From The San Diego Union-Tribune:

Truth and justice, comic-book style

Barack Obama and John McCain have a few things in common with Batman and Superman. They engage in epic struggles, fight for what they believe is right and could possibly one day have the fate of the world in their hands.

They'll also soon star in their own comic books.

IDW Publishing, a San Diego-based publisher of comic books and graphic novels, is working on comic books that will tell the life stories of the two presidential contenders. The books, "Presidential Material," will cost $3.99 and go on sale Oct. 8 in comic book stores and via download on cell phones.

On the covers, designed by artist J. Scott Campbell, the senators look a bit superhero-ish - buff in their power suits, standing strong with fists on hips and jaws set as if they're one terrorist threat away from tearing off their neckties and tying on red, white and blue capes.

But the comic book creators say the candidates don't need super powers to make their tales compelling. Both men have lead extraordinary lives, from Obama's meteoric rise in politics to McCain's harrowing years as a prisoner of war. Writers say they're going for accuracy, using biographies and other published reports for material.

"It's not like we're taking these two politicians and trying to make them fit a comic mold that's usually superheroes, capes and tights," said Jeff Mariotte, a supernatural thriller novelist who is writing the Obama book. "We're just using the medium to get the stories of these guys out there, maybe for a different audience that wouldn't pick up a big biography of them."

The typical subject matter of comic books is sci-fi and superheroes. Still, some real-life figures have received the comic book treatment, including Pope John Paul II, Martin Luther King Jr., John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. "Reagan's Raiders" turned the former president and his Cabinet into crime fighters by putting their realistically drawn heads on top of muscle-bound bodies in tights.

Some of IDW's most popular titles are its "30 Days of Night" vampire series, "Transformers" series about warring robots and "Locke and Key," a supernatural horror series. This is the company's first foray into books about real humans, said Scott Dunbier, IDW's special projects editor.

Dunbier tossed out the idea at an editorial meeting a few months ago, more as a joke than a serious concept. But as he thought about the intense interest in the election, he began to think the comic books might work.

On the covers, Obama looks to the reader's left; McCain looks right, a nod to the liberal/conservative divide. McCain wears a Republican red tie; Obama wears blue. Both stories will begin with childhood and end when it became all but certain they would secured their party's nomination.

McCain's story will cover his background as the son and grandson of Navy admirals, his time as a POW and his entry into politics.

Obama's story will include the influence of his mother, who raised him as a single parent, his 2002 speech opposing the Iraq War and his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

The comic books will include contentious and unflattering moments, including McCain's divorce from his first wife and Obama's past drug use and affiliation with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

"I don't think it does anybody any good to do these two gentleman as pure iconic heroes," Dunbier said. "We have to show them in a realistic light if we are to make informed judgments on them."

Comic-book shop owners said they don't expect the young men who snap up the latest installment of the "X-Men" to get as excited about biographies of political figures.

But the books already have people talking (and griping), with bloggers claiming the red-tinted sky behind McCain looks "menacing" and his smile makes him resemble the Joker.

McCain's campaign staff wasn't bothered by the artists' rendering. "This is the fun stuff of the campaign," said Rick Gorka, a McCain spokesman, adding that he's already ordered a copy. He said it makes both candidates "very accessible and human."

The question is: Whose comic book will win? As of late last week, Obama pre-orders, available at presidentialcomics.com, were outpacing McCain 49 to 33 percent. The rest were buying "flip" books that contain both stories.

Dunbier plans to send copies to the candidates after the books are published. "I hope they appreciate the effort that went into them to make them as true to their stories as possible," he said.

The senators ought to. If comic books are good enough for Superman, they ought to be good enough for mere mortals.