''Get Your War On'' is a series of satirical

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

s by

David Rees David or Dai Rees may refer to: Entertainment * David Rees (author) (1936–1993), British children's author * Dave Rees (born 1969), American drummer for SNFU and Wheat Chiefs * David Rees (cartoonist) (born 1972), American cartoonist and televis ...

about political topics. Initially, the comic concerned the effects of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

on New York City, but it quickly switched its focus to more recent topics, in particular the

War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...

. The strip debuted on October 9, 2001. From a technical standpoint the strips are crude, being assembled from about a dozen simple

clip art Clip art (also clipart, clip-art) is a type of graphic art. Pieces are pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Today, clip art is used extensively and comes in many forms, both electronic and printed. However, most clip art today is creat ...

pictures of office workers (with a few exceptions, most notably super robot

Voltron ''Voltron'' is an Animation, animated television series franchise that features a team of space explorers who pilot a giant Super Robot known as "Voltron". Produced by Peter Keefe (Executive Producer) and Ted Koplar through his production compa ...

) that are repeated, often in the same strip. Almost all are in red on a white background. There is an emphasis on dialogue, with little action. Highly disillusioned and cynical, it is heavily laden with expletives.

Development and publishing

The majority of the clip art used in ''Get Your War On'' is taken from ''Office and Business Illustrations'', designed by Tom Tierney and first published by

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books ...

in 1988.Dover's web page about the book i
here
In 2009, American restaurant chain

Jamba Juice Jamba Juice, doing business as Jamba, is an American company that produces blended fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and similar products. The company is co-owned—with Moe's Southwest Grill, Schlotzsky's, Carvel, Cinnabon, McAlister's Deli ...

was criticized for running an ad campaign which looked similar to the ''Get Your War On'' series as it used the same clip art.Xeni Jardin,
Jamba Juice accused of stealing ''Get Your War On'' artist's work: Update: Jamba responds, GYWO calls for boycott
, boingboing.net, July 27, 2009. ''Get Your War On'' has been published in book form, with the author's

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

(as well as part of the publisher's income for the first book and ''Get Your War on II'') being donated to the charity Adopt-A-Minefield for removal of landmines in Afghanistan. It was also published regularly in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''Balog, Kathy, et al. (September 9, 2004). "Our critics' top picks". ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', Pg. 6D and some alternative newspapers. In 2004, Rees was interviewed in the book '' Attitude 2: The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists,'' edited by syndicated editorial cartoonist

Ted Rall Frederick Theodore Rall III (born August 26, 1963) is an American columnist, syndicated editorial cartoonist, and author. His political cartoons often appear in a multi-panel comic strip, comic-strip format and frequently blend comic-strip and e ...

. ''Attitude 2'' included other cartoonists such as

Alison Bechdel Alison Bechdel ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her graphic memoir ''Fun Home'', which ...

and

Aaron McGruder Aaron Vincent McGruder (born May 29, 1974) is an American writer, cartoonist, and producer best known for creating ''The Boondocks'', a Universal Press Syndicate comic strip and its animated TV series adaptation. Early life and education Aaron ...

.Raiteri, Steve (July 15, 2004). "Attitude 2: The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists". ''

Library Journal Reviews ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public library, public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of pro ...

'', Pg. 62 In 2007, ''Get Your War On'' comics were included with the works of

Jenny Holzer Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950) is an American neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick, New York. The main focus of her work is the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces and includes large-scale installations, advertising billboards, ...

and

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

in the ''Dissent!'' exhibition of protest art at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Fogg Art Museum The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

.Editorial board (February 10, 2007). "Truth to power, in all caps". ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', Pg. A10 As the author had promised, the strip ended the day that

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

left office, January 20, 2009. Rees continues to maintain a blog, which covers topical political issues.

Critical reaction

Tom Carson has called ''Get Your War On'' a "glorious excoriation of our post-9/11 loony bin",Carson, Tom (October 3, 2004). "Last Comic Standing". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Pg. 20G while Connie Ogle, in her review of the second ''Get Your War On'' book, called it "Profane, decidedly anti-war and screamingly funny ... guaranteed to make you laugh yourself sick."Ogle, Connie (November 24, 2004). "Go Ahead, Make Your Buddy's Belly Ache From Laughing". ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States The president ...

'' and ''

The Boondocks Boondocks are remote, usually brushy areas. Boondocks may also refer to: * The Boondocks (band), an Estonian rock band * ''The Boondocks'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Aaron McGruder ** ''The Boondocks'' (2005 TV series), the television ser ...

'', calling it "a fresher (and more R-rated) critique" of the Bush administration.Poniewozik, James (July 12, 2002). "The Cultural Campaign". ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', p. 69.

Adaptions

In 2005 it was adapted into a stage performance by

Rude Mechanicals The mechanicals are six characters in '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' who perform the play-within-a-play ''Pyramus and Thisbe''. They are a group of amateur and mostly incompetent actors from around Athens, looking to make names for themselves by ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. The performance was revived in the winter of 2006van Ryzin, Jeanne Claire (September 7, 2006). "Future of art emerges into reality". ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

'', XLENT; Pg. 15 and began a tour of the country in the fall of 2006.Gross, Joe (January 26, 2006). "The art of war". ''

'', XLENT; Pg. 14 The tour included stops in Houston,Evans, Everett (September 23, 2006). "Theater: Get Your War On is a political zinger". ''

The Houston Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'', Star; Pg. 3 Philadelphia,Zinman, Toby (September 15, 2006). "A satire of politics, or of the characters?". ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', Pg. W27 New York,Zinoman, Jason (January 13, 2007). "A History Lesson That Sprays Scorn Liberally". ''

'', Pg. B14 and Washington, D.C.Pressley, Nelson (October 7, 2006). "Internet Comic Strip 'Get Your War On' Goes 3-D on Stage". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', Pg. C01 During the United States presidential election in 2008, ''Get Your War On'' began running as an animated series on the comedy website Comedy 23/6. The series stopped after Barack Obama's inauguration, but returned during the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: E ...

In book form

* ''Get Your War On.'' Brooklyn: Soft Skull, 2002. * ''Get Your War On II.'' New York: Riverhead, 2004. * ''Get Your War On: The Definitive Account of the War on Terror, 2001-2008'' Brooklyn: Soft Skull, 2008.

Notes

References

;Sources * Begun, Bret (November 4, 2002). "Is It OK to Laugh Yet?". ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', p. 54.

External links

* {{official, http://www.mnftiu.cc/category/gywo/
Interview with David Rees
in part 1 February 3, 2007 radio show "Whad'ya know"
Animated Series on 236.com
American comic strips 2001 comics debuts 2001 webcomic debuts Political webcomics Anti-war comics American satirical websites Satirical webcomics Webcomics in print Political Internet memes American political satire 2000s webcomics Works about the September 11 attacks Comics set during the Iraq War Cultural depictions of George W. Bush Cultural depictions of Osama bin Laden Cultural depictions of Saddam Hussein Comics adapted into animated series Comics adapted into plays Works by David Rees (cartoonist)