Biographical comics, with cover art by J. Scott Campbell, go on sale October 8.
By Michelle Rabinowitz

Senators Barack Obama and John McCain
Photo: IDW Publishing

Back off, Batman! You may be big at the box office, but there are two new comic book heroes on the horizon: John McCain and Barack Obama.

The presidential candidates are getting the superhero treatment courtesy of IDW Publishing, the small graphic imprint behind "30 Days of Night" and the "Transformers" comic books. You'll have to wait until October 8 to get a copy, but we have a sneak peek inside the pages of both biographical books. (See the animated politicians for yourself here.)

Both comics feature key points in the candidates' lives that have played heavily into their campaigns. The excerpt from McCain's comic focuses on his years as a prisoner of war at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam War. The Republican candidate's story is being written by comics veteran Andy Helfer and drawn by Stephen Thompson.

In Obama's excerpt, you'll see a graphic interpretation of his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and the immediate reaction to it. The Democratic candidate's story is being penned by Jeff Mariotte and drawn by Tom Morgan.

The issues have similar covers, with each candidate in the standard superheroic pose (sans cape and tights), by J. Scott Campbell of "Danger Girl" fame. And since this is 2008, you'll be able to download the comics to your iPhone or BlackBerry.

The comic books aim to tell both candidates' stories as they happened, so don't expect any radioactive spider bites or experimental serums yielding super-patriotic results. As for sequels, we'll have to wait until November to see which candidate deserves a second issue.

Get informed! Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election, including everything from the latest news on the candidates to on-the-ground multimedia reports from our 51 citizen journalists, MTV and MySpace's Presidential Dialogues, and much more.

• Superhero Candidates Hit Comic Campaign Trail

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