Comics: Oh (jeez) Canada.

In the crowded field of comics blogs, I'm glad there's room for something as quirky and unique as Ecocomics, "where graphic lit meets the dismal science." Most comics blogs spend their time doing three things: acting as volunteer or professional shills that attempt to use their force of personality to impose value judgments on certain works, making structural and functional explorations of how the medium itself functions, and reflecting on biz-oriented news. The differing mixtures and the depth of analysis, filtered through the style and personality of the blogger, gives each comics blog its unique character.

Ecocomics comes at the field from a new angle. It looks at the unlikely overlap between economics and superhero comics, using the endless adventures of the long-underwear and cape set to explore economic issues and asking economically-informed questions about the worlds we see in the comics.

Plus, it's often funny.

In a recent post, Ecocomics asks the question: Why does Canada keep funding supersoldier programs?

In the Marvel Universe, Canada is responsible for creating some of the most deadly super-soldiers in history. Wolverine, Sabretooth, Deadpool, Kane, and Agent Zero were all deadly assassins who were empowered by Canada's Weapon X program. This secret division of the Canadian government went to great expense to create nearly unstoppable weapons (and in almost all cases, allow them to escape shortly thereafter). This gives rise to a single question: WHY?

What threat was Canada so afraid of that the government felt the need to constantly produce human death machines?

"Holy Crap, Quebec is getting uppity again, let's coat another mutant in adamantium!"

Conclusion? Wasteful institutional inertia and weak government oversight are responsible for a oddly large percentage of Marvel's most badass superheroes.