tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post113621543626470141..comments2024-03-20T03:12:56.498-05:00Comments on Lou Anders: A Word of Warning for Brandon RouthLou Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694362734492222851noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1136544395885354642006-01-06T04:46:00.000-06:002006-01-06T04:46:00.000-06:00I can imagine that at some point, Batman will simp...I can imagine that at some point, Batman will simply have to shed his obsolete "secret" identity and be all-Batman, all the time. <BR/><BR/>How can you be a vigilante if everybody knows who you are? If you were BORN anonymous, it might work ("Bruce Wayne, raised by gypsies, saw his parents get killed by a mugger")... or <I>if you chose to live outside society in a remote cave</I>... sounds like some bearded guy I read about in the news... ;-)<BR/><BR/>In the graphic novel THE FILTH (written by Gracious Grant Morrison), a nerdy rich guy makes an almost-successful attempt to transform himself into a real-life superhero. His heroic failure is both tragic and comical... but maybe he just didn't use enough bio-engineering.<BR/><BR/>Actually, Morrison's suggestion isn't impossible. It also has satirical possibilities. In Howard Chaykin's 1990s graphic novel POWER & GLORY, the U.S. Government creates a super-powered hero, A-Pex, solely for the purpose of propaganda. (That A-Pex isn't the least bit heroic is irrelevant -- image is everything. His spin doctor does all the hard work.)<BR/><BR/>I wrote a <A HREF="http://yngve.bravehost.com/aboutargusproject.html" REL="nofollow">pulpy SF novel</A> five years ago, where the military creates a "superhero" soldier -- partly as a propaganda machine, partly to win an interplanetary war. (It doesn't work out as planned.)<BR/><BR/>I think the biggest problem of creating a "superhero" isn't technical, but legal. If he or she has an identity, he can be held responsible for his failures -- and failures are going to happen. ("Ooops! I punched the giant robot and it fell on an orphanage!") The thing about comic-book heroes is that they can escape any legal trouble.A.R.Yngvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03972668378286177600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1136499108424425072006-01-05T16:11:00.000-06:002006-01-05T16:11:00.000-06:00Well,Superheroes were spawned in the 30s, and the ...Well,<BR/>Superheroes were spawned in the 30s, and the most famous one of all was a very deliberate answer to the Nazi ideal of "the superman." <BR/><BR/>For a long time, I've thought that my own favorite - the Batman - was becoming increasingly dated even while his arch nemesis - the Joker - became increasingly timely. The idea that someone like Batman could remain hidden and function in a surveilance society such as we are becoming is unlikely, and I'd love to see his brand of superheroism addressed in this light. <BR/><BR/>Finally, Grant Morrison maintains that comic book heroes have been jumping mediums, from pulp into comics, then comics to films and videogames, and he predicts that, in the 21st century, when bioengineering makes it possible, they will jump one more time - into the real world! <BR/><BR/>Sometimes I think this is a very silly thought, if a nice metaphor. Other times I'm not so sure.Lou Andershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00694362734492222851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1136493204290029992006-01-05T14:33:00.000-06:002006-01-05T14:33:00.000-06:00Here's a thought: are superheroes becoming less or...Here's a thought: are superheroes becoming less or more relevant in this century?<BR/><BR/>(Consider: Almost ALL well-known superhero characters were created during three time periods: the 1930s, the 1940s and the 1960s.)<BR/><BR/>What do superheroes "mean" to young people today? I'm asking because I don't know the answer.A.R.Yngvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03972668378286177600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1136491777436709812006-01-05T14:09:00.000-06:002006-01-05T14:09:00.000-06:00That's...bizarre. Just bizarre.That's...bizarre. Just bizarre.Tim Akershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01749644135364065658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1136348855494473982006-01-03T22:27:00.000-06:002006-01-03T22:27:00.000-06:00Thanks! A thread that didn't quite fit and thus wa...Thanks! A thread that didn't quite fit and thus was left unwoven: If one takes the S (for Superman) out of CURSE you get CURE, the focus of Christopher Reeve's later work.Lou Andershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00694362734492222851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1136231671100204882006-01-02T13:54:00.000-06:002006-01-02T13:54:00.000-06:00See? Frederick Wertham was right. Comic-books ARE ...See? Frederick Wertham was right. Comic-books ARE dangerous for your mental well-being...<BR/>;-)<BR/><BR/>Jokes aside... doesn't Brandon Routh look a bit too young (dare I say "immature") for the role as Defender of the Earth?A.R.Yngvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03972668378286177600noreply@blogger.com