Culture
‘The Dissidents’ by Cartoonist Backderf Shows How Authoritarian Leaders Fear Activist Cartoonists
/s3/static.nrc.nl/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/16144300/210926CUL_2036059694_dissidentenCOVER.jpg)
Derf Backderf’s historical graphic novel, The Dissidents, reconstructs the suppression of the socialist magazine The Masses in 1910s America. Through the fictional perspective of Joe Hertle, the narrative details how President Woodrow Wilson used the Espionage and Sedition Acts to silence leftist cartoonists like Art Young and Emma Goldman. The story highlights the political tensions of the era, including racial strife and labor movements, as Wilson cracked down on anti-war and radical voices, ultimately leading to the magazine's destruction.
Ozetta summarises; the reporting is the newsroom's