Today’s Comic> Political Power: Rush Limbaugh

You knew he'd clone himself someday.

Political Power: Rush Limbaugh

Bluewater Productions (April 2010)

NOTE: Since this is a biographical comic and not the usual fictional comic story, I’m going to break format for this review.

Like him or hate him, Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is a strong presence in the political commentary world. An unabashed conservative who uses entertainment to draw in listeners to his political message, Limbaugh has given the right a voice it has felt was lacking in the “mainstream media”.

I don’t usually bother with biographical comics, because I want to be entertained and forget the real world for a while when I read. I made an exception for this comic not only because I am a conservative and admitted “Dittohead” (the name given to Rush’s fans–long story) but to see how fair the comic would be. Would it be a “hit piece”, a book of total praise, or a neutral look into the polarizing personality. As much as I could deal with #2, I was hoping it would be completely neutral.

The “Political Power” series of comics began during the last Presidential campaign, featuring then candidates Barak Obama and John McCain. The plan was to give readers an unbiased look at both candidates (or so they say), but considering the long history of McCain vs. the relatively shorter life of Obama, nobody was going to be satisfied. Still, it was popular enough to continue with more political biographical comics (and a recent entertainment spin-off), so it was still a good move on Bluewater’s part.

I am happy to report that Political Power: Rush Limbaugh is indeed an unbiased look at the talk show host. It opens up with the more recent controversy about Limbaugh hoping “Obama fails”, while using the full quote to put the statement in the intended context that he hoped Obama failed to implement policies that Rush believes will do harm to what he believes makes America a great nation.

From there the comic’s writer, Don Smith, puts himself and his cat, Tango (not Rush’s cat, as has been reported to Limbaugh himself, who doesn’t read comics sadly) into the role of storyteller, as he tells the life story of Limbaugh from his early years in Cape Girardeau, Missouri (and mentions that famed Batman comic writer Denny O’Neil once lived there), and follows Rush’s career through college and on to the biggest name in talk radio.

The story is otherwise told in Limbaugh’s words, to give us an idea what was in Rush’s head during the formative events of his life. Visual metaphors are often used to demonstrate his perspective and his critics. The only thing I see him getting wrong is that Rush’s short-lived television show aired in syndication, not on CNBC (although Roger Ayles, the producer of the show, did move on to run CNBC for a time after the show ended).

Otherwise, this comic comes not to bury or praise Limbaugh, but to simply tell his story, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions as to what kind of man Limbaugh is. This is how it should be, and if you want an unbiased look at the man, I recommend this comic.