You Back the Attack! We'll Bomb Who We Want! Remixed War Propaganda by Micah Ian Wright Publisher: Seven Stories Press Price: $15.95

Perhaps Micah Wright missed his calling. The author, who has spent much of his career writing for cartoon characters, could also have excelled as a man of the cloth.

While a thunderstorm brewed outside on a recent summer evening, inside the Tattered Cover Book Store Wright delivered a sermon like a seasoned preacher.

Using an overhead projector as a bully pulpit, Wright spread the word through a series of nostalgic images once used to ignite support for war. At first glance, the war posters simply seem like patriotic propaganda from a bygone era. But Wright has put a modern spin an old-fashioned art form.

One poster looks especially out of place at this fiercely independent book store. Set against a black backdrop, a soldier sporting a rifle and a bayonet on his back, hoists a large stack of books.

Originally a plea for books for soldiers abroad during World War I, the poster now carries a frightening new message: "Books Cause Dangerous Thoughts," reads the caption in bright red letters. "For Your Protection, Give All Books To Your Local Fireman for Safe Disposal."

The message is supposedly sponsored by the Ministry of Homeland Security - Wright's way of spoofing the newly created department dedicated to protecting America from terrorist attacks.

"I think it's incredibly sinister that your government needs to know what you're reading," Wright tells the group gathered for his presentation, referring to the government's ability to obtain customer records from book stores under the Patriot Act. "Even your library card is an open book for the FBI and CIA to read."

Wright is hoping the retouched poster will serve as a wake-up call. In fact, he's altered an entire collection of posters to make his point. Some of the best are featured in Wright's new book, You Back the Attack! We'll Bomb Who We Want! Remixed War Propaganda. The paperback includes 40 modified posters, all carrying new taglines that are decidedly antiwar and anti-Bush administration.

Ranging from funny to horrifying, the posters place historical images in a modern political context. An irate Statue of Liberty urges citizens to stop asking questions. A bundled up penguin, once used to promote coal use, warns of nuclear winter. And a World War II paratrooper preparing to jump, is paired with the tagline: "Invest In Invasion. Re-elect George W. Bush."

"We have these guys in the White House who have never served a day in uniform, but they love war," says Wright, who promoted his book in Denver last month. "Somebody should buy them an Xbox already, so they can shoot all the imaginary people they want."

Wright knows about war first hand. A former U.S. Airborne Ranger, Wright participated in the invasion of Panama in 1989. He discovered his antiwar side after a stray American bomb left one of the country's poorest neighborhoods in ashes.

"Standing in Panama City in 1989 on the roof of a six-story apartment building and looking out over a burned-out ruin the size of a medium-sized American town, I had what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity: everything I had been told while growing up was a pack of lies," Wright notes in the introduction to his book.

After four years in the Army, Wright opted against extending his service. He attended the University of Arizona, graduating with a degree in political science. Yet, despite his major and a stint managing Jerry Brown's presidential campaign in Arizona, Wright didn't pursue politics as a career. Lured by the bright lights of Hollywood, Wright became a writer for Nickelodeon, landing a job on the hit show, The Angry Beavers.

But government response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks reignited Wright's political passion. Inspired by a National Security Agency advertisement reminding the armed forces to protect sensitive information, Wright decided to act.

"It infuriated me," recalls Wright during an interview before his reading. "People were attacking (the ad) with Photoshop on the Internet, and I thought 'This doesn't even begin to describe what's wrong with these posters.' "

Wright changed the poster's slogan and began altering other pro-war works. Before long, he had assembled 180 posters online and was selling T-shirts featuring the images.

"At its peak, I was getting 15,000 hits a day," says Wright, who now pens comic books.

University of Southern California professor Nancy Snow took notice and introduced Wright to her editor. Within a day, Seven Stories Press was offering to compile the posters into book form, but Wright was skeptical.

"I have a really thick skin built up against phonies," reveals Wright, before his talk. "The editor was on the phone telling me who he was and I was Googling (running a Google search) on him as we spoke."

Now in its third printing, the book includes a short introduction by Slaughterhouse Five author Kurt Vonnegut and commentary by the Center for Constitutional Rights. And though the book is starting to garner some buzz, it's also earned Wright some unwanted attention.

"I get e-mail saying, 'You don't deserve to live, someone should kill you,' " Wright shares with his Tattered Cover fans. But Wright handles the threats with humor, sometimes sending off a fake response from U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Before leaving his flock on this blustery night, he promises to take his fight to conservative Fox News.

"My pledge to you, is that if I ever get on Hannity & Colmes, I promise to punch Sean Hannity in the face."

2003 © The E.W. Scripps Co.

###