5 Great Comic Books Featuring Fidel Castro

Cuban political and revolutionary figure Fidel Castro passed away this Thanksgiving, ending a life and time that was as controversial as it was remarkable.

Like his former ally Che Guevara, Castro has become more than just a man: this larger-than-life figure has been a worldwide pop-culture fixation for decades, influencing everything from literature, music, TV, movies – and yes, even comic books as well.

If you’re a comic book fan and want to experience some of the more interesting ways in which the late Fidel Castro was represented in the medium, we’re here to help. Here are 5 Great Comic Books Featuring Fidel Castro.

Honorable Mention MAD & Cracked

If you want to have some witty and intelligent humor about Castro, look no further than his MAD and Cracked magazine appearances over the years.

From political satire to mock ads having the Cuban leader selling peanut butter, these iconic houses of humor used the comic strip medium to get some of the best jabs in at both Castro and the US response to his leadership. 

Time Lincoln: Cuba Commander

For you Doctor Who types who like their history mixed with something really fantastical, look no further than Time Lincoln.

Featuring everyone’s favorite honest president and his Travelers Team, Time Lincoln explored the premise that America’s great unifier had an entire time-spanning adventure right before his assassination. One of the temporal threats that Lincoln faces is “Cuba Commander,” a fantastical version of Castro powered by Lincoln’s time-hopping nemesis, Void Stalin. 

Have (ridiculous) fun with history doesn’t get much better than this. 

Fury Max: My War Gone By

If you want to mix real history with something a little more fantastical and “comic bookish,” then Fury Max: My War Gone By could be what you’re looking for. 

This Marvel Comics MAX series places SHIELD head Nick Fury inside real-life Cold War military history. While the story covers a lot of history, a big part of it takes place in 1961 Cuba, as we learn what role Nick Fury played in the Bay of Pigs and related attempts to assassinate Castro and take down his regime.

Punisher writer Garth Ennis knows how to have as much fun with history as he does with mythology in Preacher, so this Marvel Comics version of history is worth checking out. 

DC Comics Invasion!

DC Comics “Invasion!” storyline from the late 80s is (ironically enough) about to be adapted into a four-part crossover event for the CW’s DC TV series lineup, but it began as a three-issue comic book event that happened to feature Castro. 

An alliance of alien races from various DC titles attempts to infiltrate and conquer earth. One particular race of shape-changers, The Durlans, were tasked with invading Cuba to replace Castro and his government, and gain access to their nuclear stockpile. Flash and Martian Manhunter would ultimately thwart that plot. 

DC Comics Invasion!

DC Comics “Invasion!” storyline from the late 80s is (ironically enough) about to be adapted into a four-part crossover event for the CW’s DC TV series lineup, but it began as a three-issue comic book event that happened to feature Castro. 

An alliance of alien races from various DC titles attempts to infiltrate and conquer earth. One particular race of shape-changers, The Durlans, were tasked with invading Cuba to replace Castro and his government, and gain access to their nuclear stockpile. Flash and Martian Manhunter would ultimately thwart that plot. 

Killing Castro

Killing Castro takes another look Castro from a much different angle: as the target of the US. From assassination to espionage, writer Jason Ciaccia and artist Aaron Norhanian pulled together anecdotes collected from CIA documents to form their 2015 graphic novel, about a CIA agent scarred from his training in the MKULTRA program. 

The appeal of Killing Castro is its “so crazy it can’t be fiction” account of LSD-fueled assassins and other ridiculous plots the CIA had to kill, discredit, or isolate Fidel Castro during the Cold War.   

Castro

Lauded German journalist, author, and comic book artist Reinhard Kleist released this graphic novel work, which uses a fictional German journalist named Karl Mertens as the lens through which to examine the life and times of Fidel Castro. 

Castro is the go-to point for any comic book fan that wants to get the biography of the iconic leader in their preferred medium. Kleist’s black-and-white artwork walks a line between cartoonish and gritty that makes the experience of Castro and his Cuba into something truly larger than life, which just makes it all the more exciting.