bubble City’s first ever election for mayor pulls Officer Swamp into a violent mission that will put him on a collision course with his beloved partner Schitt. Co-written by Clarkson and Bors with art by Clarkson and backup illustrations by Bors, JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER features colors by Felipe Sobreiro and lettering by Bors.
“JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER is an epic thrillride about the infiltration of civil society by law enforcement, the corrupt bickering of unaccountable elites, and unchecked military expansion which is, of course, unrelated to the regular healthy function of our corporate oligopoly — er, democracy,” said Ben Clarkson. “It’s bigger, badder and more justicier than the original with a thrilling dose of orbital space lasers, giraffe assassins and obscure parliamentary procedure.”
In crime-free utopia Bubble City’s first-ever election for mayor, feckless celebrity incumbent The Prince faces a challenge from within the Bubble’s elite: his half-cousin Stuffina Vippix IX, who promises austerity and competency. Finally a choice for the people! But out in the Uninhabited Zone, which is packed with millions of mutants, the radical and armed Flauf Tanko mounts a third-party run to inspire the masses who are fed up with the entire system. Rallying to protect the votes from the people, mutant cops Swamp and Schitt are called in on special duty. Schitt must act as bodyguard to the Prince, while his poll numbers drop and assassination attempts ramp up. Meanwhile, Swamp is sent on a clandestine mission inside the mutant opposition—to infiltrate, report, and maybe fall in love with a passionate activist triggering an identity crisis. Can the two partners survive being pitted against each other in a horserace?
“JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER is funny, it makes sharp points, and its artwork is so densely detailed I can only call it ‘amphetaminesque,’” said AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “It’s bound to cross your mind while you’re voting and it might even take some of the sting away.”
The irreverent, dark comedy JUSTICE WARRIORS was initially published by AHOY Comics as a trade paperback in 2023 and has received widespread attention from CHAPO TRAP HOUSE, IGN, POD DAMN AMERICA, CURRENT AFFAIRS, COMIC BOOK COUPLES COUNSELING, LEDGER, SUPER NICE CLUB, GRAPHIC POLICY, QANONANON, and STRUGGLE SESSION. The title went back to press for second and third printings in the wake of its popularity.
JUSTICE WARRIORS is published by AHOY Comics, the Syracuse-based independent publisher perhaps best known for SECOND COMING, a controversial satire by Mark Russell, Richard Pace and Leonard Kirk in which Jesus Christ resumes his holy mission. The company is the brainchild of journalist and satirist Hart Seely (publisher), an award-winning reporter whose humor and satire has appeared in The New York Times and on National Public Radio, comics writer Tom Peyer (editor-in-chief), and cartoonist Frank Cammuso (chief creative officer). AHOY Comics launched five years ago with four acclaimed comic book magazine titles featuring full length comic book stories, poetry, prose fiction, and cartoons.