Who Loves Obama?

Marvel Comics made a huge splash recently, grabbing the attention of international news media by featuring newly elected President Barack Obama in "Amazing Spiderman #583". The Presdient , a reported long-time fan of the "Spider Man" title, is rescued by the friendly neighborhood webhead, who foils The Chameleon's plot to ruin the inauguration. Marvel also featured The President in one of their grittier titles, "Thunderbolts", where he holds a shadowy conference with Norman Osborn aboard Air Force One. Obama's cross-title feature seems to soldify his role in Marvel continuity, he's here to stay.

But Marvel is not the only one incorporating President Obama into their best selling titles.

"Final Crisis #7", the last issue of DC's third and alleged "final" installment of the popular "Crisis Series", features an African-American President on the opening pages who reveals himself to be none other than Superman. Although the device works well with the alternate earth motif of Final Crisis, it certainly seems like DC is looking to one-up Marvel with the Obama gags.

Understanding Comics

Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics provided a rudimentary overview of comic book analysis. Perhaps the most interesting discussion, or at least the portion of the book I found to be most useful, was the triangular chart with the Picture Plane, Reality, and Language at the three vertices. This diagram, although somewhat limited, provides a useful tool for analyzing the choices made by the creators of a particular comic, allowing a reader to quickly assess where the emphasis is being placed.

McCloud's discussion of Panels failed to discuss what is often one of the most visually stimulating parts of any comic book or graphic novel: panel-less images. Often occupying single or double page spreads, these powerful images can achieve all of the goals of the paneled image, but often do so in a more aesthetically pleasing manner. It would have been interesting to hear McCloud's analysis, as these panels often focus on temporality - something McCloud was stressing through his study of panels.

Finally, I think the differences between Japanese Manga and American Comic Books deserved greater attention. Although McCloud focsuses on Manga several times throughout the book, primarily in his discussion of motion, there is a cinematic quality to most Manga that I find to be completely lacking in most American work. I would have liked to see McCloud discusss this phenomenon at greater length.

10 Suggestions

1. Akira - Katsuhiro Otomo
2. From Hell - Alan Moore
3. Earth X - Jim Krueger
4. All Star Superman - Grant Morrison
5. Preacher - Garth Ennis
6. The Invisibles - Grant Morrison
7. Astonishing X-Men - Joss Whedon
8. Justice - Jim Krueger / Alex Ross
9. Exit Wounds - Rutu Modan
10. WE3 - Grant Morrison