Spotlighting Marvel must-reads

Presenting a few more Marvel series that should grab your attention...


Iron Man: Extremis (2005-6) – an unmissable addition to the Iron Man canon, the lifelike art and gritty story of Extremis has been acclaimed for bringing the character up to date for a new generation. What is Tony Stark’s response going to be to a new generation of weapons technology? What is his attitude to his own tech, and what is his responsibility as a hero? Here we see the moral lines blurring for Iron Man as he tries to mix pioneering technology and big business with the intention of benefiting the world. The villain of the piece is surprising too – it’s not often that an ordinary US citizen is shown to hate his country for good reasons. Writer Warren Ellis elevates this one till it becomes an analysis of what Iron Man is doing with his life and how he hopes to help society through using dangerous technology.


House of M (2005) – This story stunned Marvel fans as it opened up a wealth of unpleasant possibilities for the future of the whole Marvel universe, by seriously affecting the tense mutant/human relationship. The Xmen, New Avengers, and others try to find a way to face the Avenger who turned bad – a powerful witch, who is now bordering on complete mental breakdown. Unfortunately she wields the power to alter reality, and successfully alters the memories of all but one of the heroes, and even the entire history of the world, as a form of self-protection. Interestingly, the story becomes a quest for truth and for revenge as heroes like the Xmen and Spiderman are not content with the new reality they have been given, and want the world changed back to how it naturally was, the one they have worked for and have families in. What struck me most about this eight-issue series was the huge potential it had to alter relationships between characters and the whole Marvel world, and write Bendis really knows how to pile up the shocks. My only criticism would be that occasionally the art layouts on the page need re-thinking as they actually get in the way of the story – oh yes, and I don't like how everyone looks mean and nasty all the time. The pencils and inks are pretty snazzy in places though; look at Cloak or Luke Cage and you’ll see what I mean. One final word on it: the main House of M series was accompanied by some fun connected miniseries, the best of which was Spiderman: House of M (beautifully painted), followed by the almost-manga-style Iron Man one.



Captain America (Jan 2005-present) – Another of Marvel’s “big guns”, this World War II hero stranded in our time has become interesting again in this action-packed series from Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. It is hard to resist the way the series examines its characters and their motivations, while providing an ongoing big-budget-movie espionage plotline, which takes our characters from Eastern Europe to Paris to the southern states of the US as the try to get ahead of businessman and terrorist Lukin, and the enemies and plans left behind by the deceased Nazi criminal the Red Skull. Here’s a snippet of Brubaker’s own thoughts on the character of Captain America and whether he is relevant today: “Captain America isn't some partisan tool. His history as a character since the mid-'60s shows that. He can call a lie a lie, and he doesn't care which side the liar is on. I think the United States really needs an icon without those partisan blinders on right now, more than ever.” (from http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/09/like-noir-for-c.html - you can check out his new noir Marvel project there too.)


Fantastic Four: The End – Brit superstar artist Alan Davis both wrote and pencilled this brilliant mini-epic in 2007 and it quickly became one of my favourite stories of the year. Incredibly in such an explosive and colourful six issues it manages to get to heart of what made the Four such a likeable team and family in the old Jack Kirby and Stan Lee stories from the sixties (which by the way, are interesting both as comics history and as well-crafted and charming stories in their own right). In fact you really might want to check out the first 10 or 15 or more issues of Fantastic Four before you read it, as a lot of classic villains and other Marvel characters turn up. The plot is roughly as follows: In the future the Fantastic Four have split up after a battle with their nemesis Dr Doom, in which Reed and Sue’s children are killed. The lives they now lead are wildly different, as the universe is different, owing to Reed’s political power and his latest inventions, including something called the Methuselah treatment, which has given humanity long life. Johnny (the Human Torch) is now leader of the Avengers, having finally grown up enough to take the role, while Reed (Mr Fantastic) is now an obsessive worker, and neglects his former friends and estranged wife Sue. The story revolves around the way they have treated one another and dealt with their past traumas and where hope for the future can be found when new threats arise from alien races from the Fantastic Four’s history.

On reflection, it is interesting how youth is idolised here, amidst all the fantasy –children again and again are the ones to live and provide for, and, in this optimistic view, humanity will be saved by them. I guess this is refreshingly different from the UK’s culture of general pessimism and anxiety about our youth – but a similar feelings can be seen here in child-obsessed mums and overworked dads who live to provide for their children and to keep them safe. How are we to answer this culture? Right now, I don’t pretend to know!

That's a wrap for today - before long I will be posting on projects by some of my favourite comic writers, including JM Straczynski, Alan Moore and that utterly crazy Scotsman Grant Morrison. Oh and look out for some non-comic-related posts too! For now, enjoy some more great Marvel cover art, and feel free to leave comments on my very opinionated posts.

All types of Avengers

Young Avengers (Volume 1: Sidekicks) - In my opinion, this accessible and punchy 6-part series from a few years back typifies why Marvel is so much fun at the moment. Fantastic, sharp art throughout is combined with a modern and smart take on the role of new teenage heroes and their relationship to older Marvel heroes. The “young avengers” themselves are great new characters, having a streak of sarcastic humour and a daring spirit of “let’s-try-this-because-it-could-be-fun” when it comes to using their weird abilities, like being able to stop projectiles or fly by sheer will-power, or using Hulk-like strength to break through walls. Also long-time Marvel fans will get a kick out of seeing who the first major villain is that the team face – these teens are in way over their heads.

This gives me an excuse to talk about the classic Marvel super-team, the Avengers, which I became interested in maybe a couple of years before going to university. Led at various times by heroes like Iron Man, the Wasp, Captain America or Dr Henry Pym (Ant-man/Giant-man/Yellowjacket/Goliath), the team has been around since the ’60s (apart from a brief period when Marvel sold some of its characters due to near bankrupcy!) Looking back at that last sentence, it surprises me that founding memeber Thor has never got to lead the team, as far as I know - perhaps due to his unpredictable temper? Early on in its history the team dealt with a lot of dangerous threats unleashed by science (read: robots and reality-altering machines) as well as bids for world domination from sorcerers, mythical gods and even old Nazi commanders.

Some of the early stories, notably the Kree-Skrull War, are great adventures to read today – I especially enjoyed the early appearances of the brooding android called the Vision as printed in the late 60s and early 70s, as he wrestles with his own nature and with emotions which he calculates robots have no right to feel. Interestingly there’s a great deal of optimism about the worth and future of humanity in these stories, which is totally different to today’s darker ones – and the George Pérez art on some of the tales is stunning and full of vibrant detail.

The material from the late ’90s and early ’00s is also worth a look. For instance the epic Kang War saga is well-told and shocking - as are the following stories, as the team deals with problems with different team members and face a biological terrorist attack from an unknown enemy in "Red Zone". There was also a fun story where the Avengers came up against a team of apparently reformed criminals, the Thunderbolts, and different team members showed their true colours by choosing to support them and oppose the distrustful Captain America and others on their own team. Finally I can’t move on without mentioning the JLA/Avengers crossover which Marvel and DC ran in 2004 – the icing on the cake was that Pérez returned to draw a huge volume of heroes and cosmic beings in this epic (even damaging his hand in the process of pencilling one of the insanely detailed wrap-around covers [pictured above right])!

The brutal day the team was finally broken up is chronicled in a story called Avengers Disassembled (with incredibly dark, arresting artwork by David Finch). What an outcry this comic event caused! Fans asked how could writer Brian Michael Bendis kill off both Hawkeye and the Vision? Before long however he made it up to us by creating the New Avengers, an ongoing title in which classic Marvel heroes (and some new ones) seem to be taking a more hard-line approach in rounding up their enemies, and are once again involved in political wrangles with powerful government outfit SHIELD.

In the next few days I'll be putting up some more on some of the obvious highlights in Marvel's current output, including looking at the recent success of Iron Man and another dystopian future epic starring most of the Marvel Universe, called "Fantastic Four: The End". Until then, enjoy the beautiful New Avengers artwork I found on the web. Here's another one of mysterious new team member, Ronin:

Pausing for thought on how I come across to others

This week I began the second narrative in The Moonstone, the intricately-plotted mystery novel by Wilkie Collins – first published 1868 – which is an enjoyable read. This second part is written from the point of view of a stereotype, Miss Clack. You find in Collins that he uses stereotypes (often mildly eccentric ones) as a source of amusement and as a way of making his various narrators distinctive.
Miss Clack is clearly the “religious hypocrite” stereotype. Fervent in her support of charities and women’s groups, she is a nuisance to everyone else. Always willing to condemn and disapprove, and unsympathetic towards anyone else’s situation, she sees her mission in life to “improve” others with a mixture of religious tracts and books. While she knows some theology, she does not allow truly Christian principles to affect her. Even in a few pages, we see her preoccupation with money and with self – even finding “evil” done to her in what is perfectly ordinary treatment (p.198)! But it was the following passage which struck me most. Miss Clack, disapproving of the “insolent silence” of the hand-maid who answered the door, attempts to give this “young castaway” a tract called “A Word with you on your Cap-ribbons” (stick with me, I’m actually going somewhere with this).

“She looked at the title. ‘Is it written by a man or a woman, Miss? If it’s written by a woman, I had rather not read it on that account. If it’s written by a man, I beg to inform him that he knows nothing about it.’ She handed me back the tract, and opened the door. We must sow the good seed somehow. I waited until the door was shut on me, and slipped the tract into the letter-box. When I had dropped another tract through the area railings, I felt relieved, in some small degree, of a heavy responsibility towards others.” (p.198)

How utterly ridiculous of Miss Clack! If she had a responsibility towards this household, she has failed in it! She has not acted in their interests at all by supplying them with tracts that they are not interested in reading – and the manner in which she has offered them suggests both her poor view of the household and her high view of her utterly pointless actions (she thinks she has sown “the good seed”). It is clear she has become obsessed with outward signs to justify herself. Miss Clack may have fooled herself into thinking she has the moral superiority, but her whole manner shows that she does not in the least care for these people (members of her family, no less!); she simply wants to be able to point out how they need to be more like her.

What’s my point?
Well, it’s interesting to think about how Collins plays with this stereotype to discredit his narrator altogether (especially when compared with the previous narrative, written from the point of view of Mr Betteredge – a highly caring individual Clack dares to refer to as a “heathen”, p.198). Because of her character, it is easy for everyone to dismiss what Miss Clack says, including the reader. How does this work today? Stereotypes in the 21st century also often suggest that fervently religious characters should not be trusted. The difference today is that in modern films and pop culture religious characters often turn out to be more than harmless social nuisances or hypocrites – they are more often deceivers or evil cultists, extremists or paedophiles. I guess this is partly understandable, in light of the weight of condemnation and militant force coming from Muslim extremists – many suspicions of religion seem to have been confirmed by terror attacks.

But also I would suggest that it is easy to distrust someone who suggests you should change your life – especially if they claim to be “spiritual” in a way that distinguishes you from them, or if they claim to be living the correct way. Both of these betray arrogance – thankfully something that the Lord Jesus (who I follow) showed none of. His call to change your life is not asking you to be “better” but it is an invitation to a loving relationship with God, and the happiness and gifts that come with that. If we are followers of him, let us distinguish ourselves from proud Clacks, who distance themselves from even from their own families, and become more like our humble, helpful, kind Lord, offering life to those who need it as we also have need of it.

Finally, Miss Clack mentions that she must “try to be worldly” (p.200) in giving her account of the facts of the case of the moonstone. She finds it restrictive not to be able to spiritualise everything and find a moral in everything. She prides herself on living “very much out of the world” (p.220), and even avoids newspapers (p.199), so she does not know what is going on in her area. We can see that her view of “faith” and religion is effectively divorced from her view of the “world” – which is looked down upon. The writer Steve Turner recently challenged me once again to see that the day to day things of life are important and spiritual. Having clarified how Christians should not be worldly in the negative sense of following antichristian methods, goals or ideologies, he talks about the way we are to be positive about human culture in general:

“The world is all that God made and came to redeem. This includes human culture…music, songs, stories, paintings, games, rituals, decorations, clothes, languages and hairstyles…
Christians should be worldly in this positive sense. They should be lovers of life because God is the giver of life. No one is more worldly than God-he made the world, upholds the world and sent his Son to die for the world. Christianity doesn’t teach that the world is an illusion that will trap us or a hell that prevents us from attaining our true purpose.” (Imagine, IVP, p.44)

In fact Jesus was an earthy man, and concerned with the totality of life, not just religious activity. “He lived alongside ordinary people, went for walks, ate and drank with sinners, built furniture, slept, wept, relaxed, cared for his mother, sailed in boats and attended social functions.” (Imagine, p.60.)

So let’s be more earthy, real-life Christians! Any reader of The Moonstone can appreciate the folly and insensitivity of the genuinely amusing Clack – may we avoid her dry disapproval of her culture! May we, like Jesus, prize humility, and aim for truly godly lives that get involved in serving and loving our peers and those around us.

Review of Starman: Night and Day

Although I had never heard of the characters before, plunging into this, the second volume in the ten-volume series, was as refreshing as it was rewarding. The writing is incredibly sharp. Within the opening pages the internal monologue of the young antique dealer and self-confessed geek Jack Knight (aka Starman) includes the moody description of the “copper sea” of fields which surround Opal City, interspersed with Jack’s own slightly paranoid obsessions about some of the people who live there. Then suddenly the genre turns to mystery and dark fantasy simultaneously as Jack reluctantly (and partially out of guilt) takes the role of hero, freeing some freakish people he meets from their oppressors. Jack’s emotions soar, and, as often happens in the 212-page volume, we see that Jack has been forced to grow through his experience, to get rid of false prejudice and take action to help the needy – and in all this, we realise he is not the typical DC superhero, whose moral compass we can trust to always face north. This young punk from the big city lives for what he can get, and the difference is fascinating. Even the action is a little quirky, and brilliant scrappy fun. The only downside of this volume is some extreme and probably unnecessarily brutal violence near the end.

I recently discovered that the excellent writer, James Robinson (about to finally return to work for DC on a new Justice League project), is well known for penning the whole ten-year lifespan of the comic (and bringing it to a great conclusion), and if the two volumes I have read so far are any measure of its quality I can not wait for more – especially as I’ve discovered there is a 2-part Batman/Starman/Hellboy crossover as well! Finally I think it is worth noting the unusual themes of Starman – one of the most striking is the idea of the “generation gap”, shown not only in Jack’s obsession with the past and with Opal City, but foremost in his relationship with his father. The way their worldviews jar is particularly well realised, Jack continually being surprised by the experiences and knowledge of his father, and often guessing him wrong. It is brilliant because it highlights how often in the busy western lifestyle, the younger generations are out of touch with what is important to their elders – who would have thought that idea would be shown up in a comic book?

If you can get hold of Starman you are in for a treat. Apparently, DC are about to reprint the entire run in some giant hardcover editions, so look out for that!

Made of leaves

Padded leaves layer up
And lean down under delicate weight.
Tight structures, spreading abroad.

Downy green, downy in the light,
No matter how you turn it.
Experimental twists, growing.

Patchwork sunshine does not
Carpet, but pauses lightly there.
Light made up of leaves.

What texture? To touch it would
Transform it to something solid;
And lines would slant away.

That frozen grain in the wood
Shows you – the shape of use.
Away! Planes and lines! Away!

Closely clustered, in pairs
And larger statements:
Form evolves, happily!

Incredible Reading (part 2)

Here's the promised update with new recommendations on great comics to get into....

Astro City – The first collection I picked up of this hard-to-find series (called Astro City: Family Values) is a collection of memorable short stories celebrating and exploring the fantastic world of Astro City itself – a place where the awe-inspiring lives side by side with the mundane. This theme is perfectly illustrated by the wonderful introductory story, which is told from the point of view of a parent who is moving to the city, so that we share his new experiences. I have to say I found this collection to be a breath of fresh air, with a much lighter tone than other superhero books. In fact I'd say it shows up their obsession with violence by its different focus on family and on the hopes and aspirations of the characters. From the lonely old man who commits ingenious crimes with his much-loved mechanical inventions, to the young super-powered daughter who wants to experience a normal life and play hopscotch, the stories make you smile and perhaps contemplate what it is that you find precious in life and would want to keep from losing.

She-Hulk – OK, I know what you're thinking. It's one of those superhero names that does not exactly inspire confidence. Seriously – She-hulk?? It brings the same sort of reaction that the name “Hellboy” does to someone who knows nothing about that tragic, gothic figure. Well, guess again. As far as I'm concerned, this is hands-down the best-written female Marvel superhero. Each episode tends to mix elements of a wacky romantic comedy with science-fiction, all wrapped up in a neat court-case plot and setting (although sometimes it's not.) Some stories are mysteries, such as a brilliant time trial case at the start of volume two, whereas some are more like Herculian challenges to She-Hulk's strength, resolve and intellect – such as the far-out space trial on a planet where the impossibly strong villain could only be arrested if beaten in battle, according to the planet's long-standing tradition. I love the fast-paced, hotch-potch mix of a hundred different concepts, and I love the humour and style of each episode. Sadly writer Dan Slott has now finished working on the book in the US and is not faring so well with more mainstream characters. But you should definitely grab a copy of the first volume of this recent series – it's bursting with unadulterated fun!

Neil Gaiman's Eternals – This epic tale is the weird fruit of mixing genres and influences ranging as far as ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology, the prophetic biblical text of Revelation, sci-fi (specifically invasion fiction) and superhero comic books. In fact the plot of this collection of Eternals issues 1-7 leaves more questions than answers. For instance, I would love to know what is really going through the minds of the seemingly unknowable and god-like Celestials, the gigantic beings who created the Eternals and the Deviants and let them roam on the earth and influence humanity, instead of hearing about them through the unreliable characters in the story. I guess these sort of tantalising mysteries makes each issue so compelling. The Eternals themselves, who are beginning to awake after believing they were merely human for a time, have several different perspectives on life and humanity, and part of the fun is learning about how they respond to the knowledge of their powers and what they choose to do with them. But perhaps the greatest achievement of Gaiman in this series is to give a sense of incredible scope to the story in a Marvel universe already littered with epic battles with space aliens. I guess it's a more literate and less action-focused take on the catastrophic-threat-vs-hero conflict you usually see, while the fate of humanity once again lies in the balance.

The Origin of Venom – Amazing Spiderman was probably most amazing in the eighties. This was the decade that brought Mary Jane back into Peter Parker's life and introduced a horde of new villains from the devious crime-lords, the Rose and the Hobgoblin, to the clearly unhinged and obsessive. The latter category includes Venom – whose origin set him up as a character very much down on his luck and frustrated with the world. [His first full appearance from May 1984 is pictured here.] Hot on the heels of Peter David's exciting murder mystery in Sensational Spiderman (vol. 1) 107-110 (Who Killed Jean DeWolff?), Todd McFarlane and David Micheline teamed up to bring a new villain to Amazing Spiderman, one who readers could identify with and yet whose reason for existence was a hatred for Spiderman and Peter Parker. Although the appearance of Venom was surprisingly horrific for the time, he in fact expresses disgust on killing “innocents” in the early stories due to his Catholic upbringing. There is a whole lot more depth and excitement here than in recent Venom stories, which represent the character as more of a brainless psycopath. Let's not even mention the younger, hot-headed version of Eddie Brock/Venom that appeared in Spiderman 3 (which was otherwise a great film).

Lex Luthor: Man of Steel – This short volume collects a miniseries

that centres on Luthor and explores his absolute hatred of the caped Kryptonian Superman. Basically it argues that this hatred is borne out of fear and distrust – after all, no-one could really spend so much of their time serving others and expect to gain nothing from it, could they? The evil genius narrates throughout and through this rather obvious mechanic his malevolent actions are seen for what they are: misguided attempts to better humanity. Luthor remains convinced that Superman's presence, instead of inspiring humanity, is making them lazy, as they let him fight their battles for them, and as a result he is a dangerous threat to the survival of the human race. It's an interesting, if brief, portrait of one of DC's best characters, and presents us with a view of human progress that is at once totally ruthless and yet places great (and I think unfounded) confidence in mankind's ability to advance his species and bring blessing to the world.

Next time I'm hoping to cover some of the cream of Marvel's current crop, perhaps Young Avengers, as well as looking at what Batman stories are worth you time (with the new film out and all) and my recent find: Starman (you won't believe just how good Starman is).

Human resources

I started writing the following poem early in the term, around Easter, but recently rediscovered it and rewrote it. I hope it makes you think.


Houses fester on hills and along lines
(And swarm)
Like rats gnawing among waste.

Except
They don't fester
As they are static giants
And people, yes, people, fester in them.
(Much less resourceful than rats.)

Yet:
Houses have circulation,
Dwindling with aches and boxes and shouts
(Bloodlines today continue to clot and narrow).
Bright windows watch dumping-grounds
And the heaving-out of food mountains,
But vainly flush out interiors
With spoiled light.

Men rot away all sorts of cumbersome things
That go to litter another place
(It is no trouble for them),
Asking Is there no answer here?
As if in reply, blustering light and sky
Would carve its own face.

The battle is braved
Ever and again, with unsteady dreams
And thoughts with faces, clamouring.
Houses are repainted,
Trained not to creak or whisper or fuss about the pressure
- Get boarded up, eventually,
Senile and wretched.
Before long, guilty regret settles
as we consider the treatment of elders.

In summation:
Drained streams
and frightened homes
and ceaseless nights,
need vying with greed.
Dark and damp and homeless we
Put up shacks and feed.


© 2008 Richard Townrow

Incredible reading

This feature is designed to give me a chance to recommend and comment on various graphic novels and stories I’ve read and think deserve discussion. Of course Watchmen which I wrote about here in July 2007, is essential reading, as it has shaped the approach of comic writers ever since.

The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore – It’s been said before, but Alan Moore is really good at taking characters and putting a new light on their actions by subtly hinting at their secret (often fairly self-centred or obsessive) motivations through clever dialogue. He also has a knack for compelling horror-fantasy and tough crime drama, and it’s this that shines through in this collection the most. In “Vigilante” a rookie hero tries to save a young child from a recently released convict, who, feeling betrayed by his wife, brutally slays her to get to his daughter. The ambiguous ending, with the pointing glove, reminds us of the villain’s words earlier in the story, including his defence to his daughter for his previous crime, that the authorities are always pointing the finger, when he is trying to live his life his way. The theme of obsession is shown in other stories, including one piece exploring the emotional depths of one of Batman’s enemies, Clayface II. There are two editions of this collection – try to find the later one, which includes a brilliant tale which was written as if it was “The final Superman story ever told” – we get to see Superman fear for his life and retreat into a stronghold to hide from his enemies, and the future perspective is also very interesting, raising interesting questions about the kind of life Lois and Clark had dreamed for.

“Hulk: The End” by Peter David in Hulk: Banner & The End
“The End” is a tragedy and a tale of apocalypse rolled into one. The masterful Peter David recognises the savagery of the Hulk and the desperate loneliness of his alter-ego, Bruce Banner, and has pushed both to the extreme. In a world wracked by nuclear war, without any human contact, Banner is tired of life itself, while the Hulk represents the stubborn impulse within us to survive, and to never be seen to be beaten by anyone. It’s very profound. What would we do? Would we see a reason to live without other people? Why don’t we want to admit how much they mean to us? Why are we so stubborn, that we always want to show ourselves to be strong?

Astonishing X-men: Gifted – if you’re a comics fan at all, you must be reading the current classic run on Astonishing Xmen, and this story is where it all started. Writer Joss Whedon (writer on Toy Story and creator of Firefly, Serenity, Buffy and Angel) has crafted a plot involving moral dilemmas the team have never faced before. How do they respond to the new mutant “cure”? What kind of scientific research has been carried out on one of their team members, and how do they bring the well-respected scientist to justice? How do they gain favour with the public? This is an entertaining first arc, with stylish art, and I think its greatest strength is its focus on character and the emotions of the team through this trial. (The cover pictured here is actually from the beginning of the second arc, called Dangerous.)

Gotham Central (DC) – this series (written by two of the finest modern writers, Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker) followed the work of the Gotham police dept. as they try to bring criminals to justice, infiltrating gangs and suffering losses at the hands of criminals who show no mercy to the men or women in uniform. One highlight I remember from the first volume was the reaction of a cop who’d lost a friend to Mr Freeze: he blamed Batman and became obsessed with bringing a result for the department the official way. His grief really brought home the pressures and daily strain of his job in such a dangerous city.

*Coming soon: She-Hulk, the Origin of Venom, Astro City, Lex Luthor: Man of Steel. See my March 2008 entry for a full review of Superman: For all Seasons.

Thoughts on "Superman: For all Seasons"

In telling their early-years tale of Superman Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have put a spirit of vulnerability and youthful uncertainty into the character not found in most of our modern TV and film heroes, who tend to achieve success through shows of strength of will and brilliant feats of deduction or heroic rescue. But the home-grown symbol of America, Clark Kent, is far from superhuman in many ways in this book, as he struggles with the impossible task of finding out his own identity, forging it from the things he experiences and the little he knows about his past and even the very alien nature of his body. He struggles with the burden of having the power to do what’s right, and knowing that much (lives and livelihoods) depends on him knowing what’s right – indeed it is his ability to do this, to act selflessly to protect and serve the people of Metropolis, that strikes Lois as perhaps most miraculous of all! Yet this volume also carries across the miraculous aspects of the Superman story: his impossible strength and flight; his incredible history as a child from the heavens, being found out in the fields, being raised as a normal emotional human being, and gaining parent figures in Martha and Jonathan Kent.

Another distinctive feature is the effectiveness of the story-telling. As we read we experience four seasons in Clark's life, from four points of view, and the story's action seems somehow governed by these seasons. Indeed it's the interplay between humanity and the rhythms of nature that brings this story of this idyllic American alien to life, and, to some extent, helps us to examine humanity itself. How powerful are we really? Are our big cities really a farce, expressing a doomed determination to master nature, when nature is so powerful? Can we tame it? Which is better, a life of ambition and achievement or a humble, unnoticed existence, and a contentment with little? Are the two modes of American life (city and farm) both worthy ways to live, or is one more fruitful?

A real sense of place is created through Sale's artwork as it combines homely attention to detail and character with broad, bold vistas of farmland around Smallville and moody or energetic action shots in the bright, towering city of Metropolis. These two settings are clearly paralleled and show us visually, among other things, the conservative past and the ambitious (and aggressive) future. In Smallville the times of crisis arise arise from natural events such as a hurricane that threatens to sweep the whole neighbourhood away. But Smallville is also a place to grow up and pass the time by philosophising about one's life; it is place to measure oneself in a family environment and to take stock of the world around. It's here that the hurt of failed dreams and fragmented relationships leaves its mark on the younger generation, as shown by Lana's discovery of her foolish and naïve attachment to Clark. It's in the city, however, that you assert yourself with strength of character. Clark admires this in Lois, whose represents the future in a positive way, as she works for a newspaper that often exposes what's wrong in society. But in the city, profit and self rule together. You make business and your own way, as represented in an extreme way by ruthless men like Luthor, who lives to dominate the city and to define himself as a success story. Big business looms out of the sky like ordered (but still cataclysmic) storms in its growing blocks of sky-scrapers. Yet even the city seems to recognise the rhythm of nature, intensifying the heat of summer with busy schedules, becoming cold, clinical and uncaring in the winter.

As the seasons pass, Clark grows. He inspires hope in others beyond what he himself feels, perhaps. But despite pain and difficulty adjusting to his role of saviour, the optimism of this book is wonderful, and shines from its pages. Indeed, it is far too fantastic a moral, that one's balanced home-grown upbringing, combined with a strong sense of selfless service and justice, is good enough. It only remains for me to point out then, that Superman is indeed fantastic at every level of his character, the fulfilment of what we can hope to achieve in our lives, in many ways – and this difference from us is what makes him fascinating.

If you enjoy this volume I would also recommend Superman Confidential, a ongoing series which started in 2007 and tells us more about Superman's early years, including his first encounters with Kryptonite. (It is also brilliant at showing the young hero's vulnerability and fear - he doesn't know if he can die doing the things he does or not!) There are a lot of bad Superman stories out there too, but I'd recommend everyone to pick up John Bryne's classic Man of Steel series, begun in 1986, and Grant Morrison's recent and absolutely brilliant alternative All-Star Superman series , which is full of crazy concepts and characters (issue 10 is pictured above). Finally, I'd like to let everyone know that two stories which show the problem of what to do when Superman is controlled by villains, “Sacrifice” in "The OMAC Project" graphic novel and “Lightening Strikes Twice” in "Day of Vengeance", put to shame pretty much every other modern Superman story I've read.

"Urgency" and "Real Health Care?"

Here's a couple of related poems I wrote in November. I am quite shocked by the similar themes of my poetry at the moment. This and the difficulty of finding time to write something in any way worth sharing here has been the reason for my lack of posting. Hopefully this will change in the next few months!


Urgency


A bowlful of headache, swirling,
Grows into a physical impossibility.

I upturn my emotional state onto someone near me
I hope with their straight head that they can see clearly.

Agonizing letters fly from my brain
To warn others, of pressing matters!

The thought I had before is now on the tip of my pen
Nothing can stop it writing itself again, and again.

What if I found a conclusion in this day-to-day activity?
You can’t stop me pretending it’s there

The part of me that knows there is more
Has really got no time to care.



Real health care?

Bowls overflow with heat and pour on his body
While canisters of breath stand by and fill up.
So much energy, no time to stop.

Bus-fuls of food get taken in
While airways clutter
A simple meal for two is thrown in the gutter.

Vats of moisture stand by, with bright strips
Of bandages covering the chest,
Tying up hope in whatever profits best.

Prepare for the chorus of loud requests:
Allow me to serve you,
Allow me to undress.
Peel back your eyelids to take in more,
Serenade this style,
Be totally cared for.

Be weary with the day and don’t try to sleep
That’s when you know your master:
The disaster you keep.

No strength is mustered, or can fight,
As you’re cluttered and gutted; quenched-
Feeling all right.


Both © 2007-2008 Richard Townrow.