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CSBG Archive

Some Serious Political Questions

Is anyone going to buy these?

If so; why? Not being sarcastic, I’d just like to know. Is it curiousity, out of adoration for one of the candidates. Surely there are people who collect Obama memorablia (Obamabilia?) out there, even if that means maybe having to buy this. If not for the simmering racism, I probably would have bought that for my dog, since she loves socks. She’s a white dog, so I guess that would have just been all kinds of bad symbolism.

Did you just always want to see J. Scott Campbell draw John McCain? I mean, I could see reading Danger Girl and saying “You know what would make this comic with all the titilation, Sean Connery, robo-Nazis, and apparently Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow better? John McCain!” Because really; John McCain would probably totally approve of Danger Girl, I bet. Hell, Sarah Palin pretty much is a character in that book. Partially because the d

I’m sort of interested in these comics, snarky snark snarking aside. The only comic I own in this vein is that Pope John Paul thing Steven Grant wrote for (with?) Marvel in the ’80s. I’ve never even read the thing, I just liked the novelty of it. I probably ought to actually dig it out of the comic box some day and check it out. Are these things that people are interested in reading? As an undecided voter, I should probably read both. I mean, it’s got to be sort of socially acceptable at this point to base my vote on a comic book now, right? Or is that only if it was produced as a GN and became a big movie? I AM SO CONFUSED!

And really, when you start sampling Dan Coyle, it’s time to head out.

  • Posted on October 7, 2008 @ 05:58 PM

29 Comments

marvelcomicsgroupy

October 7, 2008 at 6:08 pm

Colbert in ‘08!

So, that’s a… no?

Nope. I’m not supporting any of these things that encourage the idea of politics as some sort of hobby or trend.

The Marvel John Paul II biography is well worth reading. The story is interesting and well-done.

Here’s my answer and my reason all wrapped up into one: Partially because the d

Oddly enough I’d rather have a comic book professional give his opinion on the race than any MSNBC reporter.

I think this will be one of the weakest elections in a long while, strong turn-out but there’s no way the economy is going to turn around that fast and whomever gets to be ‘president’ will find his hyped-up celebrity status quickly fade away and he’ll become unpopular. I’m not saying who I think this guy will be even if he is unqualified.

J Scott Campbell’s used to do better work. All the digital inking makes his lines look thin and scratchy.

From the preview pages, these don’t look worth reading because they don’t appear to be good COMICS. They’re just giant blocks of text strung together with pictures.

Undecided voter? What exactly are you waiting for? You, honestly, haven’t been able to make up your mind between these two the last SIX MONTHS or so? For a man with obviously strong opinions, so much so that you post them on the internet, that is rather surprising.

Only if these books include the candidates positions on Superhuman Registration, Mutant Rights, and recognition of Alternate Earths.

FunkyGreenJerusalem

October 7, 2008 at 10:42 pm

I’m not supporting any of these things that encourage the idea of politics as some sort of hobby or trend.

So you’re not supporting either candidate then?

I’m in agreement with a lot of positions here. I might buy these if (a.) it was several months earlier before the candidates’ information wasn’t everywhere, (b.) they seemed like genuinely interesting comics, (c.) everything that thekamisama said, (d.) it’s a shaky time to be investing too much in comics! *panic!*, and (e.) Partially because the d

I read the JPII biography in my church’s library as a kid.

Not bad.

I’ll buy them, oh, yes. I’m doing research on comics and performance studies.

This is a paper and a half.

That J Scott Campbell cover looks like a perfect example of “They paid x amount of dollars, so they get x amount of work.” Sloppy and kinda lazy.

The comics themselves look a bit stiff and uninteresting.

“So you’re not supporting either candidate then?”

They’re not things.

Doubt I’ll buy them. I know they produced two in an attempt to be bipartisan, but I can’t shake the feeling that each one is simply there at an attempt to snag some votes.

On a side note, does it seem to me John McCain just has a better backstory for a comic book? I won’t try and belittle the man’s trials, but his past seems more…dynamic. Which doesn’t mean I’m voting for the guy, just a note…

-M

I’m buying them for my daughter. She found “Faith of My Fathers” and “The Audacity of Hope” to be a little inaccessible. But she’s 6, so that’s understandable.

I think Josh’s daughter would be the right audience for this sort of thing… but otherwise, I can’t see much interest other than “novelty factor.” But that’s kind of weak, since they’re not all that new an idea anymore. These comics seem to be fairly bland and down-the-middle, which makes them not worth bothering with for someone like me who picks up the occasional comic just for its sheer oddity (like Solson Comics’ REAGAN’S RAIDERS #1, which I own….)

You *could* make a pretty damn good comic book out of McCain’s early life. It’s a great story with a lot of dynamic elements that could benefit from additional visuals.

Problem is, for McCain’s later life and all of Obama’s (or just about any politician), there’s not much there for which a comic book adaptation is well-suited. Most stories about politics and politicians are essentially “A bunch of white guys in suits in big rooms, talking.” You *can* make comic books about that, if you want, but it’s not the sort of thing that particularly benefits from what comics can do.

First, I hate politics. Our government is neither run BY the people nor For the people, and hasn’t been for a VERY long time. Whenever someone DOES try and take it back to the original intent, they’re either ousted or killed.

Second, on anything other than a local level, the individual’s views means very little. The higher you get, the more a puppet of their party they become, until you hit the president who is a figurehead for the party. Yes, individual thoughts affect their M.O., but not to the degree you might think.

So for the president, one liar is as good, or bad, as the next. I advise to vote the party, not the person. Frankly, neither of them are worth a darn.

Getting to the comic, these are propoganda, not biographies. The reports I’ve read of these comics show Obama to be a paragon of virtue, hard work, and dedication and McCain to be a career politician, crooked and ambitious. Armed with these reviews, I see nothing to make me believe they’re worth the paper they’re printed on.

Assuming the reviews are correct, you can lump these into the pile of biased “journalism” that has been pushing Obama for the last year.

On a realted note, I’ve not seen anything from the “reporting” saying what the candidated are actially running on. What’s their platform? Where do they stand on important issues? What are their morals? All I’ve seen from them is “Vote for me because he sucks”. People, mudslinging is NOT a campaign platform. What is this campaign about!?!?!?!?!

These are two crummy candidates for President. Sen. Obama hasn’t done anything to warrant being nominated and Cmdr. McCain has never had a job other than working for the government. People even misdescribe Cmdr. McCain’s Navy record: He flew a ground-attack aircraft, the A-4, NOT a fighter such as the F-4. And if people didn’t watch Sen. Obama speak but only read him in print they would be much less impressed.

Wake me up when someone puts out comics on the lives & times of Emma Goldman or the IWW. (Actually, yes, both DO exist in the form of TPBs, & I do have them.) That’s where my politics lie.

McCain’s history makes a better bio-comic, depending on which version of the history you go with.

Obama’s makes a better 0 issue origin.

Meh, I’ll wait for the trade paperback.

Well, at least half seriously, I only buy TPBs/hardcovers anymore, and I can’t see going to the shop for just this.

FunkyGreenJerusalem

October 8, 2008 at 6:30 pm

They’re not things.

So politicians who want you to see politics as a hobby and a trend are ok?

I got them. Like that old Pope comic, one of those interesting/random things for my collection.

Knew you could write a short, succinct article.

I briefly flipped through both books, and it does look like they’re less the bland sanitized campaign biographies than I expected. The two random pages I flipped to had McCain getting angry and slugging a guy, and Obama having a problem with a credit card being declined.

That didn’t quite intrigue me enough to buy either book , or indeed even to read the pages more closely for context, but at least they’re a bit more than the standard boring stuff.

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