A July 1990 comic strip in Heavy Metal magazine featured a controversial wall in New York City, built by Donald Trump, and a populist "rise to power" by the future president.
A July 1990 comic strip in Heavy Metal magazine featured a controversial wall in New York City, built by Donald Trump, and a populist "rise to power" by the future president.
In September 2017, there was renewed interest in a 1990 comic strip by the artist Peter Kuper, which appeared to preempt current events by featuring the construction of a large, controversial wall by Donald Trump, as well as a populist â€œrise to powerâ€ by the future United States President. < Peter Kuper did a comic about nationalist Trump coming to power on a build-a-wall platform. This was 27 years ago in Heavy Metal in 1990. pic.twitter.com/1cEZe5Hxnj â€” Steve Lieber (@steve_lieber) September 20, 2017 > The artist Peter Kuper confirmed to us that the comic strip, titled â€œThe Wall,â€ is authentic, and was published in Volume 14 Number 3 of Heavy Metal magazine in July 1990. Its existence has gained new interest because Trump began his 2016 presidential election campaign partially on the basis of a pledge to build a wall along the southern border of the United States.Â After his election in November 2016, Heavy Metal magazine ran a feature article on the then 26-year-old comic strip, offering this summary: < â€œThe Wallâ€ begins with a disavowal of well-known lines of â€œThe New Colossus,â€ the poem associated with the Statue of Liberty. In this story, weâ€™re living in a divided city [New York] where the haves and have nots can barely relate to each other. In fact, the cultural and economic divide has been made real in the form of a wall to â€œkeep the peasants at armâ€™s length.â€ Law enforcement had been overwhelmed; the cops were running for their lives. So, a wall: The brainchild of Trump and [real estate mogul Harry Helmsley]. But the relationship between these two egomaniacs canâ€™t last, and in a fit of rage Helmsley carries out a purge called the â€œNight of the Long Skates.â€ All Trumpâ€™s associates are wiped out, and Trump himself escapes into the NYC sewer. But Trump plots his revenge. â€¦In this story, [a pro-Trump group called the Guardian Demons] band together in their hats, led by a Messianic Trump who convinces his followers that Helmsley is the reason for the unemployment and poverty they face. The mob carries Trump to a humiliating victory over Helmsley, a feat Trump promises to commemorate with a monumentâ€¦ > The â€œPeopleâ€™s Monumentâ€ promised by Trump is yet another wall. The final panels of the comic strip show a graffiti artist spraying â€œDump Trumpâ€ on the wall â€“ a slogan popular in 2017 among the Presidentâ€™s critics.Â The article goes on: < Ok, so Trump isnâ€™t president in this 26-year-old story, but the man depicted is fully recognizable as the current President-elect. The tactics used to motivate followers, the faith in the power of walls, the goddamn hats â€” it was all there. > Peter Kuper explained the origins of the comic strip to us: < The idea came to me after a visit to Berlin in 1987 before their wall came down. Trump was a well known real estate mogul at that time. So was Helmsley. The pieces of the story fell into place. > He added: â€œI wish my pen, instead of predicting the future, would be able to change current events.â€
"trump" AND "metal" AND "comic"