Shooting War
Encyclopedia
Shooting War is a webcomic
and graphic novel
by writer Anthony Lappé and artist Dan Goldman
. It originated on SMITH Magazine
, a web magazine about storytelling in all its forms. The story is set in the year 2011 with John McCain
as the American president. It tells the story of a video-blogger named Jimmy Burns. Burns films a terrorist suicide bombing attack on a Starbucks
in Brooklyn
and becomes an overnight media star. Shortly after, he is sent to cover the still-raging war in Iraq for the fictional Global News Network.
The webcomic received recognition from magazines, newspapers and websites such as Rolling Stone
, the Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly
, Wired Magazine and Publishers Weekly
's The Beat blog, and was nominated for the 2007 Eisner Award
s as "best digital comic". The online comic was acquired by Warner Books (now called Grand Central Publishing) for publication as a graphic novel. The 192-page full-color hardcover book was released in the U.S. in mid-November 2007, and was published in the UK by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in early November. USA Today
chose it as their "big fall graphic novel", calling it "a subversively buzz-worthy online comic."
Writer Lappé drew upon his previous experiences in the Iraq war zone as producer of the Showtime documentary Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge
. Outside of his artwork on Shooting War, Goldman is a co-founder of the ACT-I-VATE
webcomics anthology (along with Dean Haspiel
, Josh Neufeld
, and others).
. He was standing outside of a Starbucks
explaining his view and complaints on eminent domain
when suddenly a bomb inside the Starbucks detonates. He is blown twenty feet away. After he recovers himself he goes to help other people hurt in the blast. An employee of the news company Global News, sees his vlog and almost instantly gets it placed on live television.
in New York City
was bombed on Memorial Day
2009, recalling a scene from the graphic novel.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
and graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
by writer Anthony Lappé and artist Dan Goldman
Dan Goldman
Dan Goldman is an American writer, artist and designer living in São Paulo, Brazil...
. It originated on SMITH Magazine
Smith Magazine
Smith Magazine is a U.S.-based online magazine devoted to storytelling in all its forms. Smiths content is participatory in nature, and the magazine welcomes contributions from all its readers...
, a web magazine about storytelling in all its forms. The story is set in the year 2011 with John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
as the American president. It tells the story of a video-blogger named Jimmy Burns. Burns films a terrorist suicide bombing attack on a Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and becomes an overnight media star. Shortly after, he is sent to cover the still-raging war in Iraq for the fictional Global News Network.
The webcomic received recognition from magazines, newspapers and websites such as Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, the Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, Wired Magazine and Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
's The Beat blog, and was nominated for the 2007 Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
s as "best digital comic". The online comic was acquired by Warner Books (now called Grand Central Publishing) for publication as a graphic novel. The 192-page full-color hardcover book was released in the U.S. in mid-November 2007, and was published in the UK by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in early November. USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
chose it as their "big fall graphic novel", calling it "a subversively buzz-worthy online comic."
Writer Lappé drew upon his previous experiences in the Iraq war zone as producer of the Showtime documentary Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge
BattleGround: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge
BattleGround: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge was released in 2004, and received the Silver Hugo Award for documentaries at the 2004 Chicago International Film Festival. It aired on Showtime and was released on DVD by Home Vision...
. Outside of his artwork on Shooting War, Goldman is a co-founder of the ACT-I-VATE
Act-i-vate
ACT-I-VATE is an American webcomics collective based on an original idea by Dean Haspiel and founded by Haspiel and seven other cartoonists. It started out on the blogging platform Livejournal, but has now moved to its own dedicated website....
webcomics anthology (along with Dean Haspiel
Dean Haspiel
Dean Edmund Haspiel is an American comic book artist. He is known for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his American Splendor series as well as the graphic novel The Quitter. He has been nominated for numerous Eisner Awards, and won a 2010 Emmy Award for TV design work.-Early...
, Josh Neufeld
Josh Neufeld
Josh Neufeld is an alternative cartoonist known for his nonfiction comics on subjects like Hurricane Katrina, international travel, and finance, as well as his collaborations with writers like Harvey Pekar and Brooke Gladstone...
, and others).
Storyline
The online preview of the story spans 11 chapters. The book has an additional 110 pages of material.Chapter 1
In 2011, blogger Jimmy Burns has just gotten his new Samsung MMXI video camera and is taking it for a test drive by making his vlogVlog
Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging or vidding or vidblogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video, and is a form of Web television. Entries often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one take...
. He was standing outside of a Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
explaining his view and complaints on eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
when suddenly a bomb inside the Starbucks detonates. He is blown twenty feet away. After he recovers himself he goes to help other people hurt in the blast. An employee of the news company Global News, sees his vlog and almost instantly gets it placed on live television.
Chapter 2
Later after the terrorist attack Jimmy has become somewhat of a national celebrity. This chapter shows his popularity with news stations and magazines. Near the end of this chapter the head of Global News, a controversial news network which shows graphic violence, offers Jimmy a job as one of his reporters.Life imitating art
While not as catastrophic as the incident in Shooting War, a StarbucksStarbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
was bombed on Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
2009, recalling a scene from the graphic novel.