Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President
Encyclopedia
is a political
seinen
manga
by Kaiji Kawaguchi
serialized in Big Comic
, a manga magazine published by Shogakukan
. Its plot, following a Japanese American
senator as he runs for president
of the United States
, was thoroughly researched by Kawaguchi during months of travel in the US.
. Some of the characters are entirely original, such as Senator Kenneth Yamaoka (D-NY) and the series protagonist, Japanese journalist Takashi Jo. Others are fictionalized depictions of real people, such as campaign advisor George Tuck (based on Dick Tuck
), Democratic Vice-President Al Noah (based on Al Gore
), and the current president Bill Clydon (based on Bill Clinton
), who hails from Arkansas, has faced multiple scandals, and has a politically ambitious wife named Ellery. Kawaguchi was reported inspired to create the manga after watching the 1992 documentary
The War Room
.
Eagle was nominated for five Eisner Awards, including Best New Series, Best Continuing Series, Best Writer/Artist, and Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material in 2001, and again in 2002 for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material. Writer Warren Ellis
called it "A wild tangle of sex and secrets and hate and Machiavellian intrigue. It's Primary Colors in a really bad mood." http://www.viz.com/news/newsroom/2001/04_eagle.php
, published by Shogakukan
. From 2000-2002, Viz Comics published the English translation in monthly 100-page issues and then in five long tankōbon
volumes. The series spans over 2000 pages in all.
Political fiction
Political fiction is a subgenre of fiction that deals with political affairs. Political fiction has often used narrative to provide commentary on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction often "directly criticize an existing society or.....
seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Kaiji Kawaguchi
Kaiji Kawaguchi
is a Japanese manga author whose works include Eagle and Zipang. Generally, his stories involve Japan and examine the moral choices that people make in extreme situations. He received the Kodansha Manga Award three times, for Actor in 1987, for The Silent Service in 1990, and for Zipang in 2002...
serialized in Big Comic
Big Comic
is a semimonthly seinen manga magazine published since 1968-02-29 by Shogakukan in Japan. It was originally launched as a monthly magazine, but switched to twice monthly on the 10th and 25th beginning in April 1968. It is paired with sister magazine Big Comic Original, going on sale in the weeks...
, a manga magazine published by Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
. Its plot, following a Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
senator as he runs for president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, was thoroughly researched by Kawaguchi during months of travel in the US.
Plot
Eagle takes place during the 2000 presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
. Some of the characters are entirely original, such as Senator Kenneth Yamaoka (D-NY) and the series protagonist, Japanese journalist Takashi Jo. Others are fictionalized depictions of real people, such as campaign advisor George Tuck (based on Dick Tuck
Dick Tuck
Dick Tuck is a former American political consultant, campaign strategist, advance man, and political prankster for the Democratic National Committee.-Pranks:...
), Democratic Vice-President Al Noah (based on Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
), and the current president Bill Clydon (based on Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
), who hails from Arkansas, has faced multiple scandals, and has a politically ambitious wife named Ellery. Kawaguchi was reported inspired to create the manga after watching the 1992 documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
The War Room
The War Room
The War Room is a 1993 American documentary film about Bill Clinton's campaign for President of the United States during the 1992 presidential election.-Background:...
.
Eagle was nominated for five Eisner Awards, including Best New Series, Best Continuing Series, Best Writer/Artist, and Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material in 2001, and again in 2002 for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material. Writer Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, who is well-known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and through his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
called it "A wild tangle of sex and secrets and hate and Machiavellian intrigue. It's Primary Colors in a really bad mood." http://www.viz.com/news/newsroom/2001/04_eagle.php
Manga
The series was originally serialized from 1997-2001 in the Japanese anthology Big ComicBig Comic
is a semimonthly seinen manga magazine published since 1968-02-29 by Shogakukan in Japan. It was originally launched as a monthly magazine, but switched to twice monthly on the 10th and 25th beginning in April 1968. It is paired with sister magazine Big Comic Original, going on sale in the weeks...
, published by Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
. From 2000-2002, Viz Comics published the English translation in monthly 100-page issues and then in five long tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes. The series spans over 2000 pages in all.
- 416 pages, ISBN 1-56931-475-6
- 424 pages, ISBN 1-56931-476-4
- 416 pages, ISBN 1-56931-551-5
- 512 pages, ISBN 1-56931-639-2
- 600 pages, ISBN 1-59116-007-3
External links
- Eagle - VIZ Communications (Archive)
- Lengthy retrospective on ComicBookResources.com
- Eagle at AnimeFringe.com
- Review at MangaManiacs.org (dead link?)