Comic Book Stuff: Don't Judge Me! (or, Why Comic Books Are Cool)

Here’s where I attempt to explain why I, a grown man, continue to purchase and read comic books as a form of entertainment. I have been trying to figure out how to approach this – and there seem to be a couple of ways to go.

I could try to explain comic books (and comic strips) as a unique art form – the combination of words and sequential pictures which combine to form something greater than the sum of their parts. And it is this aspect of comic books that makes them so adaptable to a variety of genres, and not just the sci-fi adventure category we automatically think of. Comic books are and have been used for children’s literature, biography (like Persepolis and the Pulitzer prize-winning Maus), romance, westerns, mystery, horror, and nearly everything else. On my wish list, for example, is a comic book called Action Philosophers! I could talk about all that - but somebody already wrote a book about it. And in comic book form, no less! So if the art and artistic side is what floats your boat, I highly recommend Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. I’ll even loan you my copy if you ask nice.

The truth, though, is that I mostly buy super-hero comics. But even here there is a larger story to tell. I could try to explain super-hero comic books in terms of their cultural impact. Batman, Superman, Spider-Man – these are not only household names, but elements of each of their stories are part of the popular culture. If I were to say that "planning ahead" was my kryptonite, most people would know immediately what I mean. As Hollywood has discovered, the heroes and themes of comic books seem to resonate with people.

To expand on that, I could try to explain super-hero comics in terms of story. The best comic book writers, in my opinion, are those who accept the general conventions of the comic book, and then depart from there to do something radically different. If you pick up almost any comic book by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Will Eisner, Kurt Busiek, Grant Morrison, Brian K. Vaughan, or Mark Waid, you’ll find something to sink your teeth into beyond “Character A punches Character B – Character B then fires his laser eyes at Character A.” All of these writers have done more than traditional super-hero comics, but they have also worked within the super-hero world in unconventional ways.

I’ll let Kurt Busiek explain, from his introduction to “Life In The Big City” the first volume of his Astro City series:

“The complaint, which never fails to charm me, is that superheroes are limited. They’re inherently juvenile, I’m told. They’re simplistic.They’re just an adolescent male power fantasy, a crypto-fascist presentation of status quo values, elevated over anything strange or alien.

And sure, yeah, I can see that. Superman is adolescence personified – Clark Kent the weak child whom nobody takes seriously, turning into the powerful, respected, (and sexually attractive, but nervous around women) Superman as swiftly as a teenager’s voice cracks, and then back again to meek, unimportant Clark....

However, what charms me about that objection to the superhero is the way it points out, in the guise of criticism, what to me is the greatest strength of the superhero genre – the ease with which superheroes can be used a metaphor, as symbol, whether for the psychological transformation of adolescence, the self-image of a nation, or something else.

If a superhero can be such a powerful and effective symbol for male adolescence, than what else can you do with them? Could you build a superhero story around a metaphor for female adolescence? Around mid-life crisis? About the changes adults go through when they become parents? Sure, why not?”

That’s probably as good a summary as any. And there’s my justification for a new blog feature.

I’ll end this one with what I think is one of the more interesting tidbits about the creation of the first comic book superhero – Superman.

In 1938, Nazi Germany was increasing its stranglehold on Europe – overtaking Czechoslovakia, Romania, bullying its way into diplomacy with England, and preparing for an invasion of Poland. Its philosophy was built on racism, especially toward Jews, and the Nietzschian idea of the “ubermensch” – the strong man who accomplishes things by domination and sheer will.

And in June 1938 a character called Superman appears in “Action Comic #1.” He’s the strongest guy around, an alien come to earth but raised as Clark Kent, who accepts earth as his home, and uses his strength to fight for truth, justice, and the American way.

And he was created by two 18-year old Jewish kids from Cleveland.