Barack Obama in comics
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Barack Obama has appeared as a non-fictional character in comic books published by a number of publishing companies. During 2007, when Obama decided to run for President of the United States, comic book writers and artists wanted to capture this historic moment by including him as a character in various comic books.
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[edit] Publication history
Obama made his first appearance as a comic book character in July 2007 in Licensable BearTM #4 by Nat Gertler, where he appeared as a U.S. Senator. The comic only had a print-run of 1,050 issues. A year later, in September 2008, Obama appeared in Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon #137 .[1] This issue featured a variant cover which showed Obama with the Savage Dragon, who proclaims that he is endorsing him for President.[2] This marked a significant moment for Obama as a comic book character; it was the first time that a future president had been shown on a comic book cover. The issue sold out four print runs.[1] A month later, the comic was followed up by Presidential Material: Barack Obama by Jeff Mariotte and in November 2008 with Obama: The Comic Book by Rod Espinosa.
In November 2008, two things led to an explosion in popularity of the Obama comic book character. One of Obama's advisers gave an interview to journalist Jon Swaine of The Daily Telegraph titled, “Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know.” In the interview, it emerged that Obama collects “Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian.”[3] Then later that month, on November 4, 2008, Obama became the first African-American to become President of the United States.
When Marvel Comics discovered the president-elect was an avid collector of Spider-Man comics, they decided to have Obama the comic book character grace the cover of their The Amazing Spider-Man #583 (Jan. 2009), for the story "Spidey Meets the President!" written by Mark Waid. This particular release proved extremely popular and sold out in a matter of minutes. A day after the release, the edition was sold for $300 on eBay.
Since that time, Obama the comic book character has graced the cover and pages of many other comics including Savage Dragon #145 (Feb. 2008) by Erik Larsen and Youngblood #8 (Feb. 2008) by Rob Liefeld. The Savage Dragon #145 had a special edition variant only offered at the WonderCon 2009 in San Francisco in March 2009 (only 1,500 were produced). On the cover, Barack Obama can be seen holding an American flag and punching Osama Bin Laden in the face. These comic book editions have become highly sought after collectible items. In January, February and March 2009, Licensable BearTM #4 issues have sold for $250, first print Savage Dragon #137 with Barack Obama on the cover have been sold for $400 and Savage Dragon #145 special edition variants with Obama and Osama Bin Laden on the cover have sold for $425 on eBay.[citation needed]
[edit] Comics featuring Barack Obama
- Licensable BearTM #4, Publisher - About Comics, Writer – Nat Gertler, Artist – Lonny Chant, Release – July 2007
- Savage Dragon #137, Publisher – Image Comics, Writer – Erik Larsen, Artist – Erik Larsen, Release – September 2008
- Presidential Material: Barack Obama, Publisher – IDW Publishing, Writer – Jeff Mariotte, Artists - Tom Morgan, Release – October 2008[4][5]
- Obama: The Comic Book, Publisher – Antarctic Press, Writer – Rod Espinosa, Artist – Chris Allen, Release – November 2008
- The Amazing Spider-Man #583: "Spidey Meets the President!", Publisher – Marvel Comics, Writer – Mark Waid, Artists - Barry Kitson, Mark Farmer, Dean White, Cory Petit, Release – January 2009
- Savage Dragon #145, Publisher – Image Comics, Writer – Erik Larsen, Artist – Erik Larsen, Release – February 2009
- Youngblood #8, Publisher – Image Comics, Writer – Rob Liefeld, Artist – Rob Liefeld, Release – February 2009
- Thunderbolts #128–129, Publisher — Marvel Comics, Writer - Andy Diggle, Artist - Roberto De La Torre, Release — March–April 2009
- Female Force: Michelle Obama, Publisher – Bluewater Productions, Writer – Neal Bailey, Artist – Ryan Howe, Release – April 2009[6]
- Drafted: 100 Days one shot, Publisher – Devil's Due Publishing, Writer – Mark Powers, Release – June 2009[7]
- Barack the Barbarian, Publisher – Devil's Due Publishing, Writer – Larry Hama, Artist – Christopher Schons, Release – June 2009[7][8][9][10][11]
- President Evil, Publisher – Antarctic Press, Writer and artist – David Hutchison, Release – July 2009[12]
- Political Power: Barack Obama, Publisher – Bluewater Productions, Writer – Chris Ward, Artist – Azim Akberali, Release – September 2009
- Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama, Publisher – Dynamite Entertainment, Writer – Elliott Serrano, Artist – Ariel Rey Padilla, Release – September 2009[13]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Last, Jonathan V. (10 July 2009). "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's... Obama". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124719493132621465.html. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- ^ "Savage Dragon #137". Grand Comics Database. http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=394436.
- ^ Swaine, Jon (November 7, 2008). "Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/3401168/Barack-Obama-The-50-facts-you-might-not-know.html.
- ^ Phegley, Kiel (July 28, 2008). "CCI: IDW Enters the political sphere with "Presidential Material"". Comic Book Resources. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?id=17476&page=article. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
- ^ Lasiuta, Tim (November 4, 2008). "Jeff Mariotte: Explaining Presidential Material". Comics Bulletin. http://www.comicsbulletin.com/features/122580333221583.htm. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
- ^ "Preview: Female Force: Michelle Obama". Comic Book Resources. http://comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=2497&disp=table.
- ^ a b Manker, Rob (April 4, 2009). "Barack Obama comic books: 'Barack the Barbarian' and 'Drafted: One Hundred Days"". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-talk-barbarian-04apr04,0,6684937.story. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ^ Mail Foreign Service (April 7, 2009). "Meet Barack the Barbarian taking on scantily clad nemesis Sarah Palin in new comic superhero role". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1168213/Barack-Barbarian-takes-scantily-clad-nemesis-Sarah-Palin-new-comic-superhero-role.html. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ^ Spillius, Alex (April 7, 2009). "Barack Obama and Sarah Palin appear in comic series". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5120374/Barack-Obama-and-Sarah-Palin-appear-in-comic-series.html. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
- ^ Flood, Alison (April 8, 2009). "Obama battles Red Sarah in comic clash". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/apr/08/obama-comic-palin. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
- ^ Arrant, Chris (May 12, 2009). "Barack the Barbarian? Behind the Latest Obama Comic". Newsarama. http://www.newsarama.com/comics/050912-Barack-DevilsDue.html. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
- ^ Bilsborough, Jack (August 7, 2009). "Barack Obama depicted as Zombie-killer in new comic book". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5985592/Barack-Obama-depicted-as-Zombie-kiler-in-new-comic-book.html. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ^ Phegley, Kiel (June 18, 2009). "Bringing Out the Dead w/ Ash & Obama". Comic Book Resources. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21645. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
[edit] References
- Barack Obama at the Grand Comics Database
- Barack Obama at the Comic Book DB
