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Since the presidential election last year, politics has become an abundant source of subject matter for the comic book world. President Obama has graced the pages of Image's Savage Dragon, and made an appearance in Spider-man over at Marvel. And during the campaigning season, IDW released biographical one-shots of both Obama and Sen. John McCain.
Bluewater Comics is continuing this advent with a slew of new titles scheduled for release in the coming months. The first of these titles, under the banner Female Force, are one-shots with the respective titles Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Both are written by Neal Bailey with art by Ryan Howe. .jpg)
Bailey presents the life stories of these ground breaking women in a mostly straightforward fashion, though he does allow for personal interjection which gives the narrative a touch of humor, a bit of commentary and some appreciated entertainment value. He doesn't pretend to be "fair and balanced". Instead he chooses to be honest. He freely admits, in the Clinton issue, that he was none too happy when she tried to ban Grand Theft Auto III. At the start of the Palin issue, he scoffs about being part of the "elite, liberal" media when his editor approached him with the new project. However, Bailey has done his research and gives an accurate biography of the political ladies, detailing the highs and lows of their respective careers.
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There are some notable differences between the two issues. In the Hillary Clinton one-shot, Bailey presents a more or less straight-forward documentary narrative, presenting Clinton's rise from her childhood in Chicago to becoming Secretary of State for the Obama administration. There's only one scene where Bailey includes himself in the narrative and its to make a point about Clinton's attempts to reform health care, which Bailey writes as having a personal affect on him. The Palin issue is approached from a more comedic perspective, since Bailey confesses to not being in sync with Palin's politics. However, he deflates this apparent conflict of interest with the creation of a Jiminy Cricket-esque character that pops over his shoulder and chastises him when he makes a comment on Palin that could be considered denigrating. Overall, he's fair to both women, and provides quality information about their history and successes in what has, for the most part, usually been a man's game.
The art by Ryan Howe is a cartoonish, animated style that nonetheless captures the likenesses of the two leading ladies, and their supportive cast. The Clinton issue at times presents symbolic images: such as the silhouettes of students in a classroom while a nuclear mushroom cloud rises through the window behind them is used to illustrate Hillary's growing up during a time of fear of nuclear annihilation; and an image of the Senate floor being flooded by blood when Hilary tried to reform health care. There's less of this liberty in the art in the Palin issue, with the chosen panels serving as straight-forward snapshots of Palin in her history, though the likenesses are served better in this issue, perhaps because Palin with her glasses and unwavering smile is an easier character to create on the page. .jpg)
In the end, these books make for an informative, enlightening and entertaining read. Thoroughly researched and well-written without being condescending or preachy, whatever personal politics one may adhere too, these books can be enjoyed from readers on both sides of the political spectrum. And Bluewater has more on the way, and judging from the result of these watershed books, should all be equally as captivating. Female Force: Hillary Clinton and Female Force: Sarah Palin are in stores now.
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