Our next Monday night comics discussion group will focus on Morrison/Quitely's best-selling All Star Superman Volume 1 hardcover, collecting issues 1-6 of the series. You can get it all month long at Heroes for 10% off of cover price--just mention the Discussion Group discount!This is an exciting series which will spark some interesting debate. Last month, we spent a good deal of time examining literary references. This time around, I'd like to focus more on the structure and limitations (or lack thereof) inherent in the superhero genre. Possible topics for discussion can (but don't necessarily have to be….)
--Is the mini-series a better venue than an on-going series?
--The importance of the cover (for anyone whose read issue 10, the cover of 1 sure seems quite a bit different….)
--How do old antiquated concepts and story lines succeed with a fresh perspective?
--Why are readers drawn to the archetype of superheroes in general and Superman in specific?
And in case anyone wants to get artsy-- (down Dustin, down!) we can:
--Compare the mythology of Superman to Hercules-- namely the 12 labors.
--Examine the relationship between Clark and Lois and Superman
--Do heroes create their own villains?
The topics are virtually endless, I want to start now! If you plan on joining us, let me know what you'd like to discuss via the comments section of this post. Please mark the date: April 28th, 7:00 pm to 9:00pm at the best comic shop in America located at the corner of 7th and Pecan. Note that this date has been changed from the announcement in last week's Heroes Hotline.
See you there!
3 comments:
I really wish these things were held on nights I didn't have to work at my other job. Sigh...
I read a really interesting comment somewhere--or maybe Andy said it?--about how Grant Morrison makes Superman human by putting him in a position where he knows he's dying. I can't remember where (or who?) it was now, but the interesting part was that somehow that let him string together all those little stand-alone stories and completely oddball 50's-style conceits into a coherent story. Because you feel for Superman and identify with his mortality, the story is breathed with a certain humanity that otherwise would be absent, elevating it from plain old genre fiction to, um, interesting genre fiction.
Yes--I did make the suggestion, but now after having read #10, I believe he did it for a two-fold reason. Hint: a direct correlation to Hercules and the 12 labors.
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