Western Comics are in the toilet because they only cover a single genre. A Genre that is getting it’s lunch eaten by the film industry (Super Heroes). Manga is a medium that covers everything from Horror, Mystery, Thrillers, Romance, Slice of Life, Battle Manga and more, all with their own different subgenres. This is like saying “Horror films are doing terrible in comparison to The Entire Video Game Industry”.
Western Comics don’t need to be less “Political”, they need to do more than just either be Super Heros, Newspaper funnies or Jughead.
Black Panther is about how an African country could be just as successful and technologically advance as any European based country if it didn’t have it’s resources stolen.
Superman and Captain America both served as Pro-War propaganda for WW2.
Captain America has always fought to protect the rights of immigrants (legal or illegal) to pursue the American Dream. You will be hard pressed to find a comic where Captain America is trying to kick people out of America.
Punisher and police corruption…
and if you want to look at social issues that people haven’t labeled as “political” then you got Iron Man and alcoholism, Ant-Man/Wasp and domestic violence. You can honestly find something in the majority of comics. Even Spider-Man plays at the dangers of freedom of speech and journalistic integrity.
It seems you have a handle on most of your characters but…
Oh god no that is not how his comic worked as Wakanda is xenophobic to the world. Not the first superhero to have such a background as Namor.
Wakanda was inspired by legends of a hidden city in Africa.
Funny enough is that it has resolved itself very quickly. The Yellowjacket personality (which there used to be four) was more of an antagonist to the story as it believed to have destroyed Hank.
Unfair because(and feel free to call me out on hyperbole), Demon Slayer is easily one of the greatest pieces of Japanese manga ever written.
A very simple story that’s well written, with tons of very likable characters and zero filler. And they also perfected the ending, which is incredibly difficult for a lot of series.
Every story is innately political, meaning that, while you don’t have to interpret the politics of a story to ascertain your understanding of it, they are naturally occurring within the story’s narrative. Sometimes it’s as basic as good vs. evil (I.E. conflict, a branch of political science), and other times, it’s a nuanced story that weaves a complex tale about society and its greyer areas. It’s primarily because politics naturally occur within our own lives, which are reflective of the stories we consume.
Nothing is made in a vacuum.
Your interpretation of Wakanda being xenophobic is still within the political spectrum. Xenophobia is a very hot button topic for stories and politics.
If you don’t agree with that angle then there’s still the matter of Black Panther being created as an attempt by Stan Lee to increase inclusion, diversity and representation (which… apparently are all “political”) as he recognized that the black community is under represented in comics.
Continuing on… Hulk has become the poster child for mental health with his best arcs being his two personalities in conflict rather than the hulk facing an external enemy. Jim Gordon working in a corrupt police department and Batman dealing with corrupt politicians. Daredevil is a defense attorney that often represents low income clients. Black Adam and Doom alternate between being actual tyrants and benevolent dictators that have been labeled as “tyrant” by a foreign power. The list goes on and on.
Batman comics would sell better if Morrison never introduced Damian Wayne. Just sayin’ Dini and Bruce Timm made a perfect universe and template to write Batman from and Morrison comes in and reminds us why Silver Age and Copper Age comics aren’t held in high regard.
Comics talked about the Civil Rights movement when it wasn’t popular.
Comics introduced Gay characters in the 80’s and 90’s during the Aids epidemic.
Comics had female leads way before anyone even thought to give them a lead.
I’d hate to break it to ya pal, but comics were always woke it’s just that what was woke then you consider to be normal now. Just like in 50 years what you think is woke now, will be normal by then.