Justin Trudeau’s life in comic strips

Superheroes aren’t the only ones who get to have comic books, prime ministers do too.

Justin Trudeau’s life has been sketched out in a comic book published by TidalWave Comics. The biography revisits important personal moments that shaped Canada’s prime minister.

As a charismatic school teacher with “camera-ready good looks and an easygoing nature” Trudeau came into the spotlight after delivering a touching eulogy at the memorial service for his father Pierre Trudeau, a former prime minister of Canada. That was after the death of his brother. The book includes a Group of Seven style drawing of scenery around Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park in B.C. where Trudeau’s younger brother Michel went missing while on a ski trip. Michel perished after being swept into Kokanee Lake by an avalanche.

Political Power: Justin Trudeau is part of the Political Power collection of over 200 comic books that focus on prominent political figures from around the world, including Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Condoleezza Rice, George Bush, James Comey, Nelson Mandela, Marco Rubio and Elizabeth Warren.

Writer Michael Frizell’s goal was to take a balanced and impartial look at Trudeau’s life in 24-pages. Stories are presented in over 100 colourful images drawn by Bernat in comic strips on thick, glossy pages. The work is laid out simply but has heavy emotional impact. Publisher Darren G. Davis says that non-fiction stories are sometimes more interesting than stories involving capes and tights.

Comic strip from "Political Power: Justin Trudeau" — “Political Power: Justin Trudeau”. Credit: TidalWave Productions

Independent American comic book publisher TidalWave Productions, whose titles include bestsellers 10th Muse and The Legend of Isis, teamed up with Canadian company AOD Collectables to release the new version of the Trudeau comic book.

AOD Collectables has an exclusive cover version, which is different from the version published on Sept. 16. It’s available only in Canada and the language is edited for a Canadian audience. The first cover has an image of a smiling Trudeau in the act of removing his shirt and overcoat to reveal a white T-shirt crested with a red maple leaf in the middle of his chest—a reference to Superman. The AOD Collectibles Canadian version of the cover also has a likeness of Trudeau. He’s in a suit and tie, his hair is longer and he has a beard and moustache. This image definitely looks like 2020 coronavirus pandemic Trudeau. An image of a red maple leaf in the background resembles a crown behind his head.

TidalWave published a comic book based on recently deceased Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Stormy Daniels has one. And there’s one based on the popular Netflix documentary series Tiger King, called Infamous: Tiger King. A sequel called Infamous: Tiger King 2: Sanctuary is coming in November. U.S. vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ comic book was released on Oct. 21 as part of the Female Force comic book series, also written by Frizell. Harris’ book was drawn by artist Juan Burgos and the cover image was created by artist Dave Ryan.

Some of TidalWave’s publishing partners include entertainment icon William Shatner (TekWar Chronicles), legendary filmmaker Ray Harryhausen (Wrath of the Titans, Sinbad: Rogue of Mars, Jason and the Argonauts), novelists S.E. Hinton (The Puppy Sister) and William F. Nolan (Logan’s Run), and celebrated actors Vincent Price (Vincent Price Presents), Dirk Benedict of the original Battlestar Galactica (Dirk Benedict in the 25^th Century) and Adam West of 1966’s Batman fame (The Mis-Adventures of Adam West).