The Corbyn Comic Book

The Corbyn Comic Book is British comic book anthology AbOUT Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, released by independent graphic novel publisher Self Made Hero and launched at the Labour Party Conference on 25 September 2017.

Background

Independent graphic novel publisher SelfMadeHero received submissions since it opened its doors to comic-book creators in July, asking for comics on the subject of the Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Contributors to The Corbyn Comic Book, which was launched at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton on 25 September 2017, include The Guardian cartoonists Steve Bell, Martin Rowson and Stephen Collins, and comics artists Karrie Fransman and Steven Appleby, along with a host of strips from new writers and illustrators received during the open submission period. The comic book captures the qualities, quirks and flaws of a man whose startling rise to prominence has been the defining story of 2017.

SelfMadeHero's managing director Emma Hayley said, "Corbyn has numerous quirks that lend themselves to these kind of light-hearted stories such as his allotment, the jam-making and El Gato, all stories that have made it into the Corbyn Comic Book." She added that the project was "born out of Corbyn’s rise in popularity and his status as a cultural phenomenon". Hayley says the anthology is "light-hearted, not particularly political – we did it more to show that a phenomenal thing happened in the elections, as that 'oh Jeremy Corbyn' chant swept the country."

Synopsis

In one incarnation, Jeremy Corbyn is Corbyn the Barbarian, facing off against the Maydusa. In another, Corbynman leaves his "mild mannered allotment of solitude" to take on the "inter-dimensional invasion fleet of Daily Mail death drones blasting everything with their Tory food bank rays" with a rallying battle cry of “jam on!”.

Many of the comics feature Corbyn making and wielding jars of jam – the Labour party leader's culinary hobby – while others have chosen to anoint Corbyn with superhuman powers. In Lethal Corbyn III, with a repeated chant of "Oooooh Jeremy Corbyn" echoing through the air, the leader of the opposition clenches his fists and transforms into a superhero, crushing the skull of a robotic version of Theresa May beneath his boot. Elsewhere, he and his cat El Gato stalk the night, seeing off Tories attempting to resurrect Thatcher from the dead.

Reception

Alison Flood of The Guardian said, "Roaming the streets armed with jam, fighting the Maydusa and Daily Mail drones ... after sifting through more than 100 submissions, an anthology is set to shine a new light on Jeremy Corbyn."

Rob Hastings of i said, "...Corbyn is now the subject of a comic book celebrating his rise."

See also

• Political positions of Jeremy Corbyn

External links

• Call for Submissions: The Corbyn Comic Book. Self Made Hero. 12 July 2017