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Thursday, July 30, 2009 

Obama worship among comic publishers gets even worse

The New York Daily News reports that the Obama worship has been turning up among the indie publishers. Some of these examples are really embarrassing:
The commander in chief is taking charge in the world of comics. No longer restricted to short cameos in books like “The Amazing Spider-Man,” superhero versions of Obama are taking on the bad guys themselves.

“They are putting him in a more prominent role then they did before – before it was just there’s the President, the President makes a statement about the character and that’s it,” says Nick Purpura, general manager of Jim Hanley’s Universe, a comic book haven in midtown.

In a 48-page one-shot of “Drafted,” an ongoing series from Devil’s Due Publishing, Obama finds himself stranded as a mute with a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic Chicago. Elevated to a leadership position after an alien invasion, this Obama launches a new campaign, using his fists when necessary.

DDP also kicked off this summer with an ongoing series titled "Barack the Barbarian," featuring Obama as a loincloth-clad warrior in the role that made fellow politician Arnold Schwarzenegger famous. Other pols make cameos with names such as "Hilaria" - Clinton – with Sarah Palin as "Red Sarah."
If their reworking of the Secretary of State's name is supposed to be funny, I don't find it funny at all. And the plots they're coming up with here only make me yawn. I'm sure their depiction of Palin won't be something to look forward to either.
Since most of these titles are published by independent publishers other than the Big Two, Marvel Comics and DC Comics, many fans are skeptical that the series are little more than sales stunts.

“For a lot of the smaller companies, this is one of the ways they want to be put on the map,” says Purpura.

If that’s the case, Obama may be battling this recession one page at time, by increasing comic sales and giving those smaller comic companies a fighting chance.

“It’s getting people back into comics,” says Purpura’s co-worker, Golden Age, who won't divulge his own secret identity.
Oh, is it? They don't mention how many copies even the Obama-based comics are selling. Few comics now even sell more than 100,000 and those that aren't Obama-based certainly aren't getting anywhere. And with Obama's public approval ratings tanking, I'm not sure we can count on many people in the wider public hurrying to the LCS to buy a copy of these needless stunts. But don't expect the store owners, desperate as they surely are for customers, to admit it.

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