Barack the Barbarian
| Barack the Barbarian | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Barack the Barbarian 1 (June 2009 ). |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Devil's Due Publishing |
| Schedule | Irregular |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publication date | June 2009 – present |
| Number of issues | 5 |
| Main character(s) | Barack Obama |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Larry Hama |
| Artist(s) | Christopher Schons |
| Letterer(s) | Chris Crank |
| Colorist(s) | Rachelle Rosenberg |
| Editor(s) | Evan Sult |
| Collected editions | |
| Volume 1 | ISBN 1934692794 |
Barack the Barbarian is a comic book series published by Devil's Due Publishing beginning in June 2009. It was written by Larry Hama,[1] with art by Christopher Schons.
Barack the Barbarian originally appeared in a four-issue mini-series. The story features the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama in comics as a Conan the Barbarian-style figure.[2] It also features politicians like Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney in fictional roles.[3][4][5][6]
The series was followed by a one-shot, The Fall of Red Sarah[7]
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
In November 2008, 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 “Conan the Barbarian.”[8]
The idea for the series originated with Devil's Due publisher Josh Blaylock who explained that "We didn't want to be completely slapsticky. It is definitely partly a gimmick, but we wanted to do something clever with [the Obama comics trend]."[2] He contacted Larry Hama with his idea for a series called Obama the Barbarian, and Hama describes how the idea developed during the course of the phonecall:
| “ | First off, you should change it to Barack the Barbarian, and second, I'm not interested in writing a Mad Magazine style parody and that it would have to be more in line with the more polemical stuff of Swift, Twain and Voltaire (not that I can pull off anything like they could,) and third, that my own leanings are towards Barack and that would be reflected in what I write-- and Josh said 'fine.'[1] | ” |
The writer has described how it is more than just a political satire: "I just think of it as sword and sorcery, only the characters look really familiar."[1]
[edit] Collected editions
The comic books are being collected into a trade paperback:
- Barack the Barbarian Volume 1: Quest for the Treasure of Stimuli (144 pages, December 2009, ISBN 1934692794)
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b Goellner, Caleb (July 28, 2009). "CCI: Devil's Due Publishing". Comic Book Resources. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22279. Retrieved November 26, 2009. "Next up was one of Devil's Due's most publicized titles, the political satire and Conan homage "Barack the Barbarian: Quest for the Treasure of Stimuli""
- ^ 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.
- ^ http://www.comixology.com/sku/SEP090732
- ^ 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.
[edit] References
- Barack the Barbarian at the Grand Comics Database
- Barack the Barbarian at the Comic Book DB
[edit] External links
- Barack the Barbarian webcomic at Devil's Due
- Review: Barack The Barbarian #1 By Larry Hama And Tim Seeley for Devil’s Due by Rich Johnston, Bleeding Cool, June 23, 2009
- Barack the Barbarian #1, Newsarama Blog, July 4, 2009
