Bernie Sanders' presidential run has inspired countless profiles, send-ups andsongsabout the Vermont senator. This past weekend, the Democratic candidate was lampooned on Saturday Night Live. There’s Bernie Sanders tote bags andBernie Sanders bar soap.
Now there's even a comic book biography of the senator and presidential hopeful.
The book is part of a series of comics about presidential candidates from both parties that are being released by StormFront Publishing this election season.
On the origins of the series
Publisher and creator Darren Davis says the project came from a desire back in 2008 to create more non-fiction content.
“We started off doing Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin.” Davis says. “We did it [from] the female empowerment angle and it was called ‘Female Force.’”
He says the idea took off from there and included other popular figures like Oprah Winfrey and Colin Powell. So far the group has published about 50 biographical comics.
On the process behind creating a biographical comic
Davis says the goal is always to keep the content unbiased.
“At the end of the day, I don't want anybody to know who I vote for, [who] the artist or the writer [votes for],” Davis explains. “So I always make sure that the people that I work with are really unbiased and it's really heavily edited so it doesn't look that way either.”
The choice of who to focus on is also about balance, according to Davis.
“Fifty percent Republican, 50 percent Democrat. We do independents, we do pundits,” Davis says, “It's pretty much all over the place ... the subjects that we have.”
On balancing facts with dramatic comic book moments
Davis says a close friend in journalism helped him understand how to tackle non-fiction content.
“She's always taught me that responsibility of having a journalistic approach to everything,” says Davis. “I don't want to do anything that is really sensationalism … I have found out recently that these books are actually taught in schools and libraries. So we do you have to make sure that we are responsible in the storytelling.”
The relatively brief length, only about 22 pages, also helps to focus the content of each comic.
“It's almost like a cliff notes of their life,” Davis said.
On the goal of publishing this series
Davis says the goal is not to encourage audiences to support a particular candidate but instead provide a new way to understand politics.
“It's ‘edutainment’ as Walt Disney once phrased [it],” Davis explains. “It's educational, but it's also entertainment … At the end of the day they are just informational pieces about the candidates.”
“As a kid I was reluctant reader. And comic books really helped my reading skills and all that type of stuff, so we're hoping for that.” said Davis.
The comics are available through Comic Flea Market.
Copyright 2015 Vermont Public Radio
