A Commentary on Comic Books

A while back my mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas. Superhero enthusiast that I am, the number one item on my list was the Invincible Iron Man: Complete Collection DVD-ROM. But since I stayed up until 4 a.m. one night reading Spider-Man (I swear I only did that once), mom thinks I'm addicted to comic books, so that idea was rejected.

Pretty much anytime I bring up comic books now, mom says they're a waste of time. Quite honestly, I'm not so sure. I mean, yeah, they can be addicting, and they have got to be one of the lowest forms of reading on this planet, but I think there's a bit more depth to comic books than most parents will give 'em credit for.

How so? Here's how so. Even though they're dealing with super-powered events of epic proportions, comic books somehow are still able to regularly reflect the real lives of everyday people and present true-to-life issues. In the early 70's, Amazing Spider-Man #96-98 were written with the sole intent of showing the negative, unglamorous affects that drugs can have. Much of the X-Men franchise, particularly early on during the Silver and Bronze Ages, demonstrated the inclusion of many social and racial minorities with the introductions of various new heroes from these various classes. These are real problems in the real world, and they've been reflected on in fantasy epics.

But wait - there's more! Though they don't do it regularly, comic books do occasionally touch on current events, such as 9/11. But what I really want to mention is a more recent event - Marvel's Civil War.

Obviously this is not an event that took place in real life, but it is a strong reflection on how the government has been edging in on our privacy more and more. The events that led up to Civil War began when the government sought to implant the Superhero Registration Act. When implanted, every super-powered individual would be required to reveal his or her identity to the government and register with them. Some heroes are for it. Some are against. Naturally this causes a major conflict, and the fighting erupts when Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man), an advocate of the act, announces that all resisting superheroes will be hunted down, subdued, and placed under arrest.

How does it end? Honestly I don't know. The series has come to a close, but I don't make a habit of picking up comic books regularly, so I have yet to finish the story. I left off with Spider-Man locked in combat with Captain America. Epic beyond belief.

Is this really a commentary on our politics?
Obviously.

Exaggerated?
Probably.

Impacting?
Yes!

Civil War may only be a comic book series, but I think it would be almost impossible for anyone to read it without giving though to what's going on in Washington these days.

So much conflict... so many issues.
Heroes had it easy in the old days. They just had to fight somebody with cosmic powers. They never had to fight legislature.

Or each other.

Epic
T.H. Excellence

I'm Stuck Doing Research...

...On superheroes. In approximately one week I have to turn in an extensive paper on the history of comic book heroes. Yes, this is a legitimate class project. The subject was even approved by my professor. I apologize in advance to anyone who wishes they could write papers like this in their classes.

So now you're wondering how I would even come across a project like this in the first place. It's quite simple, really.

The class: Intro to Mass Media.
The assignment: Write a paper on any media topic you choose.

Those who know me even a little bit shouldn't be surprised that I chose superheroes as a subject.

So here I am now with four different web pages up (excluding my blogger page), examining and cross-sectioning various reports on comic book history. Right now I'm at the start of the Golden Age, which began roughly with Superman in 1938 and continued until the 1950's when superheroes temporarily fell out of the public favor. This period featured the introduction of some of DC Comics' most popular characters including (of course) Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Flash.
People generally believe that Superman was the first superhero, but that's not quite so. In 1935, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (who later created Superman) introduced a character called Dr. Occult. This comic book feature was a detective who took on cases involving the supernatural and even had supernatural powers himself.
There were also non-powered heroes that could be considered predecessors to Batman. One of these characters was known as the Clock, who fought crime in a business suit and full-face mask. He generally left a calling card that boldly stated, "The Clock has struck!" Dang, that's clever. There's one character I'd like to see resurrected from the comic book grave.

I gotta say that this is all very exciting. Even though I'm quite the superhero enthusiast, I really don't know much about the history of many of these heroes (excluding Spider-Man - my favorite). Already I've learned a ton, and I've barely even scratched the surface on the Golden Age, not to mention the Silver, Bronze, and Modern Ages. It's quite fascinating learning all this stuff, and I hope to have a real slam-bang paper polished off by next week.

Okay, back to work. I'll likely post again when my project is complete, or maybe even before then.

Up, up, and away!
T.H. Excellence