A spectre has raised its ugly head in Europe and North America. Certain self-styled critics of “the system” (often themselves former “leftists”) are trying to convince us that the best way to oppose “global elites” is for us to embrace patriotism and take pride in the sordid history of "our own" imperialist nation-states. These demagogues, often claiming to be "neither left nor right," even have the gall to enlist Marx and the classics of Marxism and, through (usually distorted) quotes, to present their xenophobia as some kind of legitimate communist radical posture.
In North America, some might object that openly racist arguments against immigration remain primarily within the orbit of the self-avowed right wing. If so, this is not due to our left being any healthier, rather (on the contrary) it is due to the prevalence of hegemonic anticommunism here, and the consequent weakness of Marxism and communism outside of academic and academic-adjacent spaces. As such, the “anti-immigrant Marxist” grift does not have the same potential. Still, we can see North American examples in weirdo social media personalities like Jackson Hinkle, Caleb Maupin, and so-called "MAGA maoism." The most infamous pathetic exception being the (formerly Trotskyist) Socialist Workers Party, which has adopted a series of anti-immigrant, anti-Black, and anti-Palestinian positions over the past decades. And beyond these essentially fascist examples, there are more than a few “progressive” organizations and intellectuals (amongst them even some “Marxists”) who will argue that “we” cannot afford “too many” migrants, who blame immigrants for the housing crisis, who insist that we need to take care of “our own people” first.
This comic constitutes a forceful and creative intervention against this crap, addressing these demagogues and opportunists head on: The ghost of old Karl, who continues to haunt our world, has decided that enough is enough! In The Spectre, an angry and ever passionate Marx takes us on a journey through space and time in an attempt to show us what the real positions of the revolutionary left have been on the issue of immigration. What follows is an accessible and historically grounded explanation of why communism must be internationalist, and an intellectual defense against those who would instrumentalize Marxism in service of its enemies.
Originally published as Το Φάντασμα by the Greek publishing house οι Εκδόσεις του Αύριο (Tomorrow's Editions), The Spectre was awarded the prize for most popular comic book of 2024 by the Greek Comics Academy in May 2025.
COMING SOON -- DUE OUT IN SPRING 2025 -- AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER NOW!
About the Authors and Artist
Lefteris “Boban” Papathanasis studied chemistry, philosophy, and poster-hanging. He has published several political comic books, which have won several awards in Greece. He lives in Ioannina, Greece, where he works as a high school chemistry teacher.
Mauro Vanetti lives in Pavia, Italy. Since his teenage years, he has been a Marxist activist and participant in left-wing and antifascist movements. He is the author of the book “The Left of the Right” (La sinistra di destra, Alegre 2019), where he more thoroughly develops the analysis presented in The Spectre. He works in the software industry as a developer, trainer, and game creator.
Vangelis Zikos lives in Ioannina, Greece. He works in the country’s main industry, tourism; he also occasionally works as a translator. He is very pleased to have translated works by Alberto Prunetti, Pino Cacucci, Valerio Marchi, Emilio Lussu, Christoph Schminck-Gustavus, and others.