100+ Definitions 30

Invincible #30

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): The aftermath of Mark’s extra-galaxy adventures are dealt with in this issue of Invincible.

Invincible # 30 (I#30): Oh, it’s true.  After an absence of two months from the planet Earth, Mark returns to his family, friends, and obligations to receive the reactions of elation at his return and annoyance at his absence. 

L-FL: The issue begins with the Mark’s stepmother convincing him to raise the child she bore to Nolan and having Mark return to Earth.  After arriving on his home planet, Mark explains the events of the past issue to his mom and has her watch his brother while he visits with Cecil. 

I#30: Cecil is angry and tries to control Mark with the rationale that the Pentagon is paying Mark to perform a job, and thus is obligated to stay on Earth.  Mark responds by saying he’s doing the Right Thing, and that the payment allows him to perform those tasks rather than enslaves him to the Pentagon.

L-FL:  This is the scenario that speaks strongest about the definition of a superhero.  A superhero is a powerful individual that performs the Right actions (however “Right” may be defined) because they are the Right actions. 

I#30: From there, the story follows Mark back to his dorm room where he talks briefly with William before going to see his girlfriend Amber.

L-FL: We should mention too, that the Mauler Clones discover a way to continue their competition of primary clone versus secondary clone to their mutual benefit.  Robot from Guardians of the Globe also approaches them with a job offer.

I#30: True, but the rest of this plot thread is left dangling until the next issue.  The issue ends with Amber voicing her jubilation and seeing Mark returned and her consternation at his extended absence and how she’s displeased with the arrangement of their relationship.  Yeah.

100+ Definitions 29

Invincible #29

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL):  This issue of Robert Kirkman’s, Cory Walker’s, and others’ comic contains a grandiose battle between five Viltrumites.

Invincible #29 (I#29):  Mark and Nolan Grayson (the son and father superheroes Invincible and Omni-Man), the two Viltrumites who’ve become advocates for Earth, battle three agents sent to arrest Nolan for abandoning his post.

L-FL: The fight progresses poorly for Mark.  His Viltrumite opponent reveals Mark’s lack of training and complacency in his powers used against the weaker heroes and villains encountered on Earth.

I#29: Initially, Nolan seems to have vanquished the three opponents, but a thought-dead Viltrumite attacks Nolan from behind and becomes the victor.  Other Viltrumites appear to tend to the wounded and transport Nolan back to his home planet so that he may stand trial (with strong implications of an impending execution).  Mark is given 100 years to prepare Earth for a Viltrumite invasion. 

L-FL: Nolan gives his son a final piece of advice before their separation.  He tells him to read his books.  The issue also includes a two page twelve panel update on the Mauler clones.  Having a clear distinction between the original and the clone leads to the original Mauler believe he is superior to the clone, so the clone poisons his creator and clones a new version indistinguishable from himself. 

I#29: The contents of this issue suggest a definition of superhero as an empowered being that needs others of equal or greater power to reach her or his full potential.  The absence of this challenge could result in a defeat like Nolan received from the Viltrumites when they took him.

100+ Definitions 28

Invincible #28

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL):  This issue begins from the ending of issue 27, where a Viltrumite threatens Mark and his step-mother and brother.  Mark and his new family flee, and Nolan defeats the pursuing Viltrumite and safely hides his latest wife and son.  Nolan and Mark discover that the remaining two Viltrumites destroyed the city and killed thousands.  The story also touches on the Immortal confessing the heartache of watching loved ones die to Black Samson.  The Immortal notes that his relationship with Dupli-Kate is changing his point of view.  Mauler creates a new clone; Amanda worries about Mark’s absence, and Mark’s mother looks through family photos and tosses out a bottle of alcohol instead of drinking it.

Invincible #28 (I#28):  These events reveal yet another definition for “superhero.”  Despite possessing extraordinary powers, a superbeing endures the same emotional and moral confrontations faced by normal human beings; superheroes face and respond to these confrontations to some benefit based (usually) upon their character and will rather than their superpowers. 

L-FL:  With this definition, super powers work as the Macguffin and the choices of the character serve as a model, or at least the arena of the true contest, for readers.

I#28: It is that reaction to an ethical choice, to observe how a superhero responds to provocation and purposeless slaughter, that lurks in Mark’s question when both he and Nolan discover thousands slaughtered; Mark’s question is “Dad?”

100+ Definitions 27

Invincible #27

Invincible #27 (I#27):  My serial begins with the assault of Omnipotus the World Shaper attacking the heroes of Earth and receiving defeat at the fists of Black Samson.  The story also slides to another sector of space where Mark and his father discuss Nolan’s rationale for raising a new family. During this dialectic between father and son, three Viltrumites arrive to hunt down and kill Nolan.  Invincible takes his father’s new wife and child to safety, but a Viltrumite warrior finds them.  The issue ends on a tense cliffhanger.  

Low-Frequency Listener : And how would superhero be defined from this issue?

I#27: This issue presents the idea of a superhero as one who is prepared and able to immediately act in order to protect others. So, to find out if Invincible is able to protect his new family, either read issue 28, find a synopsis on line, or return to this blog tomorrow.  Be curious, “if you are not—you will die.”

100+ Definitions 26

Invincible #26

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL):  Issue 26 has its gutters in the stars, so here is the issue itself to tell you the plot, dear reader.

Invincible #26 (I#26):  Mark recognizes his father, Nolan, and the two talk.  Nolan explains that he has started a new life on a new planet with a new wife and a new child.  This issue also shows Mark’s mother preparing for her real estate exam and receiving a visit by Cecil.  Robot (of the Guardians of the Globe) visits with the mutant-tank baby who talks of moving their mysterious plan onto phase two.

L-FL: So, how does this issue define a superhero?

I#26: This issue notes that a superhero doesn’t carry grudges and accepts people and their choices.

L-FL:  In our final essay taken from the anthology What is a Superhero, edited by Robin S. Rosenberg and Peter Coogan, we look at Tom DeFalco’s “Superheroes are Made” for another definition of  “superhero.”  DeFalco defines a superhero as “someone who shows great strength, courage, or some other admirable trait.”  In regards to the purpose of the superhero, DeFalco notes, “Superheroes also present us with idealized versions of ourselves.…They show us that no problem, no matter how great, no matter how overwhelming, is truly insurmountable.  That’s why we love our superheroes.  They never accept defeat.  If they can always find a way to succeed, so can we.  Although we might never possess super-strength, courage, honor and any other admirable trait is always within our grasp.  We just have to believe in ourselves.”  Such thinking supports Wordsworth’s line “the child is father of the man.”

I#26: And if Wordsworth’s line holds true, then the superhero comic, that…is your little brother.”

100+ Definitions 25

Invincible #25

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): The comic opens with Mark Grayson (Invincible’s alter ego) buying comics at his comic shop and then leaving to help Rex Splode fight a race of octopus aliens.  After the battle, Rex discovers his girlfriend Dupli-Kate is fooling around with the Immortal.  Mark works on school work in his dorm room and goes with William (his best friend and roommate) to check with the Dean about the disappearance of their friend Rick Sheridan whom they haven’t seen for a week.  Mark and William discover that their old high school principal is now the dean of the college. Mark then visits his mom for lunch.  During lunch, Science Dog (the star of Mark’s favorite comic-book character) appears at Mark’s house.  Science Dog reveals that his appearance is a disguise for an insectoid-alien that has traveled to Earth to ask Invincible for help in defending their planet, which is located in an uncharted section of space. Mark agrees to help the aliens even though it will take him away from Earth for almost two weeks and despite the strong protestations of Cecil.  The journey to the alien’s home world takes at six days.  When he reaches the alien world, Mark discovers that his father is the leader  of the planet.

Invincible #25 (I#25): These events suggest a definition that a superhero is a powerful individual who goes against authority to act in a just manner and honor the requests for aid from any supplicant, no matter if that that action has any immediate benefit to the individual or his/her social group.

L-FL: In his essay, “Making the World a Better Place,” Jeph Loeb, writer of many comics and television shows, notes that “superheroes are people with powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men.”  In regards to some consequence of superhero stories, Loeb writes that “superheroes inspire people.”  Loeb concludes his essay with the comment, “The time needed to think about the human condition is often slipping away.  What superhero stories do, when they’re told well, is make us slow down and think about the situations that we’re in and the people that we’re affecting—at least, the best stories do.  This is why, more than ever, it’s a time for heroes.  If we take that pause and really look at our lives and seek to be both inspired and inspirational—and a little less self-absorbed—we can make the world a much better place than it currently is.  At least, I hope we can.”

I#25: Well, hey, thanks for hogging the majority of the space in this posting.  I’m looking like some laconic comic book, but you’re looking well.

100+ Definitions 24

Invincible #24

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Kurt Busiek, author of the comic Astro City and a bunch of books at Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse notes (in the essay listed below) that “A superhero is a hero writ large.” He also writes, “Superheroes are metaphors, and you can pour anything into them. Superheroes are something writ large, and that something depends on what you want to write large.”  These ideas provide a useful lens in considering the events in the 24^th issue of Invincible.

Invincible #24 (I#24):  Art, a superhero costume designer and family friend of the Graysons, advises Mark to spend more time with his Mom.  Upon a visit, Mark learns she’s studying real estate and receives a lecture about guarding his secret identity.  Angstrom Levy obtains geographic knowledge of multiple dimensions from the machine the Mauler clones constructed.  Invincible attacks, the machine explodes, and a bunch of Mauler clones from other dimensions are killed and Angstrom Levy is disfigured and swears vengeance against Invincible.

A superhero definition is: A superhero is a being who accepts this station and powers.  Desiring to increase these powers (rather than master them) transforms them into monsters.

L-FL: In the essay “The Importance of Context: Robin Hood is Out and Buffy is In” by Kurt Busiek writes “The question of what constitutes a superhero is, I think, more a philosophical question than a literal one, because when you look for a literal definition—Why is Batman a superhero and James Bond not a superhero?  Or is James Bond a superhero?  What is the definition?  Where are the hard-line boundaries?—you get lost in a mire of contradictions.  My feeling has always been that “superhero” is one of those vague terms that have certain hallmarks, and a character ho has enough of those hallmarks is a superhero.  But “enough” is a nebulous term, and not everyone’s going to agree on which characters fall where.  Still, there are a couple of different ways of looking at the question.”

“The primary hallmarks of the superhero are superpowers, costume, code name, secret identity, heroic ongoing mission, and superhero milieu.  If the character has three of those six, he or she is probably a superhero.” 

I#24:  “Jerk.”

100+ Definitions 23

Invincible #23

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Issue twenty-three of Invincible was written by Robert Kirkman, drawn by Ryan Ottley, colored by Bill Crabtree, lettered by Rus Wooton, and inspired by Cory Walker.  Here’s what happens.

Invincible #23 (I#23): The issue begins with Mark and Amber having sex, and since they turned out the lights instead of having 24 pages of dark panels, readers instead follow Allen the Alien.  Allen’s origin story (the only successful genetically created superhero of the Unopan society) is told.  Allen returns to headquarters of the Coalition of Planets to inform them that a Viltrumite (Omni-Man) abandoned his post and another Viltrumite (Invincible) possesses no loyalties to Viltrum.  Allen sleeps with and then has breakfast with his alien girlfriend and is beaten up by two Viltrum warriors.  Surprisingly, Allen lives only to learn there is a traitor in the Council of Planets.   The issue closes with Mark leaving Amber’s dorm in the morning.

L-FL: There’s a lot of un-depicted love in this issue. Richard Reynolds wrote “Heroes and the Superculture” where he put down the idea that “The superhero narrative was the first (and arguably, so far, the only) new myth to express the expansion of human action and identity in the post-industrial age.”  Reynolds goes on to state, “…[T]he superhero’s extended powers and complex identity now mirror more than even the era in which we live.  Ordinary people now have superpowers.  The gifts of digital technology have enabled millions to experience their own ‘confrontation with the fantastic.’  Average human beings may now engage with consequences of creating multiple identities and encircle the planet—if they wish to—with their virtual presence.  Celebrities and members o the global superculture enact these same processes at an even higher level of power and visibility.  Within this celebrity-and communications-obsessed culture, the superhero can now be seen as the key protagonist in a vast cycle of mythology that has evolved to express and mediate this unprecedented expansion of human action and identity.”

I#23: From the pages of my story, I’d cast a superhero as a powerful being who works to support and continue the social norms while simultaneously operating outside of those norms and bending and breaking the norms as desired.  So with that definition, readers, may your comic (or your lover) welcome every morning with the admission that “last night was perfect.”

100+ Definitions 22

Invincible #22

Invincible #22 (I#22): Multiple plot lines appear and advanced in this issue, some of which slowly begin ooze together.  Mark and his college friends exit a movie in the book’s opening.  Amber leaves her friends and finds Mark in her dorm room.  Cecil summons Invincible, and Mark leaves Amber (by jumping through a window).  The college campus settings are abandoned so readers can see Atom Eve revitalize barren land, and Angstrom Levy  learn that the Mauler Twins (the blue clones) have finished their work.  The Pentagon continues surveillance of the Mauler Twins’s work place.

The issue depicts the talk Amber has with her girlfriend about Mark’s erratic behavior and discovery that Mark is Invincible.  Mark’s Mom talks with Art, the superhero costume designer, and both admit they miss Omni-Man, then this plot stream is left for the Guardians of the Globe headquarters where Monster Girl notes that Robot is not acting as its normal self.  The Martian shape-shifter astronaut poser is fired from his job; Mark admits he’s Invincible to Amber, and D.A. Sinclair (a creepy evil scientist) works on turning Mark’s friend into a Reaniman.

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): From the events and structure of this issue, what definition of superhero arises?

I#22: A superhero is one around whose life extremely bizarre and activities connect; when dealing with one immediate concern, multiple other situations requiring the intervention of a superhero are underway.

L-FL: Author of Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology, Jennifer K. Staller wrote the article “What is a Female Superhero.”  In the conclusion to her article, Staller states “a superwoman has the potential to inspire girls and women to stand up, be strong, support others, and most important believe in themselves.”

I#22: This definition still has Atom Eve remaining a superhero with her conscious choice to alter the scope and methods of her superheroics and to abandon her costume.  It certainly is more inspiring and socially beneficial than D.A Sinclar building "the first in an army of killing machines."

100+ Definitions 21

Invincible # 21

The Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): In the article “The Experience of the Superhero: A Phenomenological Definition” by Dr. Dana Anderson, he uses “the visceral experience one has of `superheroes’ in the world,” for his phenomenological definition.  Anderson comments:

“…we need to keep in mind that collective experiences, like that of the superhero, are actually a sum of many individual encounters.  Each superhero starts as an idea, is translated onto paper in drawings and words, and is then published.  As the first issue or strip reaches out into the world, primary relationships are formed with readers.  Over time, if the superhero is successful, a collective relationship begins to form between him or her and an audience that stretches across time.  As readers experience him or her, this gestalt relationship begins to form around those encounters, generating a group dynamic through which the superhero evolves into an icon.  The superhero needs a consistent audience, supported by a distribution system and enormous numbers of unique reading experiences, in order fro this process to be possible.  I think that one of the things that separate a superhero from an ordinary hero is the fact of this gestalt, group experience.”

Invincible #21 (I#21):  My issue shows Invincible tracking down Darkwing, a member of the past Guardians of the Globe killed by Omni-Man, in Midnight City, a city in eternal darkness from a magic spell and abandoned by the government.  Invincible discovers Darkwing’s sidekick adopted the superhero mantle and is killing criminals in Midnight City.  After a swift journey into a shadow realm, Invincible apprehends the new Darkwing and brings him to the Pentagon.  The issue ends with Robot getting tampered with by a mutant baby in a mechanical amniotic sack.

L-FL: Weird, but it leads to the superhero definition of a being who adheres to a code of ethics while helping other super-beings adhere to this ethical code in any setting. 

I#21: That works for one definition, for the other possibilities, let’s get started.

100+ Definitions 20

Invincible # 20

The Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): This June’s Friday brings forth the twentieth issue of the superhero comic Invincible for consideration of its offerings in defining “superhero.”

Invincible #20 (I#20): In my issue, Atom Eve decides to apply her powers in ways other than being a superhero.  Mark has dinner with his Mom about the recent events in their lives.  Late in the issue, Mark moves into college, has his first day of classes, and defeats another zombie robot that last appeared in issue six.  Amber, finally fed up with Mark’s lateness and absences, Amber leaves Mark.

L-FL: In “Superheroes and the Modern(ist) Age” by Hallmark editor and professor of American literature at the University of Central Missouri, Alex Boney puts forth his own ideas about the “superhero.”  Boney states “The superhero comic book, replete with mad scientists, crooks, and murderers, also accepts the fallen state and difficulties of the modern world.  If a form of despair emerged from those early stories, it was the same sense of despair that emerged from modernist literature as a whole—a fear that the modern world was moving too quickly and that too many fundamental parts of humanity were being lost in the process.  The superhero was intended to provide a remedy to this fear…the superhero creators tried to forge characters who could transcend the limitations of contemporary existence and stave off the chaos of the modern world.”

I#20: That relates to the definition that comes from my pages; an individual who employs extra-ordinary powers individually on their own terms rather than a more pragmatic greatest good for the greatest number of people.

L-FL: Would you say this approach contains some nobility?

I#20: It does in these dead pages, but let’s see what happens when I use a live subject.

100+ Definitions 19

Invincible #19

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL):  The trend of invincible superhero definitions continues with Invincible issue 19.

Invincible #19 (I#19):  Readers learn one of the astronauts returning from the Mars voyage in issue 18 is a Martian shape-shifter masquerading as a human.  Atom Eve breaks up with her boyfriend (Mark’s best friend) and Titan (a supervillain who can turn his skin to stone) seeks Invincible’s help to overthrow the crime cartel of Machine Head.  After battling a team of six supervillains hired by Machine Head, and with some help from the Guardians of the Globe, Machine Head and his villains are defeated.  The final page reveals that instead of becoming a hero, Titan positions himself to assume the role of Machine Head as the crime cartel’s leader.

L-FL: A. David Lewis, a professor of religion and literature at Boston University, wrote an article titled “Save the Day.” In this article, Lewis states of superheroes:

 “'Heroes die, but legends live forever’—that is, heroes can die, but there is a class above the hero, that of the legendary superhero, whose members can bypass permanent death.  This draws a sharp distinction between the hero and the superhero, and that is a subtle yet important difference. …

“In short, a superhero is a super-empowered hero, one who not only risks death to defend others but has the ability to beat it as well.  This ability to evade permanent dead is the unspoken, widespread power wielded by superheroes, and it is practically definitional.   It finds its sources, where else, but in the origin of the superhero genre and the American cultural consciousness."

I#19: I define superhero as a powered individual willing to take a chance to trust the word and reform of others.

L-FL: So, do you think the “dead” heroes in Invincible will return?

I#19:  Yes…yes they will.

100+ Definitions 18

Invincible #18

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Welcome to the tale that sets readers upon red sands sifted from Edgar Rice Burroughs and Ray Bradbury.

Invincible #18 (I#18): Before Invincible sets foot upon Mars, there is some fun where Amber, Mark Grayson’s girlfriend, deduces that Mark’s consistent tardiness and abrupt departures are due to him selling drugs.  It’s after one such sudden departure that Cecil requests Mark to secretly accompany a shuttle to Mars to protect the astronauts from the hostile shape-shifting Martians, which he does after a brief encounter with the Monarch Prime.  The issue ends with one of the astronauts unknowingly left behind and controlled by the starfish slaves of the Martians. 

L-FL: So from this rocket-summer story, what definition of superhero emerges?

I#18: At the beginning of the issue, a splash page shows Invincible holding up the ceiling of a house to prevent a mother and daughter from being crushed.  Invincible states, “Don’t be scared—I’m good, I’m not tired or anything.  You’ve got some time, gather up your things, toys, family photos—whatever.”  This consideration and comment carry on throughout the story and makes “superhero” a being with extraordinary powers that maintains humanity and empathy, knowing the cares and worries, of normal human beings.

L-FL: That fits with anthropologist Stanford Carpenter definition of “superhero” as “defined, limited, and restrained by their struggle to be responsible, to exercise their abilities and power with restraint.”  This information can be found in Carpenter’s essay “Superheroes Need Superior Villains.”

I#18: …

100+ Definitions 17

Invincible #17

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Danny Fingeroth, an editor on Spider-Man comics and author of Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society, along with other books in the short essay “Power and Responsibility….and Other Reflections on Superheroes,” defines superheroes as “Someone has or obtains enhanced power—physical, mental, magical, mechanical—and then, either through good character or a difficult, transformative rite of passage, realizes that power confers on them an obligation to some section of humanity, if not all of it.  Superheroes and their powers are central metaphors for growing up, from child to adolescent and adolescent to adult.”

Invincible #17 (I#17): That is a fine definition.  My pages contribute a complimentary understanding of the term in that our stories of superbeings are concerned with and linked to the planet Earth and human beings.  Even if the heroes or villains venture into space, they return or have their stories fall into limbo. Superheroes tales are human tales.

L-FL: That sounds like a claim begging to be refuted.  But until a contrary voice arises, please recap the events in the pages of this 17^th issue of Invincible.

I#17: This issue, me, beings by following Mark Grayson (Invincible) and Amber on a date and hints at the increasing alcoholism of Mark’s mother.  The story then shifts to Levy Angstrom who helps the blue villain clones escape prison by taking them through alternate dimensions.  Invincible helps defeat a supervillain in New York by exposing him to the brutal void of outer space and then returns home to graduate high school.

L-FL: Don’t’ forget to mention Megaforce, the New-York based superhero team that works nine to five and treats superheroing as a job.

I#17: Oh crap.

100+ Definitions 16

Invincible #16

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): On this Bloomsday, characters from the superhero comicbook Invincible wander around their home town thinking about matters more cosmic than the sights and sounds of Dublin.

Invincible #16 (I#16): It’s true.  The story begins with Invincible and Omni-Man of another dimension subjugating Earth, and a character Angstrom Levy is rescued by Angstrom Levy from a different dimension.  Parallel to this story is an alien invasion of our Earth’s dimension that ends for no discernible reason.  The Guardians of the Globe are chastised for their poor performance in protecting the planet, and Robot is relieved of its leadership role. 

L-FL: Don’t forget the part where Mark and Amber talk about spending time together amidst the ruin of their town, or the part when Invincible confronts Titan (a rock skinned superbeing in the process of looting a jewelry store) and persuades him to aid in cleaning up the town rather than steal.

I#16: All of which brings about the definition of “superhero” as a being with who influences others to help the larger populace rather than act selfishly.

L-FL: To better elucidate an understanding of “superhero,” this sentences from chapter 17 (Ithaca) of Ulysses fits well in describing the plots of superhero books.  So, a superhero could be “…the traditional accent of the ecstasy of catastrophe” (line 786).

I#16: Well, that sounds good to me.  Tomorrow, Issue 17 will say hello to everyone.

100+ Definitions 15

Invincible # 15

Invincible #15 (I#15): This self-contained issue opens with the difficulties arising in the Guardians of the Globe from reverse aging superheroine with the mind of a 29-year old contained in the body of a three-year-old girl.  The scene shifts to Mark Grayson, Invincible’s alter ego, talking to his mom.  Cecil contacts Invincible to assist in political relations with the undersea kingdom.  Invincible has to marry the Queen since it was discovered Omni-Man killed the former king, Aquarius, and Invincible drove off Omni-Man.  Invincible ventures to the undersea kingdom and manipulates events so the one who truly loves the Queen can marry her instead of Invincible.  Mark’s mother talks to another woman married to a superhero about her loss of her husband/Omni-Man.  The Immortal seeks revenge on the Clone twins who resurrected him.  The issue closes with Mark’s friend William convincing his new girlfriend, Atom Eve, to fly and carry him through the sky, much to her dismay.  

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL):  In an article “The Superprotagonist” by Fred Van Lente, superhero is defined as “any protagonist (of any story) with more than mortal abilities.  I know that casts too broad a net for some, but that’s how I would define it.”  Would you find it accurate to say that the contents of you story defines a superhero as an individual with extraordinary powers with the ability to critically think about the employing those powers in innovative ways in order to resolve problems.

I#15: Yeah, sure.  Although I have to admit, a blog persona talking to an invented persona of a comic book, “this is so gay.”

100+ Definitions 14

Invincible #14

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Issue fourteen of Invincible by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Russ Wooton, and Bill Crabtree includes the following events.

Invincible #14 (I#14): The story begins with the new Guardians of the Globe barely defeating an invasion of aliens that appeared in issue three.   The Immortal confronts Invincible and states his distrust of the hero.  Cecil informs Invincible that the fight and dialogue between him and Omni-Man was leaked to the public, and Mark’s mom takes the news hard when she hears her husband state to her son that he’s pummeling across the planet, “Your mother means nothing to me.” When returning to high school, Mark learns his best friend is dating Atom Eve, and he receives a sincere well-intentioned (if misdirected) talk about academic focus from his principal. The issue ends with Mark and trying to comfort his grieving heartbroken drunk mother who blames her son for driving away her husband, Omni-Man. 

L-FL: That’s an emotionally treacherous ending.  What do you perceive the definition of superhero to be from these events?

I#14: Despite keeping the populace from harm, the superhero receives distrust and misunderstanding from other heroes and the general populace.  The excessive power and actions of the superhero makes the superhero an outsider.

L-FL: The way the Immortal doubts Invincible’s loyalty to earth and the way his principal mistakes Mark’s decreased academic performance for irresponsibility, these things demonstrate that outsider status?

I#14: Yeah, that sounds good.  You Know, Joe Quesada, an Editor-in-Chief at Marvel Comics, defined “superhero” as “an extraordinary person placed under circumstances who manages to do extraordinary things to ultimately triumph over evil,” in his vignette “Extraordinary.”

Quesada, to emphasize the importance of the superhero’s alter ego, later mentions a Stan Lee anecdote:

“I had a conversation with Stan Lee during one of my first weeks as Marvel Editor-in-Chief.  We were talking about stories and Marvel heroes, and I decided to ask Stan (not really believing he’d have an answer in his back pocket), “If you could distill the formula for creating a perfect Marvel hero, what would that formula be?” Stan said, “Imagine it’s a dark stormy night, and there on a precipice of a building is Spider-Man.  He’s about to leap into the urban canyon below.  Really at the end of the day, it’s just a red and blue suit standing at the precipice of that building.  But if you tell us about that guy in the suit, if you tell us who Peter Parker is—who he loves, who loves him, what his problems are, is he going to school, is he trying to hold down a job, who are his friends—if you tell us all these things about him, then when he leaps off that building, our hearts race because we’re in that costume with him; we’re there with him and can relate to him.  He’s not just an empty suit.”  That’s really something we do to this day.  We have to make the alter ego someone we care about.

L-FL: Oh, so are you saying these scenes of Mark in high school and Burger Mart and home with his mother are ways of getting us to care about the character?

I#14: “….”

The Aardvark-Vanaheim Pilgrimage: Cerebus 11: Guys

Bar Talk

Cerebus: Guys

Issues 201 - 219

December 1995 - June 1997

408 pages

SCENE: Two men sit at a tall table.  A tumbler of scotch sits before one, the other has a snifter of brandy. 

KS: So, you just finished Guys, what’s it like, what happened?  I’ve never read it.

DM: Well, in terms of action, it doesn’t really have much of a plot.  Cerebus, the main character who is an aardvark…

KS: Thanks asshole, I know that much.

DM: Sorry.  Anyway, Cerebus sits at a bar and drinks too much too often and then stops (mostly) drinking too much.  He talks and plays games with the other patrons.  He spends a lot of time with his “best” friend Bear, until Bear leaves the bar (and drives everyone else away too) to get back together with his wife, or girlfriend (I can’t remember), and then Cerebus owns and operates the bar.  He hooks up and then breaks up with a woman named Joanne and at the end of the book Rick, Jaka’s ex-husband, enters the bar, shows Cerebus how to pour a pint of beer, and reveals his identity to the earth pig.

KS:  That’s it?

DM: That’s it.

KS: There are no battles, or wars, or ramblings about ascensions or made-up religions?  Are any philosophical metaphorical scenarios included about publishing or sex or art? 

DM:  Nope.  None of that stuff is present.  The main events are just the antics and conversations that occur in the bar.

KS: Sounds dull.  Is it worth reading?

DM: Well, yeah. 

KS:  Why?

DM: First off, there are some pretty funny scenes, jokes, and stories that occur in these issues.  While getting lectured on the innocence of youthful femininity by a Margaret Thatcher parody, a young girl strips outside the bar, visible to the patrons through the window, but unseen by the Thatcher Cirinist.  The juxtaposition between the images and text is hilarious.  A sight gag about a mongoose in a box, and the lettering, especially for drunks, contain a great deal of laughs.

KS: Yeah, ok, that sounds pretty good, I guess. But don’t all those drunk people get annoying after awhile?

DM: Some.  It’s not too bad.  Sim keeps it pretty limited, and besides, it’s always better reading about drunken antics than having to suffer through the antics of drunks while sober.

KS: So, what sets this book apart from the others?

DM: Hmm, that’s a good question. A wide cast of characters appear, disappear, and reappear.  We, as readers, witness the characters do a rare thing in comic books.  They change.

KS: How so?

DM: Well Cerebus starts off as a dedicated drunk, but finally controls his drinking and sobers up for the second half of the book.  Bear goes from being fed up with women to getting back together with his woman named Ziggy.  Even poor naïve Marty shifts from a wallflower to a chatty excess drinker to a husband and café operator.  Eventually, everyone leaves and none return to see Cerebus at the bar.  There is no superhero stasis here.  When characters change in Cerebus, they change.  When characters go away, they don’t return phoenix like from the ashes. 

KS: Ahh geez, really, is that the best you can do?

DM: Sorry.  But still, real change occurs for characters in Cerebus.  That dynamism allows for a greater range of storytelling.

KS: That’s nice.  Is there anything else about this book that makes it stand out?  Whether from the Big Two or the other Cerebus books?

DM: One trait that stood out was the relatability of the setting.  It is a scene that you can find in almost any town—a bunch of guys sitting around in a bar talking.

KS: I read somewhere that Sim shows a whole range of stages and ages of men.  Young me, old men, middle-aged men, famous men, nobodies, married, divorced, dating, single, squares and perverts, and probably a whole bunch of other types too that I don’t know since I didn’t read the book.

DM: Yeah, all those elements are present.  This approach is far more interesting than a straight forward temporal structure.  I didn’t pick up on or even notice the different stages of men while reading the book, but on reflection those factors were noticed.  It’s a nice touch.

KS: So in the earlier responses to Cerebus you kept tasking about the theme of dichotomy.  Does that theme continue in this book?

DM: Not that I noticed.  If anything that dichotomy gives way to a three way point of view shown by the voices in Cerebus’s head (I think of them as the Id, Ego, and Super Ego…I don’t know if this was Sim’s intention) advocate, or at least work together to try and figure out a course of action.  I think this shift started occurring in Minds where Cerebus, Astoria, and Cirin talked with Suentius Po.  This shift continued on into Guys.

KS: How did this shift change the overall Cerebus story?

DM: More depth.  Instead of a back and forth emphasis, a third possibility (which was always present in the story, but becomes explicit with the introduction of the third voice) arises.  The easy, cut-and-clear choice becomes more messy, muddled, and complicated.  I like how this additional depth to the story comes about without a lot of heavy-handed preaching, monologues, or academic junk cluttering the page.  Those mythic elements that relate to universal themes and events of mankind are swapped out for mundane matters. 

KS:  So, what makes it worth reading?  What did you get out of your time with this book?

DM:  In terms of story, value exists in how this book portrays friendship between various individuals and various levels of depth.  It brings to mind Plato’s Lysis, I think, that explores questions about friendship.  Parts of Guys serve as a how-to manual, a guidebook, to guys’ friendships.  It portrays jokes, talk about girlfriends, women, the beginnings of childrearing (“Will you shut up with the stupid riddles and get me a clean diaper like I asked you!” on page 83), how to tell a friend you’re angry with them or that they’ve hurt you, or how to influence a friend to help them change for the better (or, alas, sometimes for the worse).  When the friend leaves, like when Bear goes off with Ziggy without returning, not even to visit, that loneliness, loss, and sadness Cerebus experiences comes through in the story.  That compassion and care for a friend reads sincere to me.  Cerebus’s patience and hope that his friend will return helps maintain some reader sympathy with Cerebus.  Even Cerebus’s time with Joanne seems more a way for Cerebus to pass the time until Bear either returns or it’s confirmed to Cerebus that Bear isn’t returning.

KS: Do you think Cerebus and Bear are gay?

DM: No.  They care for each other, and there might even be a type of love between the two, but it never enters into anything physical.  Some affections exists between the two, even though they can be pretty mean to one another.

KS:  And you said Bear never returns?

DM: Not in Guys.  He barely even gives Cerebus a goodbye; he’s too caught up in Ziggy’s return.  It’s tragic to witness the ending of this friendship, even this friendship that seems unbalanced in a lot of ways. 

KS: Like the friendship between Hawthorne and Melville?  Melville was really interested in being friends with Hawthorne, but Hawthorne, for whatever reasons, didn’t keep in touch with the same intensity and Melville finally just gave up.  He, Melville, eventually even stopped writing and just faded away until death.

DM: Yeah, Cerebus is sort of like Melville in that respect.  He’s waiting to see if his friend will return.  Waiting to see if he and Bear have the type of friendship that stretches through stages of life (from childhood, to school, to college to grad school, to marriage to childrearing and so on) or if they just had a friendship of opportunity…a friendship that lasts for a certain time, or place.  And once any of those factors change, the friendship ends. 

KS: It seems like Cerebus and Bear have the short-term friendship.  I’m interested to hear how Cerebus and Rick get along.  Tell me about it when you finish the next volume.

DM: Ok.