Marvel Comics to Produce United Nations Comic Book

I've always maintained that comic books are one of the best mediums available for educating children and adults of all ages in addition to teaching reading skills. The merger of pictures and words can often move mountains when it comes to getting a point across. And Marvel Comics -- one of the largest producers of comic books in the United States, if not the world (and producers of such recognized titles as the Fantastic Four and Spider Man) apparently thinks so too.

According to a January 3 article posted on www.worldnet daily.com , "...Tens of thousands of children in public schools across America soon could be getting a free comic book, one that extols the virtues of the United Nations and its agenda through the words of a kids' hero, Spider-Man..."

The United Nations as a force for good? Who'd have thought?

This 4-color approach to getting the word out regarding the United Nations is being led by French filmmaker Romuald Sciora -- who also produced a series of short documentaries about former U.N. leaders Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Javier Perez de Cuellar and Kurt Waldheim. But it's not the first time the medium of comic books has been used to promote such propanda: Hitler was a favorite villain of Captain America in the latter's comic book adventures published during World War II, and the United States Army used comics for years as a forum to teach soldiers about such diverse subjects as changing a tank turret or the benefits of using a condom.

The UN comic book -- according to the Worldnet article -- "...will feature favorite Marvel characters such as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, and will ... tell the story of how the United Nations fights the challenges of poverty, disease, and conflict worldwide,"

For it's part, the United nations underscored the efforts of the project by adding, "..."By making the complex U.N. system accessible to youth, the partners hope to teach children the value of the international cooperation, and sensitize them to the problems faced in other parts of the world..."

According a related article on MSNBC.com, The U.N-Marvel joint effort forecasts the free distribution of the comic books to over 1 million children throughout the U.S., with eventual plans to have them translated and distributed overseas.

Marvel Comics may feel its doing the right thing by producing this comic book but with an initial print run of 1 million in the United States alone and probably 5 times that much worldwide, this project can't help but makes Marvel's comic book characters even more recognizable to the general public.

According to a UN press release, the comic book will showcase Spider-Man lending a helping hand to the United Nations and will also include games and a DVD that will help explain the role of the United Nations. Camille Schippa of the U.N. Office for Partnerships told the Financial Times a storyline is due to be approved before the end of January that will place Spider-Man and other Marvel characters in a fictional war-torn country. Marvel's artistic team -- still to be announced -- is working for free.

I'm not one to editorialize, but maybe this comic book should be given to some adults as well. Because there are a lot of folks out there who don't quite understand what the United Nations is doing. Heck, sometimes I wonder if the UN knows what its doing.

But I digress.

According to the United Nations, the hope is that this comic book will contributes to helping young people gain a better understand of our world and the role the UN plays in it. Those are lofty goals but I guess anything that helps explain the glue that is supposedly holding Europe together is a good thing.

Not everyone shares the same enthusiasm for this project. The Worldnet.com article quoted bluecrabboulevard.com as saying "This is beyond lame, and Marvel should be ashamed (of itself)..." It also added, "...The U.N. has to resort to fiction to bolster its image because a book about the U.N. doing any good would by definition have to be a work of fiction..."

The United Nations has long been nicknamed the "Blue Hats" - due to the blue helmets UN workers wear out in the field. Turns out that might not be a bad idea for a super-hero costume either.