Distant Relations?

I've been seeing this Barack Obama poster here and there in Portland for months now. A few weeks ago I started seeing the poster below for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, which is winding up this weekend.



Is it just me or is everything about these posters almost completely identical, except for the fact that H.P. Lovecraft appears to be wearing a G.O.P. button on his lapel?

What's the deal?