Earthdivers, Volume 1: Kill Columbus - November/December 2024 Edition of Devin's Chicago Comics Book Club Digest

Also, Some Thoughts on Time-Traveling Assassins

Happy Native American Heritage Month, everyone! And Black Friday, to those who celebrate. I shared some comics-related souvenirs that I picked up on my European vacation last month, including merchandise from Aapoum Bapoum and Forbidden Planet, two world-renowned comic shops. There was some talk about the United States election and all that’s happened since, but we tried to keep the mood light while discussing a comic about erasing this country from existence. Also, we’ve passed 700 subscribers! Woohoo! Thank you for all the support. For anyone new who’d like to get caught up with what we’re about, please check out the Welcome page.

In this issue: What We’re Reading - Shameless Self-Promotion - About What We’ve Read - Some Thoughts on Time-Traveling Assassins

This comic was much more popular than I anticipated, which is always a pleasant surprise. There was a lot of talk about the rules of time travel, and how they were defined in Earthdivers and what they meant. Everything from Kindred to Gilligan’s Island was referenced as to how the time travel affected the plot and the characters. Some of the more ambiguous and experimental plot points confused people (who was that kid? what was the deal with that goat?), but not enough to detract from their overall enjoyment. I worried needlessly that some would find the horror elements of the story jarring, as they were seen as a natural progression of the plot. I wondered about whether the fatalism present in some of the worldbuilding undermined the fantasy inherent in the premise, but nobody seemed to share my misgivings. Lol One person who didn’t finish it came close to guessing the ending (spoiler warning, sort of) by talking about all the goons who would “finish the job” if one bad leader is removed from history. I hope to continue reading this series, though one other member said they didn’t enjoy Volume 2 but would read Volume 3. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, December 17 to discuss Parasocial.

What We're Reading

December 17 - Parasocial by Alex De Campi and Erica Henderson

January 15 - A.D.: After Death by Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire

February 19 - My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Book Two by Emil Ferris

March 19 - Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju, and Ryan Estrada

I’m afraid I made a terrible error in judgment. I have relatives coming to town from overseas and while I knew their flight is on December 17, I didn’t realize their arrival is on December 18 until it was too late. (Time zones are fun!) Thankfully, everyone in attendance (and one person texting) was open to meeting on a Tuesday. We also finalized our February selection and went ahead with March’s, which may prove timely.

Shameless Self-Promotion

Geek Collective

’s Kickstarter campaign for Archetypes #1-2 successfully funded! I’m so excited to have a second short comic in an anthology this year. This is only the beginning of my comics journey, and I’ve been so fortunate to be surrounded by supportive, talented people. Stay tuned for 2025!

The official debut on Thursday, October 3 of the Nonprofitable animated web series I created with Onicia Muller was a complete success! For those who don’t want to watch the whole season in one shot, we did release videos for each individual episode. I’ll be sharing them in this space over the next few months. Presenting: Episode One: “Team Meeting”! Please like and leave a comment.

Project: Weird Wild West is in the final stages of design and layout. I’m working on the pitch for it, and I’m excited to share more details in this space soon. Blackout is off to the printers! I’ve already gotten the low-res digital proof and it’s looking good. You can expect a cover reveal, hopefully before the New Year!

The first anthology to publish a comic I wrote, CyberSync, is available for purchase, as always.

About What We’ve Read

Stephen Graham Jones has given many interviews about Earthdivers, including at Nerdist, PopMatters, and Comics Beat. Artist Davide Gianfelice’s work can be explored at his ArtStation site. Before the first issue of Earthdivers hit shelves, it was optioned as a television series by 20th Television.

For a fun change of pace, here’s Stephen Graham Jones talking about his favorite author, Philip K. Dick.

The latest NEWS digest is available here. The next NEWS digest will be posted in two weeks on Friday, December 13. We’re back on schedule!

Some Thoughts on Time-Traveling Assassins

The plot device of going back in time to kill an evil historical figure is almost as old as that of time travel itself, and everyone at the Comics Book Club appreciated the fresh approach Earthdivers took. Setting aside the utilitarianism of the premise (for now), it’s an intriguing idea. As mentioned in several of the interviews linked above, the go-to for such a story is Adolf Hitler.

This is very Eurocentric, of course. As anyone with wider knowledge of geopolitics could point out, there’s no shortage of worthy candidates. King Leopold II of Belgium is notorious in Africa, as is Cecil Rhodes. Pol Pot would be another strong contender, as would Henry Kissinger. Killing Henry Ford might make this country less dependent on cars today and erase a great deal of antisemitism. Somebody at our meeting suggested Genghis Khan.

Personally, I think I would go back even further. Imagine if Alexander the Great died before conquering the known world. Europe might have remained a loosely-knit network of warring city-states, and we wouldn’t have to worry about all the colonizers the eventual nation-states sent out across the oceans. What about Constantine? If Christianity hadn’t become the religion of the Roman Emperor, would we be dealing with American Christian Nationalists today? It certainly is nice to think so, even if his conversion was as much a political decision as one borne out by genuine religious conviction. (I know I’m oversimplifying.)

It’s a fun thought exercise as long as it stays in the realm of history. When Trump was targeted by multiple assassination attempts, I expected jokes that they might be the result of time travelers. That would not have been the craziest conspiracy theory put forward about those events. When Trump was first elected in 2016, I did see some people joke that it was proof that there are no time travelers. Maybe we’re all too exhausted.

There are two big problems with the whole trope. First, it ascribes to the “Great Man” theory of history. If not debunked, it has at least fallen out of fashion. It ignores the greater arc of history and feeds the egos of all the worst people you know. History is rarely, if ever, the result of one guy acting alone. There’s context, both historical and contemporary, that shapes such individuals. Eliminating them might change history or pave the way for someone worse. Or it might mean someone else with the same ideas who got overshadowed takes charge. It’s impossible to say with certainty.

Second is the aforementioned utilitarianism. Saving a million people by murdering one person reflexively feels like a no-brainer. But the world and history are rarely that simple. There’s no guarantee that you’d actually save a million lives by killing one historical figure. Also, at what point do you kill them? Immediately before they invade a country? By then, it’s probably too late. When they’re young and defenseless? Killing Baby Hitler is still killing a baby.

It might surprise a lot of people to read this, including some close friends, but I’m largely a pacifist. The personal cost of committing an act of violence is not worth whatever gain that act may provide, even if it’s a cathartic release. I recognize that perspective comes from a certain place of privilege, but I (again, largely; I’m willing to admit there are exceptions to every rule) stand behind it. A world built on bloodshed is not a world worth living in.

Sorry for bringing the mood down! This was supposed to be a lighthearted essay about hypothetical murder. If anyone wants to watch some fun dorm room philosophizing about this, I recommend seeking out the film The Last Supper from 1995. It’s not perfect, but Ron Perlman gives a good speech at the end. Anyway, that’s all from me for now. XD

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share any thoughts or comments below. What historical figure would you aim for with a time machine? Please subscribe if you haven’t already. Thanks for reading. See you next month for Parasocial by Alex De Campi and Erica Henderson!