US President and former Alaska Governor are not going back to school, but will work hand-in-hand in the latest Archie comic book
US President and former Alaska Governor are not going back to school, but will work hand-in-hand in the latest Archie comic bookIf only the rest of the country was more like Riverdale. At least the fictional version of the Bronx suburban neighborhood populated by Archie and his pals where US President Obama and Sarah Palin can find common ground.
In the unlikely storyline of Archie number 617, in stores today in the US, the rivals bridge their partisan divide and descend on Riverdale High School to straighten out the mess left behind when Archie and Reggie each claim one of the politician's support in a student body election.
The cover of the new Archie comic shows Sarah Palin and Barack Obama at the fictional Pop Tate's. "It really gets back to the idea of 'can't we all get along,' " says Archie Comics co-CEO Jon Goldwater.
"Both (Palin and Obama) want what's best for America, so we came up as an idea of how we put the President and the woman who I consider the de-facto head of the Republican Party in a story set in Riverdale, which is an inclusive place where everybody gets along."
Cynics, though, wonder if the company has ulterior motives for planting two of the most famous figures in the world on the cover of a comic book.
"It's going to be interpreted as both (a sales stunt and a political statement)," says Robert Conte, owner of Manhattan Comics in midtown.
"You're going to have the natural curiosity-seekers wondering why Obama and Palin are in the same comic, but it's also a way for young readers to get to know a little more about politics."
Conte says comic book publishers elect to put Obama and Palin on covers all the time especially since as public figures they're owed no royalties.
"It's very very tricky," says Goldwater of the idea of introducing political figures into a comic book for kids. "But the fundamental belief I have is that both people want what's best for this country, so that was the genesis of this storyline."
April 22, 2010Archie comic welcomed its first ever gay character called Kevin Keller
Did you know?Sarah Palin has a comic named after her called the Steampunk Palin. In the comic she is the hero and Al Gore is the villain.
