bliumchik | on superheroes

Palindrome party on my lastfm, woo!

I would like to note two snarky and vaguely postmodern superhero-related stories online right now: Kelly Link's Origin Story and John Scalzi's Denise Jones, Super Booker.

I thought there was an interesting contrast here regarding realistic superhero universe. I suspect everyone makes them up in their heads, I know I do, but the difference here is - well, Scalzi's reads sort of like a humorous shopping list of the kind you would post on your blog for laughs, whereas Link's has fully realised characters, allegory and a twist. But, you know, aside from all that. (And please note that I have nothing against humorous shopping lists, I love those.) Just going by worldbuilding: It's interesting to note the subtle differences between a hilarious superhero bureaucracy and a fairly seamless melt of superheroes into our own universe. Scalzi's story would be at home in a reasonably-cynical down to earth superhero comic book, in fact it reads sort of like an online special feature to one of those, and I'd love to read the hilarious antics that would no doubt occur in said comic. But Origin Story reads like it could happen. And when you think about all the BS that's gone on in comics over the last few decades as people try to write "realistic" superheroes (*cough* Frank Miller) it's an important difference to note. Most good comics are like Scalzi's story, they make you laugh and have depth potential within that framework. When people try to make like Kelly Link... well, sometimes you get Watchmen. But mostly, you get the god damn Batman.