History is written by the winners
Have comic book readers had enough of Barack Obama gracing the covers and making guest appearances in nearly every comic book published these days? Apparently not, as the Commander-in-Chief continues to be a big seller, and continues to show up on everything from Army of Darkness, to a shadowed guest appearances in Marvel comics. So what happens when IDW Publishing moves away from stunt casting to presenting a factual account of the road to the White House?
Before any wild and crazy Republicans or Democrats get all up in arms over this issue’s review, I should point out I am neither Republican or Democrat, but rather a card carrying member of the Libertarian Party (Go third party… Woooooh!), and this review is not meant as a look at my political views. That being said, even when political slants are claimed to be set aside, it appears as though those feelings do slip in here and there.
For The Road to the White House: Barack Obama, the issue has a few hits and misses, that serve to glorify the President, while subtly vilifying his competition. There’s nothing wrong with this, as history is written by the winners, but the book attempts to paint Obama as infallible, which many out there will point out is not the case.
With the rush to press many companies have done to get their Barack stories on the news stands, there seems to be a great glossing over of fact for sake of selling comics. I don’t mind the truncated account of history, and IDW Publishing and writer Jeff Mariotte do an adequate job of covering the facts as reported by the news agencies, and those posted on various websites. There are times when some of the facts go unchallenged, but as far as facts go, I’ve seen worse retellings of recent history than in the pages of this issue.
I think the issue most readers will have with this book is in the art. It is incredibly hard to create realistic likenesses of people, especially when one has to do it for pages on end. For Tom Morgan, he is able to capture the likenesses fairly well, but there are times when Palin is drawn to look like some wide-eyed, crazed loon, and the Far Rght will probably pick up on this as a yet another way the Lefties are trying to bring down their favorite governor of all time. It’s not just Palin that comes off strange at times, as the reaction shot of McCain and crew watching the Vice Presidential debates in their hotel room make it look like they are disgusted or embarrassed by what they are seeing on the television. Even the juxtaposition of McCain giving a thumbs up and a wink while a plummeting stock market ticker appears in the background, could be misinterpreted as an attack. Except for the final parting image of the President, Obama has no such odd art occurrences.
While this issue did a lot to cover the Presidential campaign, the title of the book is The Road to the White House: Barack Obama, not Let’s Point Out Where the Republican’s Screwed Up. There seemed to be a lot more coverage of the Republicans and their foibles, than what the President did to nail the election. I did a very informal count of panels in the issue up to the point where Barack Obama won the election, with Obama and Joe Biden appearing in 28 panels, and the McCain/Palin appearances numbering 38.
Politics are a very sensitive subject, and I applaud IDW Publishing for attempting to tell history in a different medium, and not simply use President Obama’s likeness as a gimmick. As educators look for different ways of getting students into reading and learning about current political issues, Road to the White House: Barack Obama #1 is a good place to start the discussion, but I wouldn’t recommend it as the only source, earning 3 out of 5 Stars.
12 Comments
Good review. Seems pretty “fair and balanced” review to me without the author drinking some kool-aid. I may pick this book up. I am an Asian-American Conservative Navy vet and not a supporter of BHO’s policies. I am not nor have ever been a product of Affirmative Action, ever hated or was ashamed of my country even though Asian-Americans are still to this day not really looked at as ‘real’ Americans as compared to Hispanic and Black Americans, partly because there are just not enough of us in the media and Hollywood so yeah, we will always be more ‘Oriental’. Hmm, I thought the real Americans were the Native American Indian tribes here before the Mayflower came along?
I don’t believe in ridiculous sums of reparations but do think the old WW2 Filipino vets who helped the US win the Pacific are not asking very much and were very were wrongfully denied benefits that was originally promised to them.
As long as this Pres-Elect has all these shadowy figures all associated with him in every capacity possible that has affected all his political policies: ACORN, Goerge Soros, Jerimiah Wright and the Black Liberation Theology, Farahkahn, Bill Ayers to name a “few”…not too mention the biased media all drinking the kool-aid with Double Standards…I am of the majority that say this President has done nothing exceptionally out of the extraordinary greatness as other US Presidents both he himself and his supporters claims to be likended to. What job has he ever held that qualifies him as such? He has never balanced a budget, worked on a payroll, ever owned a company. Yet in a period of 3 months he has put us into the deepest economic debt this country has ever seen in history. All this and many, many more overlooked facts should be in these so-called self-claimed “non-partisan” books more often rahter than the “ZOMFG Let’s See What The Obama Family Is Doing Today? coloring book-like so-called journalism. “Oooh, let’s see Barry run walk his dog, pick his nose, read from his beloved telemprompter, bow down to Arab kings, appease nations that think we are a joke, and hear him praise these said contries with half-truths and right out lies of said nations’ accomplishments (Algebra, printing press, etc.), thier ‘peaceful’ culture and how they treat all thier women. Speaking of women: . Let’s see what ‘fashion icon’ Michelle is wearing today, we are in recession but let’s see her shopping anyway ’cause its so cool!”
I am troubled with the trend that artists must make Obama look as good as possible while rendering the opposition as terrible and evil looking as possible. This is the so-called ‘transparency’ that BHO was talking about? I only get some of this biased-BHO books to get a good laugh at how far we have become as a nation. A nation of a Cult of Personality. And, no I don’t see Gov Palin as a Cult of Personality because she is real and because of that she is a constant target of “Personality Assassination”. In all my 38 years I have never seen such a thing in this country the way Gov Plain is being treated. She is a threat to the Democrats, Liberals ,and all so-called ‘progressives’. Progressive is just the new word for the Socialist Communist Liberal agenda.
Socialist, Communist, and Liberal are three different agendas.
@NoGovtCheeseHandouts
You’re really Rush Limbaugh in disguise aren’t you?
Libertarian Party…oy vey. The party of the closet racist and seeminglu benign bigotry…no overtly hateful rhetoric, but the ideal libertarian world has cracked roads, gun-wielding private property owners with cracked roads, no national defense and home-schooled children,
I once quit a comic shop when I found out that the owner was a Republican with Libertarian leanings. Shopped there for years. Now this man had seen me grow up and overcome the adversity that came with being black and raised in that city. (I used to count pennies in his shop to buy my books.) However, as a well-spoken, well-mannered, well-educated black fella, he once engaged me in a political discussion saying that, “I should get where he’s coming from.”
Indeed, I got exactly where he was coming from and refused to patronize his business anymore.
@NoGovtCheeseHandouts: I am shocked and appalled by your statements and I do not even know where to begin responding. All I can say is that as a veteran of the military, you must be at least somewhat pleased with President Obamas treatment of your brotherhood. I was raised by a veteran and thank goodness our district has a great Congressman, with a commitment to our Veterans or he would have been subject to the substandard care that many veteran service people have received.
Oh, the true meaning of “Affirmative Action” (not quotas, or all the other policies it is often confused for) is when two *equally qualified* individuals are vying for a position. In that case, without overwhelming cause, the minority (including white women, who have most benefited) will get the position. I thank you for your service and am certain that you served admirably, sailor. However, As an Asian in the military, I’m certain that you were treated to the benevolence of that particular policy without even knowing it.
Be well
So Proud Liberal, just because someone holds a different point point of view than you you cut ties with them? If so this is just another great example of liberal intolerance for any view but their own.
And why would any military vet be pleased with Pres. Obamas treatment of the military? Everything he suggests cuts their budget and apologizes for their work for the past 7 years.
Affirmative Action is just racism by another name, even by your definition. If 2 people are equally qualified then you go with dark skin color or female gender. How is that ethical or right? Why is it any more OK to deny the job it to a white man because he is white and a man than it is to deny the job to a black woman because she is black and a woman.
@Darksbane:
My LCS ownerd presented me with a different point of view and tried to force me into debate when he did not only grasp all the facts of the issue (which made debate impossible), but assumed that I had to agree with him, because I was one of those black folks who pulled himself “up by the bootstraps.” However, implicit in his political philosophy is not a since of community, but an unflagging (and wrong) belief that “the market” will take care of himself and that I had every right to take my money elsewhere for any arbitrary reason. And I did.
To be clear, the President apologized for an illegal war of choice that was grossly mismanaged in every way by the previous administration and needlessly cost the lived of more people than we can grasp. And that’s what it was, that is only negotiable to people who want to see America not rebound from its mistakes, but to fail. Find me evidence that the POTUS apologized for the brave armed services personnel who did what their country asked and I will find you a lie. But I will be tolerant. I won’t reach across the internet and Patton slap you for being ignorant enough to believe the crap you see on Fox News. That’s tolerance. Allowing you to be ignorant, but not encouraging it.
There is no excuse for the previous administrations treatment of returning veterans (terrorists, literally, got better treatment). It is WRONG that Veteran’s are a substantial and most rapidly growing segment of America’s homeless blight. The Veteran’s Administration was an abomination under the previous administration – the breaking of a pledge that we as a country make to those who put on the uniform. I pity you sir, for not having the cojones to lay blame where blame ought to rest. FYI: About your supposed “budget cuts,” the current administration is attempting to wage smarter warfare, take our soldiers out of harm’s way by encouraging other forms of deterrent and, well, all those corrupt no-bid contracts to companies that the previous administration were strongly tied to for many years. We no longer need to shell out for those and are renegotiating the terms.
How is it ethical or right that qualified women and people of color were (and are) routinely ignored for positions for which they are even overqualified. I would say that is AA is at least a hair more ethical than the systemic and institutional exclusions from education amd the workforce that still pervades our culture to this very day, despite some notable and solitary successes. I’m sorry, but the workforce and education would still be white and male if not for Affirmative Action and we wouldn’t have Carly Fiorina, Stan O’Neal, or Dick Parsons. I might not agree with all their politics, but if not for AA, these business luminaries would at best have been a secretary and two janitors.
Well, Tom Morgan’s art works out well then since Palin IS a “wild eyed, crazed loon” not to mention a demented mediawhore.
Just by looking at the responses from both sides of the whackjob fringe, I’d have to go with this review being a bad idea.
Jacin: No, not a bad idea – at least it got people talking.
The liberal side of the whackjob fringe hasn’t been well-represented at all. At least not substantively.
Being the elitist, latte sipping, I-get-when-Stephen-Colbert-Is-Joking liberal that I am, I live in France when not in the States. You don’t talk politics in mixed company in France. And if someone socked you innaface for being an uniformed blowhard, you would have one of the most sophisticated healthcare apparatus in the world patch you right up (The U.S. is literally over 70 spots behind France when it comes to value for healthcare and more than a dozen for quality). Doctors make house calls there.
@ Jacin B:
The review was probably a bad idea.
At Major Spoilers, we review comic books. Road to the White House: Barack Obama #1 is a comic book. Therefore reviewing this comic book was not a bad idea, regardless of what Jacin believes.
What was a bad idea was allowing people to post off topic without getting themselves banned from the site, as it is clear those posting to this comment section are more concerned about spouting their political beliefs system rather than discuss the pros and cons of this issue. Therefore, comments are being turned off.
And if anyone has a problem with that, you know how to use the email system and contact me.
Wise decision, Mister Schleicher…