Watch CBS News

'Calexit' Comic Envisions 'Occupied' Cities, Antifa-Style Protests, Paralyzed Airports

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The campaign to make California an independent nation may have stalled, but the vision of its supporters is finding new life in a comic book.

The digital graphic novel "Calexit" lays out a dark vision of the Golden State after "a fascist, autocratic President took over the United States" and yet "lost California" in the popular vote - an apparent reference to President Trump's election victory.

The book's description from Black Mask Studios describes the world's seventh-largest economy paralyzed by "resistance" to the President: "What if the day after that President took power, the largest mass demonstration in history occurred, and the state with the largest turnout was California. And then, the following week, two of the largest international airports in the world, California's LAX and SFO, were blockaded by protesters? What if California refused to be ruled?"

A sneak preview of Calexit's first issue - due out this week - is eerily close to news footage from anti-Trump demonstrations, including Antifa-style protesters dressed in bandanas and all-black militant garb tussling with police.

The storyline by creators Matteo Pizzolo and Amancay Nahuelpan revolves around a fictional executive order to deport illegal immigrants in the state, a move which leads to California refusing to enforce the law and declaring itself as a "sanctuary state".

In response, residents living in the state's suburban and rural regions - where most of the state's resources are located - align with the federal government, pitting them against protesters who are "resisting oppression, punching Nazis, protecting each other, kicking ass, and demanding liberty for all".

The comic also references a fictional map of California indicating multiple cities including Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco being occupied by the U.S. National Guard.

Calexit comic
(Image courtesy Black Mask Studios)

While the comic's premise is entirely fictional, Calexit as an idea is very real: a second measure submitted in May by the separatist California Freedom Coalition called for the governor to negotiate with the federal government to give California more autonomy as what supporters call a "nation within a nation."

The coalition must collect more than 585,000 signatures to qualify for next year's ballot.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.