Comic (presidential) relief
By Kendra Nordin | 08.14.08
Comic books are gaining respect as a field of academic research, as Monitor book reviewer Randy Dotinga recently reported. So it should be no surprise that presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have been turned into superheroes.
The San Diego Tribune has a story today announcing that comic books featuring McCain and Obama and their larger-than-life stories will be available in October from IDW Publishing. (Fortunately, neither character are in tights. Pinstripes suits still save the day.)
The comic books aren’t an attempt to caricature the candidates (leave that to the political cartoonists) but rather, yep, you guessed it, getting people to pick up a book. Jeff Mariotte, a supernatural thriller novelist who is writing the Obama book, told the Tribune, “We’re just using the medium to get the stories of these guys out there, maybe for a different audience that wouldn’t pick up a big biography of them.”
Getting people to pick up a big biography doesn’t seem to be a problem for Jerome Corsi. His critical treatment of Obama in “The Obama Nation” has shot to top of the bestseller lists and is causing quite a flap in political camps this week. (Corsi also wrote a scathing, bestselling biography of John Kerry “Unfit for Command” in 2004.)
Books may not have the animated powers of YouTube in this political campaign but at least they can still pack a punch.
Comments
2. Independent | 08.14.08
Obsiously jefflz has not read the book. I wonder why so many in the media have been so angered by the book when there’re an avalanche of accusations made about both candidates every day? I’ve heard a number of reports that have zeroed in on the “errors” in the book (the same three or four things) but no one yet has given a balanced coverage and mentioned a single correct point (and there are many in the book). It reminds me of all the negative things about the Clintons that were overlooked until Hillary was no longer a viable candidate or all the negative things about McCain that have been conveniently forgotten by Republicans in the last four months. It seems to me that the more information that is available, the better for all of us. Just one more viewpoint to consider carefully.
3. Bob | 08.15.08
It is going to be blood sport, this presidential election. It looks like the gloves are going to come off in the next 2-3 weeks and we shall be subjected to the dirtiest contest ever. This is the Obama Camp’s response to Corsi’s book, a free download:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4773726/Unfit-for-publication
Corsi’s extended campaign flyer is unfortunately not available for free download, so I shall pick one up from the library or one of those being bulk purchased by operatives should be sent my way.
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1. jefflz | 08.14.08
This Corsi pig slop passing itself off as a book is a digrace to the memory of the house of Simon and Schuster. Karl Rove’s fingerprints are all over this unadulterated pack of lies. All right minded people should be outraged at this Swift Boat style attack. Obama campaigners needs to strike back with a vengeance. A complete boycott of Simon and Schuster would be a great place to start. Getting out the full story about McCain and the Keating Five might be useful. One thing is certain Obama cannot stand idly by and let the RNC/Rove/McCain thugs get away with this assault..