Obama: Sell Out?

It's been two weeks since President Obama's inauguration, and almost four weeks since Amazing Spiderman #583 first came out. That's the issue where Spiderman meets the president.

I was at my local Things From Another World (TFAW) and they had a full wall display of the 4th printing of the comic. They said the first and third printings were gone so quickly they didn't even get to see them. The guy behind the counter said he thought the cover for the 4th printing was the best, but it's only a reprint of the splash page of the story.

The Obama story happens to be a four page backup. The main story is a slice of Peter Parker's life where Betty Brant tries to pretend she doesn't know Pete is planning her birthday party. It's a nice bit of characterization, but probably not what made Spiderman a household name.

Speaking of household names, I have to wonder about the tie-in here with Obama. In a recent Q&A session with some schoolkids, Obama claimed his favorite superheroes were Spiderman and Batman. Always the politician, he chose one each from the major comic publishers.

But, why stop there? If Obama is about change, why not push for an underdog? Pick a superhero that doesn't get the attention he or she deserves. And maybe go for a smaller publisher. For example, TFAW's sister company is Dark Horse Comics. What if Obama had said he liked Concrete for his environmental work, or Buffy for her vigilance against the dark forces?

Or, he could have chosen a different company. I don't think it would have been politic to choose Michael Allred's Madman from Image Comics, but he could have used the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen from Top Shelf for choosing role models for his cabinet.

Why stick with Batman and Spiderman? Let's hear it for diversity.

Here's the wikipedia page with a list of comic book publishers.