Secret Empire is a comic book series by Marvel about a fascist takeover of the USA by a Captain America revealed as a sleeper agent of Hydra, a non-white-supremacist-honest-but-once-allied-to-Nazis-in-WWII-and-nevertheless-fully-fascist organisation. You may have heard of it. You may have also heard that it has caused considerable concern for some who have been quite vocal on social media.

The Free Comic Book Day edition of Secret Empire have been selling copies for up to $7 on eBay. Why, when it was so widely available and so free? Well, this might be a partial explanation. People had been talking about burning copies of it.

https://twitter.com/kimyvngjun/status/860934650184818688

https://twitter.com/pansyprat/status/860389567177699329

My fave comic book store just received the secret empire comic i wanna burn it 🙃 — Drea (@stylescevans) April 28, 2017

https://twitter.com/pansyprat/status/856527396345757696

so the new collector corps box comes with a copy of secret empire #0 who wants to see me burn it — carly bae jepsen (@fingerstriped) April 22, 2017

https://twitter.com/artifishly/status/837909445879431168

https://twitter.com/CatOperated/status/860830878582308864

And then actually burning copies of it.

https://twitter.com/edenburned/status/860946723451146245

https://twitter.com/edenburned/status/860947065303642112

happy free comic book day!!! pic.twitter.com/AohvWvA263 — little charlie (@tenderslices) May 6, 2017

It was pointed out by a few that burning comics in opposition to white supremacy might have tinges of irony, as traditionally, it's the Nazi white supremacists who mostly burned books. And indeed, the fascists of Hydra did so in the comic itself.

But there was also plenty of support for the action. There was what you might call a mixed response.

I SAVED IT DONT WORRY !!! pic.twitter.com/Bhac41mMvl — little charlie (@tenderslices) May 6, 2017

@tenderslices this is the best thing i have ever seen in my life ? — raine (@skyIerwhite) May 6, 2017

You know who else burned books they didn't agree with? I think Secret Empire is a pile of shit. Burning books just makes me uncomfortable. https://t.co/ANgpXuzDRx — ⚧ Tamitha (@electrotamitha) May 6, 2017

Burn a brand new day, not secret empire. — Chrys-2-Pher™ (@PinheadWriter) May 7, 2017

LOL people calling secret empire fascist or nazi propaganda then go and burn the books? Lmao classic. — AquamAnder 🐠🔱 (@AquamAnder) May 7, 2017

@edenburned @nickspencer Plus it might make a more interesting display

to burn the entire Secret Empire series. — Zeta Machine (@zeta_mecha) May 7, 2017

To those who burn the FCBD: Secret Empire issue, you know no one made you pick up the book. Burning books is bad. Period. — Wesley Messer (@CaptComicAddict) May 7, 2017

@tenderslices Oh wow. You actually got a moment of value out of that story. Well done! — Tim Wright (@timswar) May 7, 2017

Official Statement from the Office of AEISD: if you're burning issues of Secret Empire, you're an idiot. pic.twitter.com/yL6dNWgphM — An Englishman In San Diego (@EnglishmanSDCC) May 7, 2017

@tenderslices @SamMaggs Best use of an issue of Secret Empire I've yet to see. — Rowan Mooney (@rowanred81) May 6, 2017

https://twitter.com/MadameHYDRA13/status/861090570772422656

@tenderslices THIS is 100% iconic also u kind of look like gerard way¿which is great my inner comic nerd n spencer hater emo enjoys this picture v much — 👁‍🗨👄👁‍🗨 manhu (@albinpenguins) May 7, 2017

@tenderslices I just wanted you to know this made my day awesome :D — Clockwork Demon (@IrisKalmia) May 6, 2017

@tenderslices I wish I went to my lcs just to take a copy away from some poor soul then rip it into shreads to save the planet. — Alexis Sergio (@TransComics) May 6, 2017

Wait, people are burning copies of Secret Empire? Comics has completely lost it's chill. This is insane. — Niam Suggitt (@NiamSuggitt) May 7, 2017

Oh. Good. People are actually engaging in burning the Secret Empire FCBD issue… pic.twitter.com/bhmAN54rNm — Patrick Henry (@PHenry1991) May 7, 2017

@tenderslices THIS IS ICONIC HOLY SHIT — Rasperbby (@pansexualshitty) May 6, 2017

And from the writer of the comic himself…

https://twitter.com/nickspencer/status/861005412778229764

@nickspencer Man you just fundamentally don't understand how free speech works, do you — Lindsay Smith ✨💀 (@LindsaySmithDC) May 7, 2017

@nickspencer Man and it's so weird how you got mad at private citizens for punching Nazis but not at the govt jailing woman who laughed at AG Sessions — Lindsay Smith ✨💀 (@LindsaySmithDC) May 7, 2017

@nickspencer how jealous are you that my boyfriends tweet is more popular than this one — rice (@snackfaIcon) May 7, 2017

Maybe if the book was good more people would give a shit — Bradley (@Bradley_1020) May 7, 2017

But one thing is sure: It's great news for comic book speculators! Maybe they can persuade folk to burn all their New Mutants #98 while they're at it, after all, Deadpool is Hydra now, too.

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