Having not read many superhero comics I see the fascination with the stories, characters and concepts. There is so much room for story and plot development that the whole superhero franchise seams infinite. Even now a days we see the rise in superhero fans as the characters keep up with the times and advance their look and equipment.
I was able to read a few comics of Authority. What is great about these stories is the consistency in structure. We are initially introduced to the villains and destruction that is life threatening to the world. Then we jump between heroes to understand the character development and brief personality/backstory. Soon the heroes group up to dive into battle and, within a short time, they defeat the foes.
Now, these stories are great for there interchangeable plots. What would make them better is something unexpected in each story. Something that changes the order of sequence from what fans may expect. Also each comic begins with the world already being destroyed at a world scale rather then at a city level. It makes we question why it takes the heroes until the last minute to fight back and protect. Then when they do, it goes by so quickly that it seems easy. If that were the case than why not get it over with sooner to prevent the civilian casualties?
Another interesting point to notice is the adaptation over time. Heroes nowadays are spoiled with their top gear and heavy technology. To read these 1999 comics almost seems as if it were the start of their careers and as they became stronger and moe recognized they moved up. Batman, for example, wears a black leather trench coat and a leather mask without the ears. My take take on this is that perhaps his character has decided to upgrade or hasn’t been recognized enough to become the wealthy top geared hero we know today. He seemed more like a street fighter that must really knows some moves.
This week I have also read some of Hellboy. These stories are noticeably less proper and mannered like the commercial heroes. Hellboy is a grungy comic with attitude. His problems only become worse throughout the stories. He fights villains but each new one becomes larger until one is even larger that a Godzilla. We never see this in traditional superhero comics, such absurdity of character development and plot. It’s definitely intriguing and interests me more. I would love to see how these characters and giant titan like creatures would look in a movie. We only see the other modern superheroes from how commercial they have become. To some degree it takes away from the story for me. To see the heroes sell out, but of course it’s directors fault because they can choose whomever to be a hero, as they change so often over time. I find it interesting to see how excepting we are to allow new actors and designs of heroes to change over time without caring for the idea of time and reality. Of course they can’t live forever but we there are simply endless possibilities when it comes to making a new story and then choosing one of hundreds to turn into a movie.
The superhero industry is probably the most dominant in the comic business. What I appreciate most is the ability to take characters and plots and add new design. It really creates the mood of each piece and allows for different interpretation. Arkham Asylum another story of Batman but with a different design. It’s a comic with grunge textures and lighting. An interesting take on a commercial hero but it gives some interesting moods. We see that the possibilities are endless. Superhero comics will forever have a prominent role in the life of comics and their evolution.
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