The crux of the superhero genre...

In comics superheroes abound. It's the medium that they were born in and the one they thrive in. But often comic fans bemoan the fact that change in the superhero genre is transitory, death a revolving door and superheroes are stale.

   It's understandable as these things remove dramatic tension and a lack of permanent change can lead to repetitive stories but comic fans miss the fundamental principle of a good superhero story, that is to tell a tall tale, build a mythology from bricks of  parable and cement it with allegory, then present a legendary story of daring do, not to regurgitate a soap opera.

   It's one of the reasons I like Thor, it's all mythic wonder and story telling, not who's shagging who's missing uncle from Perth.

I did a wee

   Superhero comics are about wish fulfilment, epic battles, man verses god verses bacon! Stakes get higher, tensions mount and in the New 52's case knickers go twang! You can throw parables in there, analogies, metaphors and tell stories that add colour and excitement to the the imagination.

   There are excellent comics out there in the soap opera vain:

Thank you Hernandez brothers for the perfect panel.

   There are some absolutely shite comics in the superhero one:

It's like being slow bummed by someone using vix for lube.

   But I'll read a 'soap' comic if I feel like taking part in the intimate lives of delightful characters and I'll read a superhero one if I want to see Thor hammer Galactus in the cosmic tuckus. Erm...

   A lot of comic readers also whine on about the nature of death in comics, the fact you can get a return ticket to the nether world annoys the piss out of them. The argument here is that it removes the dramatic tension from the comic if you know that death lasts as long as a chocolate gateau at fat camp.

   Yes death is transitory, Thor recently died and will be back soon no doubt but on the other hand he's a god in a universe where a trip to the netherworld is as common as forgetting which side your underpants should be on. Alternate universes swap members all the time and clones grow easier than e coli on a street vendor's hot dog. There's a million fun ways to kill a character AND resurrect them. In the mean time though we get some stories about different characters and journeys while the main character is taking a break in the after life and the whole thing is shaken up like a snow globe and we watch the pretty snowflakes settle, then shake it again.

   In computer games you have the save feature, doesn't that remove the dramatic tension from a story driven game? No of course not, it means the game can continue, same with superhero comics, it means the story can continue. You can always stop reading.

   Superheroes have often been compared to the ancient legendary characters like Hercules, Perseus, King Arthur as well as the ancient gods, just compare Grant Morrison's Justice League line up with the Greek pantheon and you'll see what I mean.

Superman - Zeus, Wonder Woman - Hera, Flash - Hermes, Aquaman - Posiden, you figure out the rest.

    In those myths and legends no one was really interested in the interpersonal relationships of the characters, in fact it's only these days when all the spicy homo erotic shenanigans of the ancient Greeks was uncovered that it's become interesting at all. They were more interested in how the hero out fought, out thought, out fucked and generally out did the monster or villain of the piece. I will grant you that carrying on the concept of a single character for over seventy five years can make the stories stale but there's no one out there who's been actually reading say, Superman, straight for those seventy five years and there's as many 'legendary' stories as there are soap opera stories out there to amuse fans. Characters can age and mature, like a fine wine if cultivated properly. Also, you can stop reading.

WITH dignity

WITHOUT dignity

   We all need the tales of daring do and wild adventure to remind us how fantastic life can be, superheroes give us that. A sense that even though their ideals are altruistic and their abilities are beyond those of mortal men they are something we all have a sneaking desire to aspire to and through reading the comics we can live, albeit vicariously those dreams of being larger than life.

   So I know, you won't stop reading.

It really doesn't get more epic...