IDW’s Presidential Tour
IDW has announced signing tour dates for the creators behind the two eagerly anticipated bio-comics featuring presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. Additionally, both comics will be made available for download to mobile phones.
The application is accessible to most cell phones in America through http://m.gocomics.com, while iPhone users can order the comics through Apple. This may be the first time comic books will have the same in store and download date.
“It’s only fitting that in this historic election that we break new ground in the publishing and online media worlds with the first ever simultaneous release of these graphic novels in both print and on mobile phones. It is also a great move for our democracy to make these beautiful candidate biographies universally available,” said Uclick CEO Douglas Edwards in a release.
The comics have garnered IDW a fair amount of publicity being the first time the candidates have been profiled in graphic form during a campaign. The publisher has stressed that writers Jeff Mariotte and Andrew Helfer did independent research on both men and tried to present fair interpretations of their lives, providing additional background to readers who may not be as familiar with the candidates through traditional news media.
Mariotte, a veteran writer for IDW, is partnered with former Marvel artist Tom Morgan on Obama while Helfer, a former DC editor, is working with newcomer Stephen Thompson. To ensure ultimate collectability, J. Scott Campbell has produced the covers for both books.
Barack Obama: Presidential Material and John McCain: Presidential Material can be purchased separately for $3.99 or a special flipbook containing both comics and supplemental materials can be had for $7.99. In addition to ordering through your comic shop, people can also order them online at a special IDW option:
The tour dates begin in two weeks right in the middle of the debating season.
New York City;
2 pm – 4 pm, Oct 8: Forbidden Planet, 840 Broadway
5 pm – 7 pm, Oct 8: Jim Hanley’s Universe, 4 W 33rd St.
California.(Slightly more complicated)
Los Angeles:
6 pm – 9 pm, Oct 9, Golden Apple Comics, 7018 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles
Orange County:
4 pm – 7 pm, Oct 10, Comics Unlimited, 16344 Beach Blvd, Westminster
Also this week, Bluewater Productions announced a Hilary Clinton bio comic, Female Force: Hillary Clinton, for January release. It’ll be written by Neal Bailey with an unannounced artist.
Finally, if politics is a little too real, DC Universe: True Decisions is the first miniseries to tackle politics in the DC Universe as heroes wind up endorsing candidates with disastrous results. The first issue came out last week and will run through October.