Top Ten Comics

I thought I'd change the pace a bit and talk about my ten favorite comics this time. I have loved comics since I was about five years old, over thirty five years ago (groan) and I really enjoy writing about them, though I seldom have an outlet to do so. I have actually considered starting a "comics only" blog, but I probably don't read enough on a monthly basis to really justify such a blog.

Anyway, I'm in the mood, so here goes.

1) SUPREME POWERr - MARVEL MAX - This is a remake or more correctly "reimagining" of the old SQUADRON SUPREME series by Mark Gruenwald, which is in of itself a nice little gem of a series and which still stands as a real landmark in the "realistic comics" genre. This series is written by "Babylon 5" scribe J. Michael Straczynski, and is even more brutal and morally conflicted than Gruenwald's. It generally tells the story of Mark Milton, an alien baby who is found and raised by foster parents, his history and origin completely withheld from him in place of a carefully constructed series of lies in order to keep him under governmental control. Not unexpectedly, Milton (later given the hero code name, Hyperion) is not pleased with these lies once he uncovers them, and so begins a very tense and often frightening chess game between him and the government powers which seek to control him. Other superheroes pop up after Milton; Nighthawk, an African-American "Batman" type who brutalizes criminals after his own parents are slain in a racially motivated murder, Dr. Spectrum, a CIA agent who becomes superpowered after a part of Milton's spaceship bonds with his body, Power Princess, an ancient warrior/goddess come to life, the Whizzer, a youth who is able to run at superspeed, and what amounts to "Aquagirl", a mutated infant cum adult who breathes underwater and converses with sea creatures.

Like the original SQUADRON SUPREME, and perhaps more like Alan Moore's WATCHMEN, this series attempts to address some of the real issues that would arise if such individuals ever actually existed. All the "heroes" are deeply flawed human beings, often more frightening than the villains they attempt to pacify. Most of them have already murdered people, some more than once, and none of them are particularly happy with their newfound powers. Some of them meet, but so far very few of them are what one could term "friends", and after eighteen issues there still isn't a "Squadron Supreme" team as such.

Straczynski interjects a strong conspiratorial thread in this series, which various elements of the government attempting to use these individuals in order to pursue both domestic and foreign policy goals. Understandably, the military and executive branch are not particularly comfortable with an individual who can create an atomic bomb level explosion just by flying fast into the ground and it's also easy to see why they wouldn't exactly trust someone from another planet. On the other hand, Milton's rage at being used is quite understandable too, so you have these two opposing forces, both with human motivations and both sympathetic to certain extents, and you have them at each other's throats. Straczynski is careful not to make anyone too noble or too evil; he's going for all out realism here, and he usually succeeds.

This is not a "fun" book; much of the action is downbeat and grim, and the dialogue follows suit. I find myself growing a bit impatient for the "team" to assemble, but that's just because all of the characters are so diverse and interesting I can't wait to see them interact as a group. Who knows, maybe they never will. I'm not sure how far this series can go without any kind of humor or lightening element; none of these characters have particularly noticeable senses of humor. But I can't wait to see how things develop as time goes by; the door is really wide open here in terms of future plots and character development.

One of the things that is really nice about the "Squadron Supreme" group is that the writer can really do stuff to what amounts to the Justice League without being hamstrung by corporate dictates about not changing things too much. They can really have free reign and explore themes and situations previously forbidden before the League had an analogue.

I'm looking forward to more of this series, and the evolving drama of an Earth faced with the dawn of superpowered invdividuals. You don't exactly read this series with a sense of wonder, but more perhaps a sense of dread at what new undreamed of horrors may arise from the emergence of these people. I keep searching for some sense of nobility and grandness from the series and the characters, and I think it may be coming, but Straczynski is now more interested in being "real" than being uplifting.

And so far, I am eating it up.

2) HARD TIME - DC - This is a most welcome return to comics for "Howard the Duck" and "Man-Thing" creator Steve Gerber. It's also a vigorously original concept and very engaging narrative concerning a 15 year old genuis who is sentenced to forty years in prison after his (non lethal) involvement in a "Columbine" style incident. Once inside, the boy learns he has a kind of sentient energy within him, another "self" which is powerful and roams at night, acting on some kind of not quite understandable motivation.

This series is, like SUPREME POWER, grim and downbeat most of the time, but the main character does have a refreshingly sardonic sense of humor and so does his Vietnam vet cellmate. I always enjoy series that seem to challenge you to find hope in a very hopeless setting and this one certainly qualifies. The main character really does grow and learn about himself and his world (and his own strengths and weaknesses) while in prison; he isn't just some martryred innocent kid whom the world has dumped on. He's a smart assed little brat, albeit with a general sense of decency, who has a lot of growing up to do. There's some Campbelleseque elements here too; the boy has positive and negative guide figures, and he does go on a "journey" of sorts, though obviously given the setting its much more of an internal one.

Another narrative aspect I always enjoy is unpredictability, and this series is definitely that. From one issue to the next, you never know for certain which of the many featured characters are going to be attacked, go insane or die. Significant plot events happen in each issue, unlike many comics where nothing much really happens for several months at a time. And you always get the feeling that there is a genuine sense of menace, that the characters you care about are not safe and are in fact in true jeopardy. That type of thing is key for me to enjoy a story. If you are fairly certain that the writer isn't going to let anything bad happen, any kind of dramatic tension you hope to achieve is really lost.

So far there has just been one "series" of HARD TIME, but I hear there will be another. I certainly hope so, as it's one of the most original and page turning books around.

3) ASTONISHING X-MEN - Written by current geek golden boy Joss Whedon, this series has really revitalized what was so terrific about the Chris Claremont/John Byrne years; intensely detailed and consistent characterization, engaging plots that operate on several levels, helping always to reveal and advance character, and action scenes that do the same. Whedon is writing at the top of his game here, as he was in his "Buffy" TV series; he has a firm grasp of what makes all the characters interesting and he works the magic interplay between them like a orchestra conductor. Nothing is wasted; no plot development, no line of dialogue. All story elements are parts of a much greater whole and you get the feeling the whole time that someone is in very complete control and knows where he is going. I feel as if I know these characters again, as if I'm rediscovering old friends that have been away for ages.

Like all good writers, Whedon is able to create very dramatic, tension filled scenes and interweave elements of humor into them. He creates strong memorable villains who have specific agendas and self-justifying motivations, and he creates an atmosphere where you aren't entirely sure the heroes are going to prevail. If they do, it generally requires some type of internal power as well as external. They are fighting against the darker elements of themselves as well as their opponents. His stories are always ABOUT something, more than just fight scenes and costumes and superpowers and soap opera. His stories are about human emotions and conflict, even if they are being filtered through "homo superior" mutants.

I've heard that Whedon is not going to be doing this book forever, and that's a shame. I certainly will be around as long as he is, assuming he keeps the current level of quality. And so far I have no reason to think he won't.

That's the first three...more tomorrow. :)