I didn't start reading comics until I was in the army. Even then, I wasn't a fanboy. Not yet.
I started out reading comics because I had a lot of time to fill and they were cheap. The selection of fine reading material at the PX puts most airport bookstores to shame. Anything that was serialized, was there in totality. Ask me about the adventures of Dirk Pitt sometime. The only storyline I was following was Batman. Were they going to kill Jason Todd (the second Robin) or not? While this was going on, ads started to appear for a 4 issue series called Batman:The Dark Knight Returns. Now this had promise. Batman comes out of retirement and there's a new Robin, a girl.
Later I'd find out that there are all sorts of tropes in Literary Theory that I could throw around to make my interest sound all sophisticatedish. Back then I just loved the idea of a re-telling of the story and, even more important, an ending. The problem with comics is that they get encumbered by their own history. Holy Heart Congestion! Batman should be 93 by now. DKR changed comics: comics were now for adults. A decade later the writer, Frank Miller, eventually made his intent clear with Sin City- no more kiddie stories.
But first, I created a superhero.
A really good friend of mine had just broken up with the guy she'd been dating since her freshman year. To my surprise, she immediately bedded a guy I knew she disliked greatly. Her reason: he was just a part of the transitional phase between serious relationships. After 10 hours of bad tracing, coloring, and photocopying a new hero was born. Transitional Man: There for as long as you need him. He had a purple and green cape with a giant T on his chest, a utility belt to hold his Gold Card so he could pay for everything, and a full mask so it would be easier to tell him it was over.
Since then I've read through The Sandman, Lucifer, The Watchmen, and others. The "graphic novel" is now defended by University types as a legit artform, blah, blah, blah . . . which takes all the fun out of reading comic books. Each trip I get a look of infinite sadness from the clerk as I turn down the mylar sleeve and cardboard backing. "Dude, they're just for reading."
Over the weekend Mr. Ryan, a fellow reader, found out that his best friend was in the hospital, badly injured. Without missing a beat, he had his plans in place and got down to SoCal as fast as he could. Because that's what superheroes do, they come to the rescue.
And since we're geeks, geeks who drink, we've talked about superpowers. (There's even a This American Life show 2/23/01 Episode #178 about superheroes and superpowers, so there!) Now, I've been giving it some thought and while invisibility and flight are tempting . . . they're not realistic. Here are the two superpowers I want
- Donald Rumsfeld's invulnerability to getting fired.
- Pete Doherty's ability to avoid incarceration.
Those powers would make me very happy indeed. And I would use them only for good.
Go in Peace
My favorite comic: Sluggy Freelance. Here, I will even turn you to the first comic published: http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=970825
Is it not nifty?
Don't forget to look for Bun-Bun about six comics in.
Posted by: Herr Mattenstein | September 07, 2006 at 03:13 PM