President Obama in Comics: An Interesting and Peculiar Selection from the Sub-Sub-Genre…

President Obama has already featured in a number of comic books: be they comic/graphic adaptations of his life story, campaign-biography style one-shots, or cameos in established series comic series (such as Marc Guggenheim’s Avenging Spider-Man, below). Few presidents have excited the imaginations of such a broad segment of the American public and creative industries as has the 44th president. As someone who is interested in the cross-over areas of politics, media and pop culture, these past five years have been a fertile time for alternative presidential coverage.

Boom Studios’ Barack Obama 2012 Election Issue

Barack Obama: The Comic Book Biography (IDW, 2012); Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man: Election Day Cover, 2008 (above) and interior pages (below)

Most recently, IDW Comics published The Other Dead (currently at issue #4), which is elevator-pitched as “Zombie Animals Devour the World”. The longer-form description sounds like a familiar, fauna-twist on The Walking Dead:

“As a weary community braces for the onslaught of an incoming superstorm, an even more insidious force grows right under their noses! When a sudden outbreak turns every animal in sight into raging, flesh-craving monsters, a colorful cast of characters will have no choice but to contend with THE OTHER DEAD!”

But, as the series unfolds, and the infection spreads across America, a diverse cast of characters – “ranging from a demon-obsessed death metal band to a paranoid survivalist to the President of the United States himself” – will try to contend with and combat “the most unpredictable zombie outbreak in history.” I don’t have any interior page previews featuring the president, but of the 11 cover variants that have thus-far been revealed for the first four issues, there are two (#1 and #4) that feature President Obama prominently, toting some serious firepower:

The Other Dead issues #1-4 are out now, published by IDW Comics. The series is written by Joshua Ortega and Digger T. Mesch, cover artwork is by Kevin Eastman, interior artwork is by Qing Ping Mui, and colouring by Blond.

Reading Round-Up: Marvel Comics

A strange combination of having had a ton of spare time to read and a new job means I probably won’t be able to write my usual-type of review for many of the books and graphic novels I’ve read over the past couple of months. For some books, I will still write longer reviews, but for many (if not most) I’ll include them in occasional round-/catch-up posts with mini-reviews. Today, I take a look at recently-read Marvel titles.

Reviewed: Amazing Spider-Man “Red-Headed Stranger”, “Return of the Black Cat” & “The Gauntlet Vol.1”; Rick Remender’s Venom Vols.1-3, Ultimate Comics – X-Men Vol.1, Ultimate Comics – Hawkeye, Daredevil Yellow

Amazing Spider-Man: “Died In Your Arms Tonight” (Marvel)

Writers: Dan Slott, Stan Lee, Mark Waid, Bob Gale | Artists: John Romita, Jr., Marcos Martin, Colleen Doran, Mario Alberti | Inks: Klaus Janson | Colors: Dean White, Jose Villarrubia, Javier Rodriguez

The return of Doctor Octopus, Daredevil, a wedding you never predicted, and the return of one of the most important people in Peter Parker’s life. Doc’s back in town, but it’s only a prelude to darker days ahead as Spidey unknowingly prepares for a gauntlet he can’t predict. Also, several short features showcase some rarely-explored aspects of both Spidey and Peter’s life. And, finally, the second most important wedding day of Peter Parker’s life.

Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #600-601, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36,
& material from Amazing Spider-Man Family #7

The book is rather uneven. It’s bitty, highly episodic, and the tone veers all over the place, dependent on the writer. The humour works at times, but at others it feels like it is trying so hard, it’s difficult to like it at all (imagine the quippiness of Gilmore Girls, but with a wall-crawling super-hero). It took longer than I expected to read all of this, as I just couldn’t get sucked in. It is not, however, without its moments. Thankfully, the book improved, once we got beyond the first, mammoth issue.

Mark Waid’s “Daredevil” Vol.2 (Marvel)

Writer: Mark Waid | Artist: Paolo Rivera (#7,9,10), Emma Rios (Amazing Spider-Man #677), Kano (#8), Khoi Pham (#10.1) | Inks: Joe Rivera (#7,9,10) | Colours: Javier Rodriguez

Following a shocking discovery about the Marvel Universe, Daredevil has a weighty decision to make, the results of which will affect his friends and enemies both! Meanwhile, the Nelson and Murdock law offices struggle to celebrate the holidays as insurmountable problems descend upon them! Then, Spider-Man and Daredevil team up when Black Cat is arrested, and Murdock is the only lawyer who will touch her (her case, we mean). The next great love triangle of the Marvel U begins.

I blitzed through this. The series has been showered with praise across seemingly the whole spectrum of comics establishment and fans alike. As a fan of Waid’s Irredeemable and Incorruptible, there was little doubt that I would check out what he’s done with Daredevil. I really enjoyed the first book, and so there was no doubt I would pick this one up. And luckily, it does the trick – it builds on the setting and characters, and weaves in more of New York’s super-hero community (Spider-Man and, in Volume 3, Punisher). I thoroughly enjoyed this – the writing, artwork, everything.

Collects: Daredevil #7, Amazing Spider-Man #677, Daredevil #8-10.1

Comics Round-Up (Mar.21)

Another mixed bag, though this time rather Marvel- and IDW-heavy. (The week’s second round-up will be a lot more diverse.) I enjoyed most of these comics, but for some reason a couple didn’t really ignite my usual level of interest. I’m not sure if this is a result of lingering Man Flu symptoms, or if a couple of these issues just didn’t stack up to past experience. Regardless, let us get on with the reviews in this first (slightly late) Comics Round-Up…

Reviewed Herein: Avengers Assemble #1, Defenders #4, Infestation: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2, Memorial #4, Monocyte #3, Road Rage #2, Smoke & Mirrors #1, Snake Eyes #11, Amazing Spider-Man #680-1

Upcoming: “Spider-Man: The Ends of the Earth” (Marvel)

Thought I’d share some teasers for the next, big Spider-Man story arc from Marvel:

The next big Spider-Man epic begins in Amazing Spider-Man #682, part one of Ends Of The Earth, by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli! The Sinister Six, led by the vengeful Doctor Octopus, is back and they’re looking for revenge! Can Spider-Man & Earth’s Mightiest save the world before Doc Ock’s explosive endgame is revealed?

I haven’t read a Spider-Man comic since Marvel was running their Operation: Zero Tolerance event (15 years ago), but I’ve been told this is a good place to jump back in. So, I think I may just give this a try. Here are some teaser images for the series: