Sunday, June 1, 2014

100+ Definitions 1




Stan Lee told French film director Alain Resnais “I can’t understand people who read comics.  I wouldn’t read them if I had the time and wasn’t in the business”[1].



Superhero comics stand worthy of groans, eye rolls, and sneering disdain. Yet, despite these multiple short comings, the genre has endured for 70+ years, and given recent movie success stands scant chance of soon fading from existence.  For better or worse, superhero comics grip my interest.  Even through the endless plot repetition, the stasis of characters, and the endless teasing and jibes I collect when admitting to reading superhero tales, cowls and capes keep tugging my attention.  Stan Lee’s confession, “I can’t understand people who read comics,” contains within it the question “why do you read comics ?”. 



Like “The Man” Lee, I can’t understand why I keep returning to superhero comic books.  What do superhero comics offer a reader?



In an attempt to answer the above question, and to justify purchasing Invincible Compendium 1, each issue of Invincible will be read (an issue a day) with a concise commentary (~ ½ a page) and how that issue defines “superhero” with the hope that this range of definitions will reveal the offerings of superhero comics and clarify why I and others may read what at a cursory glance seems totally ridiculous.



Invincible #1



Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL):  We’re here with Invincible #1 originally released in January 2003.  Tell us a bit about yourself.



Invincible #1 (I#1): Sorry I’m late. There was an enchanted flood in Egypt I had to deal with on the way over.”  I’m here now though, and I introduce readers to Mark Grayson and his family.  Mark’s father is a superhero (disguised as an author). Mark’s powers manifest (flight, strength, invulnerability) and Mark obtains a costume and a mission (fight crime) with some tutelage from his father. Mark’s in high school and has his name, Invincible, bestowed upon him by the school principle.



L-FL: According to Peter Coogan (director of the Institute for Comics Studies and an instructor at Washington University) gave the following definition of “superhero” in his essay “The Hero Defines the Genre, the Genre Defines the Hero”:



Superhero – A heroic character with a universal selfless prosocial mission; who possesses superpowers—extraordinary abilities, advanced technology, or highly developed physical and/or mental skills (including mystical abilities); who has a superhero identity embodied in a code name and iconic costume, which typically express his biography or character, powers, and origin (transformation from ordinary person to superhero); and is generically distinct, i.e. can be distinguished from characters of related genres (fantasy, science fiction, detective, etc.) by a preponderance of generic conventions.  Often superheroes have dual identities, the ordinary one of which is usually a closely guarded secret.


From your contents, how do you define “superhero”?



I #1: To me “superhero” is an extraordinary person whose society contributes to and forms the identity and mission of this public figure.



L-FL: Thank you for your words.  We’ll return you to a poly bag and backing board.



I #1: “I wouldn’t try that…I’m Invincible.”



[1]  This quote can be found on page 103 of Sean Howe’s Marvel Comics: The Untold Story.

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