Wastebook - Senator Tom Coburn - U.S. Senate

Wastebook 201319. Comic Book Superheroes Documentary – (NEH) $125,000Americans have been holding out for a hero for a long time to go to Washington and straighten out themess. But alas there are not many supermen within the halls of power these days willing to put thenation’s interests above their own, so why shouldn’t turn to imaginary heroes from the pages of comicbooks instead?That is exactly what two government agencies are doingto celebrate the 75 th anniversary of the debut ofSuperman, considered by many to be the first comic booksuperhero, in Action Comics #1.To mark the milestone, the National Endowment for theHumanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for theArts (NEA) have financed the production of adocumentary, “Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle,” lookingback at the history of comics and their impact. 253 Thethree part documentary aired on Public BroadcastingService (PBS) in October 254 and is now available forpurchase.That’s right, you paid to produce the series and now youcan purchase your own copy for $24.99). 255The Superheroes project has received three federal grantstotaling $825,000 over the past three years: A $125,000NEH grant provided in July, 256 another $675,000 NEHgrant awarded in September 2010 and a $25,000 NEAgrant in August 2010. 257Despite the existence of several other similardocumentaries produced over the years, NEH claims2013 marks the 75 th anniversary of the firstcomic book superhero, Superman, in ActionComics #1. To celebrate, two federal agencieshave funded a documentary, Superheroes: ANever-Ending Battle, looking back at the historyof comics and their impact over the years.“Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle” is the first documentary to examine the dawn of the comic bookgenre and its powerful legacy.” 258 The History Channel aired “Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked” in2005, for example, and “Comic Book Confidential,” released in 1988 and re-issued on its 20 thanniversary, won an award for Best Feature Length Documentary. 259This documentary is not the first time the federal government has recognized the cultural impact andinfluence of the heroes and creators of comic books. In 2008, President George W. Bush awarded theNational Medal of Arts to Stan Lee, for “his groundbreaking work as one of America’s most prolificstorytellers, recreating the American comic book,” noting Lee’s “complex plots and humane superheroes celebrate courage, honesty, and the importance of helping the less fortunate, reflectingAmerica’s inherent goodness.” 260Comic books have come a long way. In the 1950s, a U.S. Senate Committee investigated a possible linkbetween comic books and juvenile delinquency. Today, comic books are big business and many of thecharacters they spawned star in the hottest summer flicks at the box office. Just last year, comic bookpublication sales exceeded $474 million. 261 The same year, “Marvel’s Avengers,” based on the34