Editing Get Your War On

{{Short description|American comic strip by David Rees}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox Webcomic| <!-- Part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Webcomics]] -->
| title = Get Your War On
| image = <!--  Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Gywo.gif]] -->
| caption = ''Get Your War On'' uses clip-art pictures combined with dialogue that is highly politicized and often sarcastic.
| author = [[David Rees (cartoonist)|David Rees]]
| url = {{url|http://www.mnftiu.cc/category/gywo}}
| status =
| began = October 9, 2001
| ended = January 20, 2009
| genre = [[Satire]]
| ratings =
}}
'''''Get Your War On''''' is a series of satirical [[comic strip]]s by [[David Rees (cartoonist)|David Rees]] about political topics. Initially, the comic concerned the effects of the [[September 11 attacks]] on New York City, but it quickly switched its focus to more recent topics, in particular the [[War on Terror]]. The strip debuted on October 9, 2001.

From a technical standpoint the strips are crude, being assembled from about a dozen simple [[clip art]] pictures of office workers (with a few exceptions, most notably super robot [[Voltron]]) 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 [[Expletive attributive|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]] in 1988.<ref group="n">Dover's web page about the book is [http://store.doverpublications.com/0486257622.html here]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110151904/https://store.doverpublications.com/0486257622.html |archive-date=November 10, 2018}}</ref> In 2009, American restaurant chain [[Jamba Juice]] was criticized for running an ad campaign which looked similar to the ''Get Your War On'' series as it used the same clip art.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20130115201252/https://andyontheroad.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/jamba/ Jamba Juice’s new advertising technique is despicable]", Andy on the Road, July 18, 2009. (Archive, retrieved July 14, 2017)</ref><ref name="JambaJuiceControversy">Xeni Jardin, "[http://boingboing.net/2009/07/27/jamba-juice-accused.html Jamba Juice accused of stealing ''Get Your War On'' artist's work: Update: Jamba responds, GYWO calls for boycott]", boingboing.net, July 27, 2009.</ref>

''Get Your War On'' has been published in book form, with the author's [[royalties]] (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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://contemporarylit.about.com/cs/authorinterviews/a/davidRees.htm |title=David Rees Interview |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040804092556/http://contemporarylit.about.com/cs/authorinterviews/a/davidRees.htm |archive-date=August 4, 2004 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mnftiu.cc/mdc-team-5/ |title=www.mnftiu.cc » MDC Team #5 |accessdate=2011-07-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807075617/http://www.mnftiu.cc/mdc-team-5/ |archivedate=August 7, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> It was also published regularly in ''[[Rolling Stone]]''<ref name="USA today">Balog, Kathy, et al. (September 9, 2004). "Our critics' top picks". ''[[USA Today]]'', Pg. 6D</ref> and some [[Alternative weekly|alternative newspapers]]. 

In 2004, Rees was interviewed in the book ''[[Attitude: The New Subversive Cartoonists|Attitude 2: The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists]],'' edited by syndicated editorial cartoonist [[Ted Rall]]. ''Attitude 2'' included other cartoonists such as [[Alison Bechdel]] and [[Aaron McGruder]].<ref name="Library Journal Reviews">Raiteri, Steve (July 15, 2004). "Attitude 2: The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists". ''[[Library Journal Reviews]]'', Pg. 62</ref>

In 2007, ''Get Your War On'' comics were included with the works of [[Jenny Holzer]] and [[Francisco Goya|Goya]] in the ''Dissent!'' exhibition of protest art at [[Harvard University]]'s [[Fogg Art Museum]].<ref name="The Boston Globe">Editorial board (February 10, 2007). "Truth to power, in all caps". ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', Pg. A10</ref>

As the author had promised, the strip ended the day that [[George W. Bush]] 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",<ref name="NYT2004">Carson, Tom (October 3, 2004). "Last Comic Standing". ''[[The New York Times]]'', Pg. 20G</ref> 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."<ref name="The Miami Herald">Ogle, Connie (November 24, 2004). "Go Ahead, Make Your Buddy's Belly Ache From Laughing". ''[[The Miami Herald]]'', Pg. 22E</ref> James Poniewozik has compared ''Get Your War On'' to ''[[Doonesbury]]'' and ''[[The Boondocks (TV series)|The Boondocks]]'', calling it "a fresher (and more R-rated) critique" of the Bush administration.<ref name="Time">Poniewozik, James (July 12, 2002). "The Cultural Campaign". ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', p. 69.</ref>

==Adaptations==
{{expand section|date=February 2016}}
In 2005 it was adapted into a stage performance by [[Rude Mechanicals (a.k.a. Rude Mechs)|Rude Mechanicals]] of [[Austin, Texas]]. The performance was revived in the winter of 2006<ref name="austin1">van Ryzin, Jeanne Claire (September 7, 2006). "Future of art emerges into reality". ''[[Austin American-Statesman]]'', XLENT; Pg. 15</ref> and began a tour of the country in the fall of 2006.<ref name="austin2">Gross, Joe (January 26, 2006). "The art of war". ''[[Austin American-Statesman]]'', XLENT; Pg. 14</ref> The tour included stops in Houston,<ref name="houston">Evans, Everett (September 23, 2006). "Theater: Get Your War On is a political zinger". ''[[The Houston Chronicle]]'', Star; Pg. 3</ref> Philadelphia,<ref name="philadelphia">Zinman, Toby (September 15, 2006). "A satire of politics, or of the characters?". ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', Pg. W27</ref> New York,<ref name="New York Times">Zinoman, Jason (January 13, 2007). "A History Lesson That Sprays Scorn Liberally". ''[[The New York Times]]'', Pg. B14</ref> and Washington, D.C.<ref name="Washington Post">Pressley, Nelson (October 7, 2006). "Internet Comic Strip 'Get Your War On' Goes 3-D on Stage". ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Pg. C01</ref>

During the [[2008 United States presidential election|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 [[First inauguration of Barack Obama|Barack Obama's inauguration]], but returned during the [[2012 United States presidential election|2012 presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/30/get-your-war-on_n_1845072.html|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|title=Get Your War On Returns (VIDEO)|date=2012-08-31}}</ref>

==In book form==
* ''Get Your War On.'' Brooklyn: Soft Skull, 2002. {{ISBN|1-887128-76-X}}
* ''Get Your War On II.'' New York: Riverhead, 2004. {{ISBN|1-59448-048-6}}
* ''Get Your War On: The Definitive Account of the War on Terror, 2001-2008'' Brooklyn: Soft Skull, 2008. {{ISBN|1-59376-213-5}}

== See also ==
*''[[Codefellas]]''

==Notes==
<references group="n" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

;Sources
* Begun, Bret (November 4, 2002). "Is It OK to Laugh Yet?". ''[[Newsweek]]'', p. 54.

==External links==
* {{official|http://www.mnftiu.cc/category/gywo/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110612145642/http://www.notmuch.com/Show/Archive.pl?s_id=441 Interview with David Rees] in part 1 February 3, 2007 radio show "Whad'ya know"
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090204031008/http://www.236.com/tag/Get+Your+War+On Animated Series on 236.com]

[[Category:American comic strips]]
[[Category:2001 comics debuts]]
[[Category:2001 webcomic debuts]]
[[Category:Political webcomics]]
[[Category:Anti-war comics]]
[[Category:American satirical websites]]
[[Category:Satirical webcomics]]
[[Category:Webcomics in print]]
[[Category:American political satire]]
[[Category:Political satire comics]]
[[Category:2000s webcomics]]
[[Category:Works about the September 11 attacks]]
[[Category:Comics set during the Iraq War]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of George W. Bush]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Osama bin Laden]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Saddam Hussein]]
[[Category:Comics adapted into animated series]]
[[Category:Comics adapted into plays]]
[[Category:Works by David Rees (cartoonist)]]