Due to a bad sinus infection, extended family obligations, and lots of peripheral busyness, my casual consumption for this week was a bit more scant than usual. So, I’m cheating a little and including some All-Star Superman that I read not purely for pleasure but rather as part of a Grant Morrison refresher for an upcoming interview I have with Morrison’s documentarian, Patrick Meaney. I also got around to reading one more Invincible issue, as well as one more (short) section of Dune. Not tons to talk about here, but enough to warrant discussion, so let’s get to it.

All-Star Superman – issues #5-#8

I’m no expert by any means, but All-Star Superman has to be one of the best versions of the Superman story ever. Its greatness, I believe, starts with the style. The story is told in a direct manner in short, mostly single-issue anecdotal tales, presented in Frank Quitely’s clean and colorful, yet detailed artistic style. What better way to present an account of the life of a character as iconic and wholesome as Superman?

A common theme I find in many of these issues is that of identity. Up until this point, we have gotten Superman’s attempt to reveal himself to Lois Lane as Clark Kent, but Lois simply does not believe him (despite the seemingly obvious signs). In issue 5, we get Kent interviewing Lex Luthor in prison. Kent does not change the least in this setting, which suggests that he/Superman defines himself from within. On the other hand, Lex Luthor seems to thrive in prison, so perhaps this is evidence of some sort of identification by surroundings: either he feels he is where he belongs, or he relishes being king among inmates.

Issues 7 and 8, two-part story, covers an invasion by the Bizarro planet and Superman’s attack on the planet itself (not its inhabitants) to coerce it to return to the Underverse, the antithetical underside to our universe. Superman becomes stuck on the Bizarro planet because as it recedes into the Underverse the sun begins to turn red, and this red light drains his powers. The world in which Superman is now stuck is one where not only is everything the opposite of Earth, but even Superman is the opposite of himself (as a man of ever-diminishing strength). To make things more thematically complicated, an opposite-opposite-Superman called Zibarro shows up. He is the Bizarro planet’s opposite of the rest of its inhabitants, and thus is a full reasoning, Earth-rational being; he is to the Bizarro world what Superman is to our world.

Already these issues highlight Superman’s identity as an outsider, but despite him not being human, he is perfectly content with his life. This is contrasted with Zibarro, who bemoans his existence among beings who are virtually brainless and begs Superman to take him to Earth when he leaves (after they figure out a way to get Superman back). Superman denies Zibarro’s request, essentially telling him that his existence on the Bizarro planet is vital to its inhabitants’ evolution. It is perhaps the perfect outcome of a story such as this: Superman giving another being faith in himself and his ability to exist among a population that cannot relate to him. As Mark Waid explains in his introduction to volume two of the series' collection (covering issues 7-12 of 12), this is what makes Superman such a great character – not his physical abilities but his faith in humanity (and Bizarro-manity).

Dune

I read another very short section of Dune: the third letter (pages 21–26 in the ACE 40th Anniversary Edition). There is not a lot in these six pages to talk about, but there is something that I’m sure will be an important aspect of the novel. That is the idea of genetic selection. Most of this portion of the book consists of Jessica speaking with the Reverend Mother, and the Mother chides her for her making the decision to bear a male child against the plans of Imperial Household. The Mother’s most interesting statement comes when she says:

You well know that pattern of our affairs, Jessica. The race knows its own mortality and fears stagnation of its heredity. It’s in the bloodstream – the urge to mingle genetic strains without plan. The Imperium, the CHOAM Company, all the Great Houses, they are but bits of flotsam in the path of the flood.

So, perhaps more important than genetic selection, here, is actually the concept of humankind taking the reins of nature and imposing its own understanding of order upon the happenings of life. Paul Atreides, the son Jessica was not supposed to have, nevertheless seems to be a young man of great potential, and may in fact be the Kwisatz Haderach, a term that the novel has not openly defined yet but that seems to be somewhat synonymous with “God” or “savior.” I have no doubt that, by the novel's end, nature (symbolized by Paul) will triumph over man (symbolized, it at this point seems, by the Imperial Household), but what’s exciting to me is the prospect of seeing how that happens, what the process is like, and what the practical consequences of the triumph are.

Invincible – issue #8

I almost opted not to discuss Invincible this week because this issue didn’t seem to have much to talk about. It is the follow-up to (Major Spoilers for pretty much this whole discussion) Omni-Man’s murdering the Guardians of the Galaxy. This issue seems to be setting things up for future payoff more than it is trying to be good on its own. It’s not bad, but it jumps around (eleven times) to a lot of different places (some of which only last for one page) to establish a lot of different things and, thus, does not present much of a story on its own.

However, I’ve come to the opinion (at least for now) that this is not a flaw in the writing of the issue. Yes, Kirkman is just setting the stage for future events, but he’s almost presenting an increasingly complex world to the reader, just as the world is becoming (and is soon to become even more so) complex to Mark/Invincible. This is a world in which things are not clear and visibly linear. Instead, many things happen to impact people in different ways, and the dynamics intertwine to create unforeseeable outcomes. It ties back in to the theme of Mark's maturing and reaching adolescence.

In fact, I think Kirkman is having a little fun with this choppiness. There is a one-page fight between Invincible and a villain in an elephant costume, and it occurs entirely with no context. We just turn the page and suddenly Invincible’s laying on the beat. Then it’s over. The event really does not belong in the issue, but it is comedic for its randomness (and its elephant suit), and it provides us the quick chance to see Invincible in action, as he doesn’t get the chance to fight in any of the issue's plotlines (nor did he fight at all in the previous issue). It’s also an acknowledgment of the temporarily jumpy pacing, like Kirkman saying, “I know, this one’s kind of all over the place. HERE’S MORE!”

I also love this issue’s fake-out gag involving the unnamed detective character. At first we see him talking with Omni-Man (for, yep, one page), but we see him only from behind. He’s wearing a trench coat, a fedora, and what seems to be an off-white mask, and his first line is “Hurm.” With the previous issue’s introduction of characters modeled loosely after DC Comics characters, it is clear this character is modeled after the inkblot-masked detective, Rorschach, from Watchmen (I was about to say this character was modeled after The Question, which is the character after whom Rorscach was modeled, but as far as I know, The Question is not known to say "Hurm"). We forget about him after a while as the issue moves on to other things, and then later: BAM. We see the character from the front, and his ape-like, red face is as different from Rorschach’s as any conceivable face could be. Fine move, Mr. Kirkman. You got a laugh out of me.

That’s all for this round of “Casual Consumption.” Sorry again for the brevity. I’ll certainly have more to discuss next week. More Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars: Dark Times are in the plans for the sure. Heck, with all the recent (and good) details circulating about next year’s Captain America movie, maybe I’ll even turn to a few old Cap issues I’ve got lying around.

Until then.