Cannibal vigilantes and space real estate developers

HELLO AND WELCOME TO A NEW EDITION OF MY NEWSLETTER!

After surviving the hell of the recent heat waves, I’ve returned with newfound infernal powers to resume this newsletter

QUICK SPAM!

USA & UK
-Galaxy of Madness Omnibus: The Mortal Machine on sale published by Mad Cave.
-Moon Eaters GN PRE-ORDERS OPEN! On sale will be published by Titan in October.
-Fahrenheit 451 coming soon published by Titan.
SPAIN
-Cassandra (The Left Hand of the Devil) on sale published by Yermo Ediciones.
-Kid Maroon GN and Galaxy of Madness coming soon in Spain.
FRANCE
-Against Hope GN on sale by Komics Initiative.
-Requiem Chevalier Vampire volume 1 is on sale published by Glénat, 2nd coming soon.
BRASIL
-Moon Eaters on sale published by Poptopia.

ON LINE
Silenzio is my monthly comic for paid subscribers, in Spanish and English (the free chapter is free).
I’ve also created a digital section on my online store, and I’ve kicked it off with Silenzio’s first compilation in Spanish and English, so if you don’t want to become a paid subscriber, you can download and read it this way.
https://victorsantos.bigcartel.com/category/digital-downloads
And Ginger Revenges in this newsletter and compiled in Panel Syndicate

PRESS!

I had a great time chatting with Al Mega on Comic Crusaders about Moon Eaters and lots of other things. I hope you enjoy it.

I was interviewed in ComicStories, a french website, about the release of Against Hope there. You can read the interview in French and English.

IDEOLOGY AS A BUSINESS

The other day I made the mistake of watching Uwe Boll’s Citizen Vigilante, starring the disgraced (for more than enough reasons) Armie Hammer, a film famous for his anti-immigrant and basically anti-poor people rhetoric. Of course, I didn’t watch it because that jerk Musk posted it on Twitter for free. I admit without shame that I downloaded it illegally so as not to give a buck to the people behind this monstrosity.

I’ve loved vigilante movies ever since I saw Charles Bronson’s Death Wish films as a kid. Since then I have devoured films of the 80s like Ms 45 (renamed in Spain with the terrific title Angel de Venganza), The Exterminator or The Principal, or even their italians rip-offs with Franco Nero.
There are good modern examples of the genre that try to go a little further in complexity, like The Brave One, Harry Brown or Death Sentence… And although in many of them the message is still “in the end, the best thing is to shoot that bastard”, at least they develop some interesting characters and situations. Or they are simply crazy and funny like Law Abinding Citizen.
Damn it, the Against Hope GN I was talking about a few paragraphs above is basically a vigilante story!

I’ve always found it a fascinating genre because, in a way, it puts my own ideas to the test. I firmly believe that you can enjoy a work of fiction even if it doesn’t align with your own political views, and anyone who doesn’t do so greatly limits their scope for fun and entertainment. Yes, I am one of these anti-death penalty progressists, but why can’t I slip into the role of an extremist for an afternoon while Paul Kersey shoots people in the back for stealing his car or turning the music up too loud?
It’s harmless and cathartic. It’s even mentally healthy!

Only feeding off your own opinions (even if they are wonderful and progressist) it’s like Kevin Costner recycling his own urine in Waterworld.
If I couldn’t enjoy stories with ideologies different from my own, I would miss out on almost all of the works produced before this century. I couldn’t read Lovecraft, Stoker or Conan Doyle, and forget Chesterton’s Father Brown books, where the priest-detective reminds me in every damn story that if there’s anything worse than a murderer, it’s an agnostic or an atheist.

But returning to Citizen Vigilante, I must admit that the movie takes the game to a whole new level of coarseness. I commented in my social media that we live in such twisted times that a sexual predator with cannibalistic fetishes in real life can make a movie to warn you about all the terrible things that could happen to your daughter if she hangs out with certain people. The movie is so openly fascist and its protagonist so thoroughly repulsive in every way (not to mention his endless speeches, which are absolute garbage compared to Bronson’s meaningful silence) that if a progressist director had made the film to denounce the genre, he could have done so exactly as it is, without changing a single shot. And the film would work as a satire and a critique (though it would still be boring and with the most confusing editing I’ve ever seen).

The main character is not only an urban vigilante but also a landlord of 3500 homes and a vocational evictor. So, yes, if someone is actually able to identify with that character, they probably have some kind of psychopathy.
It’s like watching Dragon Ball and identifying with Frieza.
I guess they’re the same idiots who see Rorschach as a role model.

And honestly, I don’t even think Uwe Boll believes he has such radical ideas (unless he’s mental insane, a real possibility) but what he really loves is MONEY. He knows that if the movie is radical and demagogic enough, a bunch of mindless people will support it regardless of its quality (which is nonexistent).
And that’s exactly what’s happening, because its message is “necessary” since it “addresses issues that no one else wants to talk about.”
They have even used their problems with censorship in Germany (which has fairly strict rules on the matter) as an excuse to claim that the film had been banned in the country and spark a wave of support… Which is not true, its release was restricted but not banned.

Honestly, the practice of capitalizing on specific political topics to make money or gain notoriety by exploiting a (depending on your perspective) noble cause is neither new nor exclusive to the far-right. Often, the standards for criticism differ depending on what is considered “relevant” or “necessary,” leaving quality aside.
And it’s also well known that historical tragic events can be a good source of money or prestige.
Sometimes it feels that there’s a kind of exploitation going on.
I remember there was criticism (much of it from progressist circles) about how Barbie had turned feminism into a trendy concept that could be packaged, marketed, and harmless shared in social media.
It’s a discussion that always comes up among authors, the difference between intentions and results, and it’s fascinating how those issues also change depending on the era, and how the pain of some can be the gain of others.

Just like happened with the incredibly boring Sound of Freedom (spark of the “kidnappedchildrenexploitation” genre) now with this Citizen Vigilante I find ironic how the biggest defenders of the “woke danger” theory, who complain about how politics has ruined their favorite franchises, those who criticize the X-Men addressing marginalization and religious bigotry without having read God Loves, Man Kills, those guys… are now the first to defend the indefensible, clinging to their ideology like a sailor clings to the mast of his ship during a storm.

Actually… What you need to do is forget about this Citizen Turd and go see The Furious.

And that’s all for today! Stay away from dark streets if you committed a crime and the judge acquitted you... or if you’re a little behind on this month’s rent… Because the Cannibal Landlord is on the prowl!
See you in a new edition of BrokenEnglish, and if you are a paid subscriber, in a new episode of Silenzio or The Red Circle.

Copyright © 2026 Victor Santos. All rights reserved.

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