Prez | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Prez: First Teen President of the U.S.A. #1 (August–September 1973) |
Created by | Joe Simon, Jerry Grandenetti |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Prez Rickard |
Youth rights |
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"Prez" is the name of several characters appearing in comics published by DC Comics. The original was Prez Rickard, the first teenage President of the United States, who appeared in a short-lived comic series by writer Joe Simon and artist Jerry Grandenetti [1] in 1973 and 1974. [2] Similar characters have appeared since then, revisiting the concept or paying homage to the original character. In 2015, DC published a miniseries about a teenage girl named Beth Ross who is elected President via Twitter in the year 2036. [3]
Following the real-world passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971, which lowered the minimum vote age to 18 nationwide, an amendment is passed allowing teenagers to also be elected to public office. [4] Teenage Prez Rickard – named by his mother with the dream of him someday becoming President – takes the initiative of fixing the clocks in his town of Steadfast to run on time, making him a local hero. [5] Shady businessman Boss Smiley (a political boss with a smiley face for a head) recruits him to run for the Senate, thinking that he can manipulate the boy. However, inspired after encountering Eagle Free, a young Native American, Prez campaigns on his own terms, and is instead elected president. [6]
He selects his mother to be Vice President, makes his sister his secretary, and appoints Eagle Free Director of the FBI. As president, Prez fights a legless vampire and his werewolf henchman, a right-wing militia led by the great-great-great-great-great-grandnephew of George Washington, evil chess players, and Boss Smiley. He is attacked for his stance on gun control and survives an assassination attempt during that controversy.
The series was abruptly cancelled after four issues. [7] Several years later, issue #5 was included in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 (though Prez itself predated the DC Implosion which prompted the production of that book). Prez also appeared in Supergirl #10 (Sept.-Oct. 1974). [8] Although the first issue of Prez specified that the series was an imaginary (non-continuity) story, this story by Cary Bates implies that Prez is President of the U.S. on Earth-One of the DC Multiverse. In the story, Supergirl saves Prez from two hoaxed assassination attempts, only to be entrapped into a third by a politician working with a witch. In this story, Prez's repair of clocks is presented as a personal hobby.
Worlds' End (1994) is the eighth collection of issues in the DC Comics series The Sandman. It was written by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Michael Allred, Gary Amaro, Mark Buckingham, Dick Giordano, Tony Harris, Steve Leialoha, Vince Locke, Shea Anton Pensa, Alec Stevens, Bryan Talbot, John Watkiss, and Michael Zulli; colored by Danny Vozzo; and lettered by Todd Klein. The stories in the collection first appeared in 1993. The collection first appeared in paperback and hardback editions in 1994 with an introduction by Stephen King. The collection's title, setting, and a number of its themes and images are also found in G.K. Chesterton's poem "A Child of the Snows".
The Sandman is a comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. Its artists include Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel, Bryan Talbot, and Michael Zulli, with lettering by Todd Klein and covers by Dave McKean. The original series ran for 75 issues from January 1989 to March 1996. Beginning with issue No. 47, it was placed under DC's Vertigo imprint, and following Vertigo's retirement in 2020, reprints have been published under DC's Black Label imprint.
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Joseph Henry Simon was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.
The Sandman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first of several DC characters to bear the name Sandman, he was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman. Attired in a green business suit, fedora, and World War I gas mask, the Sandman used a gun emitting a sleeping gas to sedate criminals. He was originally one of the "mystery men" to appear in comic books and other types of adventure fiction in the 1930s, but later was outfitted with a unitard/cowl costume and developed into a proper superhero, acquiring a sidekick, Sandy, and founding the Justice Society of America (JSA).
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Sanderson "Sandy" Hawkins, formerly known as Sandy the Golden Boy, Sands, Sand and currently known as Sandman, is a character appearing in comics published by DC Comics. He was created by writer Mort Weisinger and artist Paul Norris, he first appeared in Adventure Comics #69. After being unutilized for several years, he was reintroduced by writers David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns in the comic JSA in the late 1990s and with a greatly expanded set of powers and responsibilities. He eventually took on the name of Sandman, succeeding his former mentor.
Kamandi is a fictional comic book character created by artist Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The bulk of Kamandi's appearances occurred in the comic series Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, which ran from 1972 to 1978. He is a young hero living in a post-apocalyptic future. Following the Great Disaster, humans have backslid to savagery in a world ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals.
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Hoppy the Marvel Bunny is a fictional character appearing in American comic books originally published by Fawcett Comics and later DC Comics as a spin-off of Captain Marvel. He was created by Chad Grothkopf (1914–2005), and debuted in Fawcett's Funny Animals #1. A comic book superhero and an anthropomorphic animal, Hoppy has made periodic appearances in stories related to Captain Marvel, today also known as Shazam or The Captain.
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Sugar and Spike is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1956 through 1971, named after its main protagonists. The series was created, written, and drawn by Sheldon Mayer.
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Charles J. "Jerry" Grandenetti was an American comic book artist and advertising art director, best known for his work with writer-artist Will Eisner on the celebrated comics feature "The Spirit", and for his decade-and-a-half run on many DC Comics war series. He also co-created the DC comic book Prez with Joe Simon.
"The Sandman Saga" is a Superman story arc published in 1971 in Superman #233 - 235, #237 - 238 and #240 - 242. This is the first Superman storyline under editor Julius Schwartz and the first Bronze Age-era Superman story.
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All-Out War is an American war comics anthology series published by DC Comics from 1979 to 1980. It primarily featured characters created by writer Robert Kanigher with the Viking Commando being the lead feature.
Teenage President of the United States Prez Rickard didn't enjoy a long term in comics. However scripter Joe Simon and artist Jerry Grandenetti gave him plenty to tackle in four issues.