« Embraer and the defense market: the roller-coaster continues | Main | Wikipedia as defense industry propaganda tool »
Behold the latest innovation in the art of merchandising advanced weapons: Northrop Grumman's new series of promotional comic books!
I am withholding judgment, except to just wonder aloud who they think is the target audience for this (... surely not the Pentagon's weapons buyers, right?)?
(Click on the 'continuing reading' link below the image to read the whole comic book.)
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.flightglobal.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/11146
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Northrop Grumman unveils new ... er ... comic book?:
» Use Case Comics from Michael Williams -- Master of None
Northrop Grumman has released a comic book to illustrate the use of its various unmanned aerial vehicles. Seems somewhat childish on first-glance, but I've read through countless use case documents and this is by far the easiest one I've ever... [Read More]
This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on September 7, 2007 2:44 PM.
The previous post in this blog was Embraer and the defense market: the roller-coaster continues.
The next post in this blog is Wikipedia as defense industry propaganda tool .
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.
Comments (21)
I'm not happy! I paid them $5,000,000,000.00 last year for this comic book, and they still charged me five cents!
I'm stickin' with Stan Lee, at least he only charges you once (and his Superhero's are way cooler).
Posted by yasotay | September 7, 2007 6:37 PM
Posted on September 7, 2007 18:37
A thought occurs to me. If they're making propaganda comic books for kids (which basically means pre-teen boys), then are they thinking that the "Global War On Terror" is going to go on for decades?
Kids, after all, don't have any real input into the political system until they grow up. To me, this looks like they're trying to influence the thinking of kids so that they'll be supportive of war against "terror" (which in practical terms means against countries that have oil) when they are adults.
Scary stuff.
Posted by Cranky Media Guy | September 8, 2007 8:36 AM
Posted on September 8, 2007 08:36
Craptastic! At least they got the terrorists speaking English correct.
Posted by Bil Peters | September 8, 2007 9:54 AM
Posted on September 8, 2007 09:54
Oh... kiddy propaganda, how cute!!!
And I like the emphasis on "OUR EVIL PLAN"
Eh, since they have some difficulties recruiting people willing to kill in the name of $$$ (err, I mean in the name of freedom), I guess they have to start the brainwashing early.
Add to that the pentagon "Left Behind" video game where you have to kill UN soldiers because they are not catholic...
Man, these guys are sick and should be interned in mental hospitals.
Posted by JD | September 8, 2007 10:03 AM
Posted on September 8, 2007 10:03
That's so typical. First they drop in and *then* they realize SITUATION CRITICAL. lol
Posted by Tony | September 8, 2007 12:42 PM
Posted on September 8, 2007 12:42
Why didn't the military just bomb the damned thing in the first place instead of dropping soldiers a kilometer away?
I wonder what genius at Northrop Grumman came it with this? The stupidity of is immense.
Posted by Calton Bolick | September 8, 2007 4:05 PM
Posted on September 8, 2007 16:05
Not very well...executed. But then again, I'm sure it was cost-plussed into some Pentagon contract at a skidillion bucks a comic, so it didn't really matter if succeeded. A little unnerving to trust one's salvation to robotic aircraft made by folks that publish such a lousy comic, and I bet this was used in some Power-point presentation at a high level, it's just that bad, it had to be - who else would swallow this crap?
Posted by Vanwall | September 8, 2007 8:55 PM
Posted on September 8, 2007 20:55
I work as a comic artist, and I'm here to tell you this is the worst drawn comic I've seen in a while that someone actually got paid to produce.
As a guy who can actually draw, and who has drawn comics a long time, I can tell you, this was a waste of money.
Who ever drew this piece of crap should be ashamed they took the hard earned tax dollars of the American People for this ridiculous piece of tripe.
Had Northrop Grumman come to me and asked me to draw the coming, I would have gladly done so, as I'd like a little bit of my tax money to come back to me.
Posted by tommythemad | September 8, 2007 10:21 PM
Posted on September 8, 2007 22:21
you really couldn't make it up
Posted by Dan Thisdell | September 10, 2007 2:56 PM
Posted on September 10, 2007 14:56
Hey, it didn't work. The terrorists lived... Couldn't the XB-47s kill the bad guys at least?
Posted by Joe Bagadonuts | September 10, 2007 3:29 PM
Posted on September 10, 2007 15:29
This is something Warren Ellis should have written instead. It would involve patriotic foglets descending on the terrorists and turning them into simulacrum of reality TV stars.
'Mission Accomplished' indeed...
Posted by Caias Ward | September 10, 2007 4:36 PM
Posted on September 10, 2007 16:36
1. Poster JD: "Left Behind" series and Catholics????? Huh?
2. Yes, GWOT from the beginning has been forecast to go on for decades...the other side thinks in terms of centuries...a period of decades means nothing to jihadists who are willing to take centuries to re-establish the caliphate. This is the defining conflict of our time. To think something like this can be resolved in one quick air campaign is extremely naive.
3. In the comic, too bad there wasn't a single Predator on station. It would have been able to identify, track, and and attack the compound. Predator system: about $10 million for everything. All the Northrop-Grumman stuff shown: literally billions of dollars.
Posted by Holy | September 10, 2007 4:42 PM
Posted on September 10, 2007 16:42
"Special Ops 5"?? Wonder what they found to put in "Special Ops" 1 to 4; the failed YF 23 perhaps...
Posted by Rob | September 10, 2007 4:57 PM
Posted on September 10, 2007 16:57
Perhapse it is aimed at George Bush......?
Posted by Andrew Steele | September 10, 2007 5:51 PM
Posted on September 10, 2007 17:51
I have to wonder if terrorists ever refer to their plans as "evil plans", as this masterwork has it.
Posted by Ponto | September 10, 2007 8:50 PM
Posted on September 10, 2007 20:50
How many of you who criticize this comic book, have seen the comic books written in Arabic that call all Jews pigs? Speaking of propoganda, where is the outcry over the comic books that others distribute through their school systems? Are was having a double standard? No free speach for those people if they disagree with your liberal views on terrorists and the war?
Posted by JPK | September 11, 2007 2:43 AM
Posted on September 11, 2007 02:43
"Why didn't the military just bomb the damned thing in the first place instead of dropping soldiers a kilometer away?"
Not defending the comic it is complete rubbish in every sense of the word but the above comment is the exact reason the US kills hundreds of civilians each month. It's called recon!
Posted by Phil | September 11, 2007 3:44 PM
Posted on September 11, 2007 15:44
I may be missing something, but I can't find your "'continuing reading' link below the image". I'd enjoy seeing what NG thought this media might do for them! Could always start a pool--was it marketing, recruitment, dreaming, visioning? Since the date on the front of the comic seems to be December 2004, it could all be OBE by now...
Posted by Allen | September 13, 2007 4:04 PM
Posted on September 13, 2007 16:04
Allen,
If you visit the front page of the blog, you only see the cover of the comic with a "continue reading" link under it...
On this page, you can see everything.
Posted by Adam | September 13, 2007 4:43 PM
Posted on September 13, 2007 16:43
Actually, the date on the paper copy, which shows up a bit clearer is December 2006.
Posted by Stephen Trimble | September 13, 2007 4:55 PM
Posted on September 13, 2007 16:55
Thank you. That was imbecilic. I’m am dumber for having read it.
Posted by Mark Baker | September 13, 2007 6:59 PM
Posted on September 13, 2007 18:59