Barack the Barbarian | |
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![]() 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 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 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]
In 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]
The comic books are being collected into a trade paperback: