tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post7419873825722480036..comments2024-03-09T05:53:59.542-05:00Comments on Oz and Ends: Looking for the Great American Superhero NovelUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-84889416038781310672007-10-07T21:54:00.000-05:002007-10-07T21:54:00.000-05:00Talk of standard archetypes reminds me of the fan ...Talk of standard archetypes reminds me of the fan theory that the Fantastic Four represent the four Greek elements of earth, air, fire, and water.<BR/><BR/>Not a theory that holds water, of course, since Stan Lee would never have let such high-falutin' inspiration remain secret.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-47890489431729743822007-10-07T21:39:00.000-05:002007-10-07T21:39:00.000-05:00The superhero genre has its own set of archtypes i...The superhero genre has its own set of archtypes including bricks, speedsters, blasters, masterminds, and martial artists. Well-conceived superhero teams contain a balance of archtypes, so it's no wonder they'd have a similar or derivative feel to each other.<BR/><BR/>The sequel to HOW TO BECOME A SUPERHERO was going to be HOW TO BUILD A SUPERHERO TEAM, so I had a lot of these things plotted out.Greg R. Fishbonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09487395666993131341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-14229167694395217722007-10-07T19:55:00.000-05:002007-10-07T19:55:00.000-05:00Thanks for the interesting thoughts about the read...Thanks for the interesting thoughts about the reading public's distinction between superhero comics and superhero fiction—which has largely been parodic.<BR/><BR/>Superhero comics are usually melodramas, with outsized situations and emotions to go with the outsized musculature. Perhaps we can accept that when we're seeing both words and pictures, and in relatively short form, but not when we're faced with pages of prose. <BR/><BR/>I think Captain Underpants is the only parodic, book-based superhero who's achieved the mass-market success of the comics originals, and thus can move out of their shadows. Yet he's clearly a parody inspired by those comics, assisted by the awesome power of the word "underpants."J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-59117628360364457462007-10-07T19:47:00.000-05:002007-10-07T19:47:00.000-05:00A couple more thoughts about the Incredibles situa...A couple more thoughts about the <I>Incredibles</I> situation. <BR/><BR/>First, some folks at Marvel have volubly noted the similarity between the four main characters in that movie and the Fantastic Four: a strong person, a stretchy person, a person who can turn invisible and create invisible force fields, and that last person's smart-talking brother. True, the brother has superspeed instead of spouting flame--but there's also a baby brother who does spout flame. <I>The Incredibles</I> itself has been accused of being derivative. (Someday I'll say more about derivativeness in this genre.)<BR/><BR/>More important, however, the delay in publishing <I>The Hero Revealed</I> seems to have been not a feeling that it seemed directly derivative of <I>The Incredibles</I>, but rather that any depiction of a superhero-laced society would seem too similar. Yet the two narratives have quite different themes. <BR/><BR/>In the movie, society has come to fear and resent superpowered people. In the book, the society admires the heroes among those people with the same fervor our society admires popular athletes, actors, or musicians. <BR/><BR/>In the movie, the family as a whole functions as the protagonist. In the book, the parents are basically out of the picture, and it's up to Ordinary Boy and his pals to save the day.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-50199891014999762682007-10-06T15:36:00.000-05:002007-10-06T15:36:00.000-05:00A couple of things. First, according to informati...A couple of things. First, according to information I remember reading back when <I>The Incredibles</I> first came out, the story originated at a meeting just after the Pixar folks completed <I>Toy Story</I>, which means that it was bandied about a full decade before Boniface/Anderson even conceived of his family-of-superheroes book.<BR/><BR/>Knowing that Boniface/Anderson was once the graphic novels buyer for B&N is telling. Until they gave in to manga (and eventually the independents, once they could no longer deny the facts) the B&N graphic novels sections were almost exclusively Marvel and DC.<BR/><BR/>As a result, I'm not surprised to see the Marvel/DC universe so completely absorbed into the Ordinary Boy adventures, sexism and all. In fact, having read <I>The Hero Revealed</I> what is startling about it is how thoroughly unoriginal its elements are. At its best, it's fan fiction, and not very good fan fiction at that.<BR/><BR/>I remember thinking at the time, and being reminded of it now, that I couldn't imagine who would want to reads this book. At the bookstore I currently work at I have yet to have anyone, adult or child, ask for superhero fiction. If they want Captain Underpants or Melvin Beederman or even Shrederman the superhero aspects are almost a backseat to the humor. <BR/><BR/>Generally with the superhero crowd, if they want Spiderman they don't ask for Aquaman, and they aren't usually convinced that one is as good as another. You can't make a case for middle grade superhero fiction with an audience that is skeptical of what they cannot <I>see</I>. Without pictures, you only get a few paragraphs to make your case, not the endless pages Boniface/Anderson wastes getting to his point.<BR/><BR/>That, of course, is just my opinion.david elzeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16653215150526146224noreply@blogger.com