Superheroes Reconsidered

This week was probably one of my favorite weeks reading wise. Mostly because I love how far comic books have come. When someone would say "superhero" you would think of Batman or Superman, DC or Marvel, Justice League or Avengers. But now, I feel that the scope of superhero is much wider than it once was.

Because of the widened scope on what makes a superhero, or even what makes a comic book hero, I feel that comics have flourished into a storytelling format that truly combines art with literature. For me, characters are what make a story. If you don't have thought out characters that reach out to your readers/viewers/indulgers, then why should someone bother engaging?

I believe Brian K Vaughan is a master of characters. He writes such diverse casts with interesting personalities, physical features, and struggles that none of his work feels the same. Like you can't pick up Saga and Ex Machina and think they're within the same universe or connected somehow. I like how different all of his characters read and feel, and when considering the superhero, that's very important.

Superheroes need to have something unique about them that makes them different from all the other superheroes in the world, but still a hero that's super. I've always been a big DC fan since I was a kid, but a lot of their heroes read the same. Tall, brooding, and mysterious with a dark past. Whereas I felt Marvel was never afraid to be more lighthearted while still being serious. Now, Marvel is in some deep shit with their characters for other reasons that aren't so super, but that's due to who runs Marvel now.

I bounced around a few comics, but I mostly read Fables because I'm a big fan of the video game that's based on the series. It definitely was an interesting take on fairy tales, and it's a shame a certain television show ripped off the idea almost exactly, but for its time it was unique. I liked reading fairy tale characters who were not so Disney-like. Whimsy is fun, but in the case of Fables it would make the tone wonky when it's trying to be realistic-ish.

The character of Bigby is so interesting because we're thrown en media res to this situation where the big bad wolf isn't all that bad, but we're craving to know why. And also the character of Snow White is great because, since Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is such an old Disney film with no modern sequels or renditions, we don't know much of her personality. So it's cool seeing a Snow White that isn't pure and innocent, but a curious and powerful character.