Better Living Through Graphic Storytelling
A Comics Blog About Shit We Like
12 March 2007
Tom Breevort on the Death of Captain America
And this points out how powerful and beloved these characters have become as cultural icons, the main ones at least. And no matter what else you think, Cap’s death has mobilized an entire strata of the public to take a second look at our field, much as the DARK TOWER comic book did, much as Spider-Man’s unmasking did. It’s been a good year for raising awareness of our medium and the different kinds of stories you can tell in comic book form. It’s certainly driven a lot more people into comic shops and bookstores looking for the stuff, and that gives us all an excellent opportunity to hook at least some of them, and turn them into regular readers of one variety or another.Seriously?
Seriously?
"It’s been a good year for raising awareness of our medium and the different kinds of stories you can tell in comic book form," because Alison Blechdel and Chris Ware have already tried that with such tawdry publications as Time Magazine (2006's Book of the Year) and The New York Times (regular cartooning gig for Sunday's magazine). No, Marvel Entertainment (in conjunction with Stephen King) did that with the page one of the friggin' Daily News.
Seriously.
Seriously.
You know, in my attempt to be ever-positive about the comics medium I was trying to not touch this Captain America story. I mean, we all know he's going to come back (I'm actually hoping against it), and it's going to turn into a show-down of ideals when Steve Rogers has to face off against either Frank Castle (the usurper) or the recently RESSURECTED Bucky Barnes (the inheritor), because what Captain America stands of is supposed to be timeless, not topical.
That is why Captain America has never truly fit into the Marvel Universe to the degree that a hero like Spiderman or even Wolverine does. Because Marvel, from day one, has been all about being "topical" as opposed to simply iconic. And that's fine. That's what they do. They remain topical (with scenes of Doctor Doom crying - who, by the way, likes to start zombie wars even more than Robert Kirkman does). Sure, Spiderman is iconic at this point, but his icon status has only arisen out of his topical character.
But Captain America is not topical. He's iconic. He's a walking flag! Since Stan Lee first brought him BACK FROM THE DEAD in the Avengers, Marvel has never ceased to continue trying to diminish the icon status of Captain America, in an effort to make him more topical. At its best it made the character even more iconic, and at its worst just seems cheap (to be fair, the storyline leading up to that "worst" link should also be included in the "best" pile).
So it irks me when people like CNN try to make this "event" into something that its no: an event! It's a comic book character splayed out on the page! Have we not scene that before? It's a marketing ploy! Sure, in the hands of a capable and writer, it could generate a really really good story, and I'm sure Brubaker will definitely deliver. But don't try to say that this is symbolism or that this is somehow bigger than the four colored world it inhabits.
Fiction is one of the most powerful tools in any artists' arsenal. Stunts like this are almost an abuse of power.
So, if you really care about the medium of comics, if you really care about the art form of comics and the integrity of fiction, please, please, please, don't listen to Tom Breevort or Joe Quesada about how important this "event" is. Their job is to get you to buy comics, and they're great at it.
Just know that they are not enriching your lives with this junk.
Just know that they are not making you a better person in any way.
They are teaching you nothing.
They are giving you nothing.
Their main concern is drive a lot more people into comic shops and bookstores so they can sell more of their maudlin spandex-fixated soap opera tales.
NOTE: I AM A FAN OF SUPERHERO COMICS. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH READING SUPER HERO COMICS, AS LONG AS YOU ARE AWARE OF WHAT THEY TRULY ARE, AND DON'T PRETEND THAT THEY ARE SOMETHING MORE, LIKE MR. BREEVORT HAS INSISTED ON DOING.
P.S. I'm a bit pissed off...
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Labels: bullshit, captain america, comics, marvel, shister porn, tom breevort
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