SUPERPUTIN

Sergei Kalenik, the writer of the comic strip “SuperPutin, A Man Like Any Other” in English, has introduced a satirical way to provide even more coverage of the Russian president. His first strip, published in 2011, depicts Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev performing various duties to characterize themselves as heroes.

After blowing up the headquarters of al-Qaeda, Putin rushes to save a bus headed for Moscow containing a bomb. The terrorists had recently watched the movie, “Speed,” and so Putin is tasked with commandeering the bus so the bomb does not blow. Medvedev appears costumed as a bear, and uses his skills with technology to locate and destroy the bomb. 

As they enter Moscow, a traffic jam forces them to use the “nano-flasher,” a blue light that allows them to enter a twilight zone and dodge the jam. However, they can only make it through if they survive the blue-bucket wearing zombies that wish to eat their brains. A clear reference to the Blue Bucket Brigade, these zombies threaten the lives of our heroes and innocent civilians on the bus, yelling “Give us back NTV” and “Let us elect our own governors!” 

The tandem heroes, of course, manage to fight their way through the zombies only to be faced with a giant troll that wants to kill the civilians. Putin, however, challenges the troll to a duel and the comic ends with the two in a face-off.

One can come to his or her own conclusions about the politics of the comic strip, but we can all agree that it is fantastic. Kalenik has made three more strips following the same story of the first, but the worlds have transformed. Unfortunately, it seems that the domain for the site has recently expired, and one can only hope that it will be resurrected in the future.

The site, which once featured both English and Russian translations, was found at www.superputin.ru