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Title: How to Read Superhero Comics and Why by Geoff Klock ISBN: 0-8264-1419-2 Publisher: Continuum Pub Group Pub. Date: October, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 (10 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Superheroes fighting their own past
Comment: This is a terrific book, but the title is somewhat misleading. It's not a general overview of superhero comics or how to read them. Instead, it's a specific (and fascinating) look at how recent comics writers have dealt with the issue of continuity in the face of decades of tangled comics history. Klock analyzes this using Harold Bloom's tools for discussing how poets interact with the history of poetry -- and the result is pretty mindblowing. He offers insights that I guarantee will have you going back to your comics and finding stuff you never knew was there. My favorite moments were his analyses of Joker's dialogue in "The Killing Joke," and of fascist politics in "Tom Strong." Other comics analyzed include "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns," "Watchmen," "Marvels," "Astro City," Alan Moore's whole ABC line, Grant Morrison's "JLA," "The Authority" and "Planetary." There are no illustrations, and Klock uses some dense academic language, but he defines his more obscure terms and the book is clear and well-written. A serious look at a strange phenomenon: how superhero narratives became self-conscious of their past and started to behave a lot like literature.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good, but too one-sided
Comment: This book is an interesting study of superhero comic books, particularly the examination of the Dark Knight Returns, but it is one-sided, as Klock solidifies his argument (applying Bloom's anxiety of influence to superheroes) through a consideration of Crisis on Infinite Earths, an event that took place in the DC Universe.
This causes a problem because Klock overlooks Marvel almost entirely, which is truly ironic in terms of his intentions: he states over and over his dissatisfaction with the "archetype" idea about superheroes, and yet, DC's characters lend themselves to the "arcehtype" idea incredibly well, whereas Marvel has its own conditions under which to consider Klock's theories.
I for one, feel his dismissal of the archetype argument to be ill-founded and not entirely well-thought out, not to mention poorly supported in the text itself. Perhaps his youth contributes, but I think that Klock makes a fundamental mistake in his analysis of superheroes: he is in love with Bloom's theories, to the exclusion of many others. He complains about Joseph Campbell and Jung, but like Campbell himself, gets so caught up in the poetry of his own ideas that he becomes his own demiurge, trapping himself when he could consider the stories from multiple angles, thereby creating a truly revolutionary piece of criticism.
Definitely enjoyable, not exactly the most challenging read, or the most insightful, but worth a read-through. Interestingly, Grant Morrison's seminal Flex Mentallo, relegated to the "further reading" section already surpasses any theories Klock may posit, and the work does so by isolating itself from any one school of thought. Also dissapointing is his rash and entirely too flat reading of Alan Moore's Promethea, perhaps that writers best and most experimental work.
Finally, however, is Klock's demonstration of his ignorance of the language of comic books. He considers the writer, or at least the words to be running the show. He hardly examines the nature of the language, the interplay between word and picture. While a good read, this book also makes one aware of the immense lack of comics criticism. In the back of my mind however, it seems that the comic form is more suited to comment on itself than is the medium of prose.
Rating: 4
Summary: Fresh insight, but poor taste: way too much Moore
Comment: 4 stars, not 3 stars -- because Klock's use of Bloom's anxiety of influence is a great, novel way of reading comic books. I enjoyed reading (in about 2 days) although there were places where I don't think Klock really made his point well (and I consider myself somewhat informed by Bloom's criticism).
My recommendation is: if you are interested in an intellectual view of comics (90s, and 00s comics) then this book is for you. Moreover, if you like Alan Moore's comics and you want to read an interesting take on them, this is definitely the book for you.
The problem is: I don't like Moore as much as Klock does. I admit that his perspective on Killing Joke, ABC Comics, Miracleman, etc., -- this stuff is good -- but I don't think Moore is nearly as influential as Klock thinks. Yes, Watchmen is an important comic. Yes, it did change the industry back in the 90s. But to take Bloom's theory and say that Moore is the Shakespeare of the comics field, well, that's saying a bit too much. Moore's not all that.
One amazon reviewer above hit the nail on the head: Klock totally avoids dealing with Marvel comics (except to remind everyone how the Fantastic Four are getting grilled by Ellis in _Planetary_). For someone like me who favors Marvel comics over DC (while admitting that DC has been the arena of many original comics in the past decades), this book gets a bit tedious.
Other problems with the book (which the author acknowledges) is his way of focalizing the _writer_ over the artist. I feel that this project was only half-realized. It seems to me that if you going to talk about the future of comics, you have to take into account the blossoming of writer/artists -- and maybe that's why he avoids Marvel and deals more with the DC writer + artist teams. Only at various times does he talk about the layout of the comic page, but overall, the stylistics of the comic book get overlooked by the author which is a shame. It is difficult to talk about sequential art (Scott McCloud gets a lot of credit for boiling it down like he has) -- but this should be the main aim of anyone discussing comics. Yes, Alan Moore is incredible, but so are his artists Bissette, Sprouse, Gibbons, etc.
Bringing up Jack Kirby only to say that he was co-opted by Wildstorm as a character in one of their books isn't going to cut it. If you want to trace influence in comics, it comes from there (or maybe Siegel and Shuster, or Kane, etc.). Klock stresses the importance of the "writer" over characters, but he treats the Fantastic Four as characters with whom the third age (Moore, etc.) struggle to overcome -- why isn't it Lee and Kirby that they're struggliing to overcome? Inconsistencies like this don't help the book -- I also wish the author was more consistent applying Bloom's theory and terminology throughout the chapters (some may appreciate this) -- and at other times he's far too abstruse (where was his editor?).
Overall, this is a good book. Not great. Certainly controversial. I mean, come on: WildC.A.T.S/Aliens crossover is a starting point for the new age of comics? Gimme a break!
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Title: Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America by Bradford W. Wright ISBN: 0801874505 Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology by Richard Reynolds ISBN: 0878056947 Publisher: Univ Pr of Mississippi Pub. Date: 01 March, 1994 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Aesthetics of Comics by David Carrier ISBN: 0271021888 Publisher: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: December, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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