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.”
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