GovDoc Bestsellers

NPR broadcast a story yesterday morning on the publication of the Iraq Study Group Report, which is anticipated to be a bestseller along the lines of the 9/11 Commission Report (if not nearly so compelling).I had to laugh--ruefully--when the reporter referred to these as anomalies in the "often stodgy" field of government publications.

Here's more on the sales of the Iraq report (from CNN). Now, wait a minute... didn't the public pay for this report? Isn't it government information? And now it's a best-seller on the private market--again, just like the 9/11 Commission Report. I opened my messages from GovDoc-L this morning, and found that Daniel Cornwall had the same feelings:

"First off, I'm disappointed that once again the private sector is going to benefit from the sale of a popular government document while GPO is still looking for nickels to rub together. First the 9/11 Commission, now the Baker/ISG Commission. While I doubt it is a conscious conspiracy, it is unfortunate that the hottest potential sellers are being diverted away from the government's official printer."

All this talk of hot GovDocs got me to start a reading list of some of the best-selling ones:

• The Starr Report
• Iraq Study Group Report
• 9/11 Commission Report
• William Lewis Herndon: Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon
• ...which led me to a book on his death on a gold-laden shipwreck.

I'm thinking about reading the 9/11 report in graphic novel form, then comparing it with the text form and with Art Spiegelman's 9/11-themed graphic novel, In the Shadow of No Towers.

Which brings me to my latest research project... GovDoc comics! I'm interested in any government comic in any form, digital or print--if you know of any, please let me know. I don't know if this will turn into a digital collection, a presentation, or an article, but it combines three of my interests in one.