I have to admit I love comics, always have, always will. Probably the only time in my entire adult life I’ve been truly and blissfully content at work was when I ran the graphic novels department at one of the big bookstores and could spend hours reading about muscled up closet fetishists, chasing each other around the universe on their endless quests to spank their evil counterparts spandex clad behinds.

Still much as I love to soak myself in the continuity fucked and often mindless sagas of the DC and Marvel universes, over the years comics or, if you want to hide behind a pseudo-literate veneer, graphic novels have also provided a fresh look  the real world. Books such as Joe Sacco’s Palestine, or Art Spiegelman’s breathtaking Maus, fully deserving of a place alongside any traditional work of literature.

Celebrating this more concious strand of the genre is Ctrl. Alt. Shift unmasks Corruption a new anthology of work that brings together some of the leading graphic novellists of the day, people such as Peter Kuper, Pat Mills and Dave McKean, and sets out to address issues such as political corruption, global violence and social injustice and show just how powerful a medium ‘comics’ can be.

Indeed whilst comics dabbling in political topics may feel like a recent trend, from the all American Captain America taking the fight to the Nazis, or Tony Starkes hardon for the military industrial complex to the 1960’s Green Arrow as a champion of the working class and the likes of openly gay Northstar in the 1980s, there’s a long history of superheroes being used as cyphers for  political viewpoints both left and right.

Illustrating this nicely, Ctrl.Alt.Shift are also staging an exhibition in London, where artwork from the anthology will be juxtaposed with vintage comic books to show just how political and social issues have been treated throughout the years. This free exhibition will be held at Lazarides Gallery, 8 Greek Street, Soho, London, W1D 4DG and runs from 6th – 28th November (Tuesday – Friday 11am -7pm and Saturday 12pm – 5pm).

As if that wasn’t enough Ctrl.Alt.Shift are also holding a night next Tuesday at the ICA to celebrate the release of the anthology,  Dev Hynes (Lightspeed Champion/Test Icicles) will be showcasing his new project Blood Orange, and there’s DJs such as the lovely Mr. Crispin Dior and comic artist Woodrow Phoenix on hand to keep things moving along nicely. Full details can be found here.

Even better we have a pair of tickets to the night at the ICA, and a copy of the anthology to give away, just answer the question below and email or mentally transmit your answer to us before Friday (the 6th) 6pm and we’ll put you into the virtual hat.

Q: Monkey Joe was the sidekick to which furry superhero?