Hoverboy: The Republican Superhero #1

Posted by Graig on July 9, 2008

(Mr. Comics)

In the grand tradition of the Peacemaker, Ma Hunkel: Red Tornado and Forbush-Man comes not just another (bucket-headed) superhero, but the greatest (bucket-headed) superhero of them all: Hoverboy returns! That’s right, don’t call it a comeback (because it’s not), Hoverboy, the greatest Republican hero (take that Stephen Colbert) is back on the scene. After languishing in “publishing limbo” for almost thirty years, Mr. Comics is publishing the “first all-new Hoverboy story in decades”. Sure, the costume has been modernized, but this is still the same classic fighting American (bucket-headed) superhero that your grandpa used to read while socking it to the Ratzis back in dubya dubya two.

Wait. What?
You confused? I’m confused.
Who or what the hell is Hoverboy?

Well, Hoverboy is a cleverly crafted dose of surrealism created by animator/mad genius Marcus Moore. Not only is he a fictional character, but he’s a fiction of a fictional character. No, Hoverboy never actually existed in comics until now, but with just a wink to acknowledge their fakery, Moore and the gang at Mr. Comics have established a nearly-believable 80-year history for the character.

The book opens with a word from Mr. Comics’ Editor-In-Chief, Ty Templeton, detailing his personal “history” with the character, tongue firmly planted in cheek. Following his introduction comes a note from the “Ombudsman of Mr. Comics” explaining that the reprinted material may be racist and offensive but that, like Disney’s Song of the South, it’s a ” ‘product of the times’, which is the phrase that makes it all acceptable in hindsight”.

The main story hits heavily the satire button of far-right Republican values and ideals, as well as playing highly upon the exaggerated perception of the current administration. George Bush’s White House is under attack by a giant Assassi-bot, but it’s Hoverboy to the rescue, shooting first (to the neck) and not even bothering with the questions. After saving the day, President Bush enlists his rescuer in a top-secret mission to find evidence of Al Qaeda in Iran. Despite Hoverboy’s pointing out the improbability of succeeding, he will find that evidence if his President says it’s there. Handed a hand-made map from the President, Hoverboy heads off on his mission. It doesn’t go as planned, and in fact is a huge cock-up, but the story ends with Bush in the clear and a thumbs-up from Hoverboy, with a heart-felt patriotic message.

Written by Ty Templeton, with spot-on likenesses and dynamic illustrations by Steve Molnar (and lush coloring from Bernie Mireault), the main story is a hilarious spoof of the outgoing administration. Though there’s no fresh satire here (the sheer amount of Bush mockery over the past 8 years has left little room for ingenuity), it’s nevertheless told with Colbert-like mock sincerity and sharp wit, looking upon American patriotism as only a Canadian writer could.

What follows the main story, however, is what sells the book. Moore credits himself as the “Curator of the Hoverboy Museum”, and in the book he provides commentary over 20 pages of “historical” material, including eight “classic” Hoverboy covers, a vintage ’50’s PSA for the House of UnAmerican Activities Committee, images of various Hoverboy paraphernalia, a hilarious “Fruit Pie” spoof, a page of “where are they now” profiles of Hoverboy talents past, and the creme de la creme, a 10-page “reproduction” of a WWII-era Hoverboy story.

The “reproduction” is deftly illustrated in the generic art style of the time (though the colors are a smidgen too clean), and is a hilarious send-up of the prejudices that cropped up during war time (”Now, now Miss… it’s not true that Japs eat babies”). It’s presented on the page as a scan of the original printed book, getting a full sense of the yellowing, pulpy paper comics used to be printed on.

The ancillary material is brilliant and obviously painstakingly created, mimicking the appearance of old pulp magazines, Dell-style kids comics, Archie comics, and navigating the various genres popular over the decades from sci-fi, westerns, outrageous Weisinger-esque storylines (Hoverboy in blackface undercover!) and the scandalous. Complete with Moore’s commentary, one actually starts to believe the possibility of Hoverboy’s legacy. To this point, the main story feels like it was printed solely to capture Hoverboy in this modern era, where the worst elements of Republicanism are championed by Fox News (amongst others), excusing xenophobia and adhering to war as hero-maker, drawing parallels (somewhat) to the rather bitter-tasting stories of WWII-era “Japanazi” comics and McCarthy-era at-all-costs paranoia.

If you head over to the Hoverboy website the experience deepens, with era-specific cartoons (including Moore’s hilarious Hoverboy short film from 2000), a documentary, photos, more comic covers and fan club trinkets from the “Hoverboy Museum”. Together with the comic, it’s an ingenious, meticulously crafted, and utterly impressive multi-media project that’s actually succeeds at it’s objective… not just to entertain, but to provide a believable, if satirical, sense of history for the character.

I don’t know if Hoverboy will find himself in a regular series or not, or if he even has legs to support one, but as a concept for humorously exploring pop- (and political) culture past and present, there’s endless potential for entertainment. From “neck full of bullets” to communist zombies (”Com-bies”), Hoverboy: The Republican Superhero doles out a delirious dose of awesome. Recommended.

5 out of 5 Vikings