Snow White and the Huntsman may be unusual among the many Snow White retellings in that the huntsman appears as a major character. You might recall that the huntsman, who appears for just a few sentences in the classic Brothers Grimm tale, risks his life by refusing to kill Snow White and instead brings the heart of a boar to the queen. The entire story hinges on that fateful decision. But the number one grossing movie in the country is not the first Snow White rendition to feature the huntsman. That distinction goes to Phawker contributor, Mike Walsh, whose Oberman The Footnote was written in the early ‘90s. In Walsh’s comic, satiric romp, the huntsman is a scheming yet progressive political operative trying to stay alive long enough to help the equally scheming Snow White overthrow the queen and bring democracy to the kingdom. As Oberman tells the queen when she questions his loyalty, “When we started out together, you couldn’t win a council seat in your home village. Your name recognition was zero, and look where you are today. Who did it for you? Me, that’s who. Who wrote your speeches? Who went from door to door during the grassroots fund raisers? Who invented the political action committee just for you? Me, that’s who.” Oberman the Footnote may not have the CGI effects or bombast of the summer blockbuster, but it’s got political intrigue, betrayals, romance, lewd dwarfs, and an unpredictability that’s even better. Walsh performed the story with a slide show and live music at numerous coffee houses and bars in Philly in the ’90s. It even appeared as a graphic novel with a underground-style paste up by Ted Stamas. If you missed Oberman the first time around, you can read it now on missionCREEP.
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