Marvel Comics to Produce United Nations Comic Book

I've always maintained that comic books are one of the best mediums available for educating children and adults of all ages in addition to teaching reading skills. The merger of pictures and words can often move mountains when it comes to getting a point across. And Marvel Comics -- one of the largest producers of comic books in the United States, if not the world (and producers of such recognized titles as the Fantastic Four and Spider Man) apparently thinks so too.

According to a January 3 article posted on www.worldnet daily.com , "...Tens of thousands of children in public schools across America soon could be getting a free comic book, one that extols the virtues of the United Nations and its agenda through the words of a kids' hero, Spider-Man..."

The United Nations as a force for good? Who'd have thought?

This 4-color approach to getting the word out regarding the United Nations is being led by French filmmaker Romuald Sciora -- who also produced a series of short documentaries about former U.N. leaders Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Javier Perez de Cuellar and Kurt Waldheim. But it's not the first time the medium of comic books has been used to promote such propanda: Hitler was a favorite villain of Captain America in the latter's comic book adventures published during World War II, and the United States Army used comics for years as a forum to teach soldiers about such diverse subjects as changing a tank turret or the benefits of using a condom.

The UN comic book -- according to the Worldnet article -- "...will feature favorite Marvel characters such as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, and will ... tell the story of how the United Nations fights the challenges of poverty, disease, and conflict worldwide,"

For it's part, the United nations underscored the efforts of the project by adding, "..."By making the complex U.N. system accessible to youth, the partners hope to teach children the value of the international cooperation, and sensitize them to the problems faced in other parts of the world..."