Political Comment and Critical Praise
Sgt. Mike Battle has become known among British independent comics for its biting use of satire, and the use of a deliberately clichéd comic book format to comment on some of the more important political and societal issues found in the news at the time of it going to print. It has also regularly taken issue with the portrayal of these issues by the mass media, and their tendency to make jingoistic statements and propaganda thinly disguised as entertainment and patriotism. While generally difficult to identify the exact political position of the author, it has nonetheless raised a number of valid questions unusual in the world of comics.
The run of comics has also been known, so far, for its use of intertextuality and tendency to comment directly, or indirectly, on the form, structure, and history of the comic medium. Whether self-conscious or otherwise, Sgt Mike Battle is both a product of postmodernism and its recent impact on the comic book industry, and a comment upon it.
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