I kid you not: John McCain and Barack Obama get graphic-noveled

While I’m not kidding you, I do find this idea very cool and entertainment. IDW Publishing has created the first ever comic book biographies for the two presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.

Alright, comic books are definitely a medium for kids, although I suspect an equal number of adults are also just as fanatical about them, myself included.

Does the idea of a biography of Barack Obama in a comic book format appeal to children or teenagers?

Or do they think they might reach older, registered voters who normally skip political television and newspapers, but might be inclined to pick up a graphic novel?

Sadly, I might fall into that latter category, because the idea of politics bores me most of the time.  More than that, I get upset at the way politicians attack each other and twist words around. It just seems pointless to me.

Yet I wouldn’t mind checking out McCain’s history if it was slapped inside a 28-page comic book. Obama’s too.

“We’re tremendously proud of these books,” says IDW president Ted Adams. “Comics and graphic novels speak to millions of people encompassing all demographic, social, cultural and economic stripes. It’s a great way to get beyond the headlines on these two candidates.”

IDW expects these to be collector’s items someday, and you can already preorder the comics that wont be released until October 8th.

There will also be mobile versions of the comics, available on your cell phone and phones on U.S. carriers.

“The Presidential Material books are the latest example of why IDW is considered one of the most innovative comic book publishing companies,” said Jeff Webber, Uclick Vice President of Product Development. “The simultaneous release of these books in print and on mobile phones has never been done in the U.S. before. We’ve seen a lot of new ground broken so far in this presidential contest, so it’s fitting that these books should be released in a way that’s unprecedented.”

The Obama writer is Jeff Mariotte, who has written over 30 novels. Andy Hefler wrote the McCain comic book, and is known for his critically lauded graphic novel biographies of Ronald Reagan and Malcolm X.

So what do you guys think? Is this ridiculous or cool? Is it just a sign of the times we live in with comic books and graphic novels starting to become more and more mainstream?

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Comics
barack obama, graphic novels, idw publishing, john mccain