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 | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Barack the Barbarian 1 (June 2009 ), art by Tim Seeley and Rachelle Rosenberg | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Devil's Due Publishing |
| Schedule | Irregular |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | June 2009 – present |
| No. of issues | 5 |
| Main character(s) | Barack Obama |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Larry Hama |
| Artist(s) | Christopher Schons |
| Letterer(s) | Chris Crank |
| Colorist(s) | Rachelle Rosenberg |
| Editor(s) | Evan Sult |
| Collected editions | |
| Volume 1 | ISBN 1-934692-79-4 |
Barack the Barbarian originally appeared in a four-issue mini-series. The story features the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama as a Conan the Barbarian-style figure.[2] It also features other politicians like Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney in fictional roles.[3][4][5]
The series was followed by a one-shot, The Fall of Red Sarah.[6]
Publication history
editIn 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.[7]
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 described 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 said it is more than just a political satire: "I just think of it as sword and sorcery, only the characters look really familiar."[1]
Collected editions
editThe 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 1-934692-79-4)
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c Arrant, Chris (May 12, 2009). "Barack the Barbarian? Behind the Latest Obama Comic". Newsarama. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
- ^ a b Goellner, Caleb (July 28, 2009). "CCI: Devil's Due Publishing". Comic Book Resources. 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. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ^ Spillius, Alex (April 7, 2009). "Barack Obama and Sarah Palin appear in comic series". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
- ^ Flood, Alison (April 8, 2009). "Obama battles Red Sarah in comic clash". The Guardian. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
- ^ "Barack the Barbarian: The Fall of Red Sarah (One-Shot) - comiXology". Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
- ^ Swaine, Jon (November 7, 2008). "Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008.
References
edit- Barack the Barbarian at the Grand Comics Database
- Barack the Barbarian at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
External links
edit- 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