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B
O O K R E V I E W
UNCLE DUBYA'S JIHAD JAMBOREE: a
graphic chronicle featuring kidd millennium
Written by Ron Callari, Illustrated by Jack Pittman
“This read is not just another
anti-Bush tirade”, reads the promotional text on the back of this
paperback. Looking at the kooky Bush-focused title of the book itself (Uncle
Dubya’s Jihad Jamboree), it would be hard to take such a self-hype
claim seriously.
The claim is set further into doubt when the same paragraph ends by
explaining that the book is a “perspective of how one leader” – Bush, of
course – “has merchandised terrorism for his own political gain”.
Not another anti-Bush tirade? Interesting, considering almost precisely
half of the full-size cartoons in the mid-section of the book (about 65
of them in total) feature the image of Bush, and most are about him or
his administration.
But don’t hold any of this against Ron Callari (a freelance journalist
and editorialist) and Jack Pittman (the cartoonist). This is unlike most
anti-Bush tirades you’ll ever see, because it’s in graphic, cartoon
form, intermixed with a biting textual journey through Bush’s first term in
office. kidd millennium is a an
"Internet cartoon" available to subscribers through e-mail newsletters,
and at kiddmillennium.com
(as well as Scoop.co.nz and Newsmax). Oddly enough, Callari and Pittman
have never met face to face. The writer, Callari, found Pittman through
a "mass e-mail query of over one thousand artists", with Pittman being
the choice out of fifty cartoonists' submissions.
They may not work face-to-face, but they sure do share a mutual
disrespect for the Bush administration.
Their anti-establishment colors show through, so this is no
Kerry/Democrat love-fest, either. One cartoon ridicules John Kerry and
Bush at the same time: “We can’t win the war on terror”, says Bush,
before flipping to “We can win the war on terror”. Kerry is mirrored as
a Bush-like flip-flopper: “I’m for the war in Iraq” to “I’m against the
war in Iraq”, while the wisecracking main character, the baby named kidd
millennium, interjects: “You can’t really cuss out a candidate until
you’ve walked a mile in his shoes!”
The stuff isn’t laugh-out-loud funny, but the cartoons in this
collection are witty, smart, and provide a pointed political perspective
displayed in lively drawings, witty headlines and insightful captions.
The bolded headlines are inescapable and great: one cartoon has Nader in
a boxing ring, while the announcer proclaims, "In this corner, infamous
for knocking out Democrats in a single blow... is Ralph the spoiler!"
The cartoon is titled "The Terma-Nader" (ha!), and the commentary title
underneath the cartoon adds even more wit and wisdom: "Another
rope-a-dope election".
The written, editorial portion of the book is a joy (if you subscribe to
Callari's base-level viewpoints, that is), a freewheeling summary of the
first four Bush years. “Mr. Bush, if you are going to be an armchair
commander-in-chief, please put someone else in charge of the remote”,
writes Callari in a chapter titled “Bring ‘Em On: Arm-Chair Machismo”.
Don’t think of this as a Bush-bash – think
of it as a colorful, satirically witty journey through the reality of
Uncle Dubya and his wacky administration.
Bush may have snuck his way into another four-year term, but when
commentators and cartoonists like Callari and Pittman are around to make
it a little easier, things really can’t be so bad.
Even if the humor stemming from it all is rooted in a deep-seeded
caution and concern for the future of America. Someone has to worry –
might as well plant a little incisive humor into the process.
Robert Furs |
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