EDISON & ROOSEVELT TEAM IN TALES FROM THE BULLY PULPIT

[MattBrady]

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest President in the Nation's history in 1901, approximately two weeks before he turned 43. He was the first president to travel to a foreign country while in office when he made a historic trip to Panama in 1906. The late Roosevelt was also the first American to win a Nobel Price, when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending the Russo-Japanese War.

Thomas Alva Edison was awarded 1,368 separate and distinct patents during his lifetime. Born in 1847, Edison’s list of achievements include the first commercially practical incandescent electric lamp, the phonograph, wireless telegraphy, the motion picture camera, the steel alkaline storage battery, constructed the first electric motor ever made for a 110 to 120 volt line and countless other inventions.

But historical facts aside, the two make for rockin’ action heroes in comics.

“There's a wild one-shot coming out in August called Tales from the Bully Pulpit, that I'm really looking forward to,” Image’s B. Clay Moore told Newsarama. “It's pretty off the wall, to say the least. Basically, it's Teddy Roosevelt and the ghost of Thomas Edison with a time machine, defending the universe.”

Creator and writer Benito Cereno described the book to Moore, who in turn shared this bit of info with Newsarama. “Tales from the Bully Pulpit is a hearkening back to a time in which your job could be "explorer," science didn't have to be about anything specific, and people were still excited at the concept of the unknown. It's about two such explorers, one an adventuring hero and policeman of the world, the other an inventor and innovator -- both of whom just happen to be people you've heard of: Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Edison. Tales from the Bully Pulpit is an exploration of what would happen if two such daring and inquisitive men had the capability to explore everything. Literally everything. In a souped-up version of a stolen time machine, the two adventurers travel where their whims carry them; in this case, that happens to be the future, and traveling to the future takes them to Mars. Once there, Teddy and Edison discover that not all is well on the red planet, so they take it upon themselves to help. Amid strange creatures and even stranger foes, the two ultimately face the darker side of time travel."

We got in touch with the 22 year-old Cereno for more on this August-shipping one-shot from Image Comics. For the record, he is one year away from obtaining his Master’s Degree in classical languages and literatures. “Between that and writing comics, I plan to be the world's poorest nerd,” he added.

NRAMA: Take it away, “world’s poorest nerd.” How did you get into the comic book business?

BC: I started sucking up to Robert Kirkman back in 1999 when he was still desperate for fans. Now that he's in a position of greater influence, I'm calling in some favors.

NRAMA: This isn’t your first work in comics, though. What are some of your past and present projects?

BC: Besides Bully Pulpit, the bulk of my work can be seen in the backups that appear monthly in Image's Invincible, starting in issue #3, with art by Nate Bellegarde. Currently running in those backups is a multi-part story introducing our character Hector
Plasm. It's a bit of a change from our previous stories, which are mostly about Nate and me trying to make comics.

NRAMA: Are you working on Bully Pulpit with Nate? Who else is part of the creative team?

BC: Nate was too busy drawing story concepts that no one was interested in and being late with the art for the backups to draw Bully Pulpit, so I outsourced the work on this one to some Canadians. Namely, I called in Graeme MacDonald (whose work can be seen at his website, http://www.mrdowntown.com) to do the line art, and the incomparable Ron Riley (whose work has been seen on such books as Tech Jacket and the upcoming Noble Causes series and who, for parity's sake, has a website at http://thatron.tk/) on colors, or as they are called in his native language, "colours." I happened to know these two guys from seeing their work at http://www.penciljack.com , which is the place to be if you're a young up-and-coming artist, or a starving writer looking to snatch up a young up-and-coming artist. Or if, you know, you like talking about what your favorite flavor of Hawaiian Punch is; but that's standard internet stuff, really. The letters are handled by a semi-literate helper monkey that I purchased at a farmers' market. The cover is by my old-time pal, Tony Moore, whom you may have heard of.

NRAMA: In a nutshell, Bully Pit is about time travel to the red planet set in the future and it involves two historical figures: Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Edison. What was the inspiration behind this idea?

BC: The idea went through several permutations in my head before finally solidifying in the form you see now. It was originally about a different president; it was at one time going to be called Tales from the Lincoln Logs, once I changed it to Roosevelt, it was going to be about a team of all the Mount Rushmore presidents living inside Mount Rushmore, but traveling through time and fighting villains or something equally inane.

Eventually I ditched the other presidents more or less altogether, and decided to give Teddy a different partner. Inspiration for that struck while listening to the song "The Edison Museum," by They Might Be Giants.

The first chapter of the book is inspired by and named after this song. Once I had these two players in mind, and retaining the time travel concept, the rest of the pieces sort of fell into place. Much of the idea for the plot came from a drawing I did for fun one night while playing with the idea.

NRAMA: What timeline is Bully Pit set in?

BC: The trick to a time travel book is that it's potentially set in any and all timelines. But to be a little more precise, Bully Pulpit starts out in the year 2000 and kind of jumps forward from there. Obviously Teddy didn't start out in the year 2000, but that's what the time machine's for.

NRAMA: "... Thomas Edison was more responsible than any one else for creating the modern world we know today.... No one did more too shape the physical character of modern civilization... Accordingly, he was the most influential figure of the millennium..." - The Heroes Of The Age: Electricity And Man. How different is your version of Thomas Alva Edison as compared to the real person?

BC: The major difference between the real Edison and my Edison is that the real Edison was alive and mine is a ghost. Which changes a person more than you might think. When we first see Edison's ghost in the year 2000, he's been stuck in this world for about 70 years, unable to interact in any way other than observing. For a man that spent his whole life working and creating and building things, this inability to touch things can be understandably frustrating. I imagine him as having spent most of his time since death seeing every movie ever made, but ultimately still wishing he could do something more. His time after life has made him a little bitter, but more snarky and cynical than anything.

NRAMA: Who is Teddy Roosevelt in your version?

BC: Strangely, Teddy is a little bit more of a mystery than the ghost. We know where the ghost has been and what he's been doing for the past seventy years. Teddy doesn't disclose much about what he's doing or why he's doing it. We know from things that he says that he either is or has been President by this point, and we know that he's stolen a time machine.

What we don't know is if this is some weekend jaunt for him because the White House has gotten boring, or if he's retired and needs a new adventure, or what. But all that's less important than the fact that this is a man obsessed with the new: new frontiers, new experiences. The space-time continuum is just a new frontier for him. The biggest adventure of all. He's also a romantic at heart and wants nothing more than genuinely to help other people. A famous old political cartoon depicts Teddy as the policeman of the world: the time machine just makes his jurisdiction a little bigger.

NRAMA: How did these two figures come together on such an adventure that surpasses time and space?

BC: Teddy first comes to Edison out of necessity: his time machine only travels through time, not space. He's not interested in seeing the history of the same spot in New England for millennia and billennia. He wants to explore. So he goes to a time when he figures anyone would be able to fix up a time machine: the year 2000. Once there, he asks the people around him about the smartest person that ever lived there. They all direct him to the Edison Museum, where he encounters Edison's ghost.

Teddy helps Edison with his little problem (i.e., not being able to touch solid objects), and Edison fixes up the time machine. From there, they just do what comes naturally.

NRAMA: Who or what do they encounter on Mars?

BC: Once on Mars, Teddy and Edison encounter a group of Martians known as the Caeruleans, particularly their leader Bellatrix. The Caeruleans are at war with another group of Martians known as the Viridians, and they are in desperate need of some help. I figure help consists of two things: action and science. And those things Teddy and Edison have by the bushel.

NRAMA: Will time travel bring them to other parts of the universe or timelines?

BC: Man, I hope so. Which is to say, there is a multitude of possible sequels available to a book like Bully Pulpit, and I've already got several in mind. There's a story with a group of nerd pirates, a journey to the center of the earth, a race against the Black Plague, an encounter with the most important religious figures you've never heard of, and on and on. Naturally, any sequels depend on the success of the first book, so… you know how that goes.

NRAMA: Who are some other characters - historical or fictional - in Bully Pulpit?

BC: Without spoiling too much, a few historical figures show up in the story, including Julius Caesar and Marie Antoinette. Overall, I want to avoid including historical figures, at least in their own times. I wouldn't want the book to turn into Sherman and Mr. Peabody where the crux of the story is "Oh no, Christopher Columbus wants to be a jazz singer instead of an explorer. We have to convince him the world is round." The idea of "changing" history so that it aligns with what actually happened isn't something that really appeals to me. Additionally, I'm not overly concerned with ideas like time paradoxes or whatever. It's just about having fun with time travel, you know? On the other hand, I'd like to slap as many (public domain) fictional characters in as I can. In those potential future stories, of course.

NRAMA: What do you plan to achieve with Bully Pulpit?

BC: I just want people to have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. It's a take on when things were still exciting, you know? I heard people recently saying things like, "Why would we want to go to the moon? We've already been there!" When did we get so jaded? It's the moon, man! The moon! There was a time when your business card could say something like, "Orville J. Blathersmythe, Professional Explorer and Adventurer." What happened to that? I guess we can blame video games or something. But this is a book to remind people that there was a time when the unknown was exciting, the exotic was mysterious, and science, as they said on MST3K, "didn't have to be for anything specific." If you're looking for a book with high adventure, disregard for legitimate fact, heroes who speak in quotable dialogue, and questionable science, boy howdy, this is the book for you.

NRAMA: As you mentioned, you've also been writing backup stories in Robert Kirkman's Invincible. What else is coming up next?

BC: Well, since I've been classing up the back of Robert's book for so long, I'm hoping one day he'll toss me a bone or something. I've got my fingers crossed. Other than that, Nate and I are waiting to see people's reactions to the Hector story (thus far shockingly few people have sent us marriage proposals). If it goes over well, we're hoping we can develop a longer form project with that character. I've got a couple of other irons in the fire, but it's a little soon to say anything about those at the moment. But overall, if anyone wants to send me some work, flash the Benito-signal and I'll come running.

The book is solicited to ship two days before my 23rd birthday, so anyone who wants to get me a present should pre-order the book.

[The_Adventurer]

Awesome Oppossum. This may just kick all kinds of ass.

What's up with the old style Image logo though?

[Sammycomic]

Aw yeah! FInally, a fun book,

[JimHughs4]

Man, I love Teddy Roosevelt. I cannot wait for this to come out. And sequels. Lots and lots of sequels.

[Grendel Prime]

If the interior art (would have been real nice to get some samples) is anywhere near as good as the concept, I am all over this one.

[The_Adventurer]

This is in the Forum Signiture of BenitoCereno over at Imagecomics.com's forum

It might be interior art.

[dee_dee26m]

Hmmmm. Shades of 'Barnum!'.....

But yes. It sounds a lot of fun, which is why I shall be buying this. Several times, in fact.

[from the gutter]

eh.

[LoveForFire]

Can't Wait!

[jasinmartin]

This sounds like all kinds of funn... so fun, I threw an extra n in there!

Great article.

Sign me up!


BTW, I've been meaning to check out PencilJack, so thanks for the linkage...

[FIG]

Yet another Penciljacker..........we're going to take over the comic industry I tells you! Be on the lookout.

[Supreme Convoy]

Wow, this looks like a fun read! I'm definitely checking this one out

But what does "Bully Pulpit" mean? I'm guessing it has to do with Roosevelt. And I might have skimmed over it, but when does it ship?

[Quay Lewd]

Originally posted by Supreme Convoy
But what does "Bully Pulpit" mean? I'm guessing it has to do with Roosevelt.

T.R. often used the word "bully" in much the same way we might use the word "awesome" or whatever the slang du jour dictates for a positive experience/feeling/etc. He referred to the U.S. Presidency as a "bully pulpit", meaning that it was a good forum for inciting Americans to do right, make good choices, or foster progressive change.

I can't remember exactly what the topic or issue was when he coined the phrase, but you'll hear it crop up from time to time on news shows when the talking heads are discussing the presidency. A recent example is W using the "bully pulpit" to discourage the use of steroids in athletics -- a real pressing issue this year.

I enjoyed this interview - good show, Matt and Benito! I'm already a T.R. buff, so sign me up for the fun. I'm also available to consult on how T.R. is depicted for historical accuracy and whatnot

BTW, I detect a hint of LXG, Amercian-style -- esp. if this picks up steam and leads to sequels...

[BenitoCereno]

Originally posted by Supreme Convoy
But what does "Bully Pulpit" mean? I'm guessing it has to do with Roosevelt. And I might have skimmed over it, but when does it ship?

Right you are. "Bully pulpit" was a term Teddy Roosevelt used to refer to the White House, meaning he thought it was a good platform for achieving one's agenda. In this story, he's found an even better platform--one that flies around and travels through time. So, in the context of the story, "Bully Pulpit" is what Teddy christens the time machine.

And the book is solicited to ship on August 18. It will be in the next issue of Previews, which should be out next week, if I'm not mistaken.

[BenitoCereno]

Originally posted by The_Adventurer
This is in the Forum Signiture of BenitoCereno over at Imagecomics.com's forum

It might be interior art.

Yep. That is a panel of interior art (minus the colors). I'll see about getting some pages available to show, but in the meantime if you want to see Graeme's art (and if you like looking at drawings of pretty ladies), I'd encourage you to check out his website at http://www.mrdowntown.com

[shakey]

How bout this, their best friend is a talking pie ?

Add that element, and you have the movie pitch from the
Alec Baldwin-Ron Howard -Kim Bassinger Simpsons episode.

[Commander X]

“There's a wild one-shot coming out in August called Tales from the Bully Pulpit, that I'm really looking forward to,” Image’s B. Clay Moore told Newsarama. “It's pretty off the wall, to say the least. Basically, it's Teddy Roosevelt and the ghost of Thomas Edison with a time machine, defending the universe.”


Man, why didn't I think of that! I am definately grabbing this one, it sounds great. As someone noted above, it's good to see something fun coming out. Along those lines (and completely unrelated to this title), let me plug Street Angel from SLG, one of the most fun books I've read in a very long time.

Time traveling presidents and dead inventors... good times...

[BenitoCereno]

Alternately, I wish I had thought of basketball playing ninjas, so it all balances out.

[Rockin' Rich]

Edison, like his pal, Henry Ford, was a virulent anti-Semite. Blamed Jews for most, if not all, of the world's problems. Wonder if this will show up in any of the books... (Not holding my breath.)

[HipGnosis]

What about laff-a-rama Rex Mundi??? Mangled street-walkers + religious intolerance = funny in my book.

Tales from the Bully Pulpit looks great. Looking forward to this and to Very Sammy too.

Originally posted by Sammycomic
Aw yeah! FInally, a fun book,

[Godfather]

Originally posted by HipGnosis
What about laff-a-rama Rex Mundi??? Mangled street-walkers + religious intolerance = funny in my book.

Tales from the Bully Pulpit looks great. Looking forward to this and to Very Sammy too.

Hey R

[comicdon]

Hey BenetoCereno,

Call your old comic shop so's they can treat you like a big shot and have an autograph session. 901-683-7171

[BenitoCereno]

Whoa, hey. Awesome.

I'll have to do that. I'm sure I'll be swinging through town a couple times within the next year, so that would be great.