Subscription: Absolutely free!

To Be Read

July 2, 2007

A Hero Down

Marvel just killed off Captain America. Those bastards! Burn ‘em! Throw away the key! Or applaud them. That’s what I do. Comics need to be shaken up.

I was an avid comic book collector ten or so years ago. Maybe earlier than that. We all love a good super hero story. Good versus evil. Good guy (or gal) against bad. Righteous against the corrupt. We thrive on this kind of stuff.

Yet it seems to me the very best superheros came out of a small chunk of time in the mid-twentieth century. I don’t have specific numbers, and I’m too lazy to research accuracy, but I know roughly from the 30’s through the early 60’s we birthed some of the best and most innovative characters in comic history.

While I’m sure this fact will be argued, it seems to me we try quite harder to keep the old characters thriving than creating new ones. Captain America begin in ‘41. That’s a very long time ago. So long ago that much about the character I had trouble identifying with. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about the red, white, and blue. I always appreciated the patriotism found in Captain America pages. However, he always felt dated.

He was created in a specific time of war, against specific evils. By today’s standards, you can’t help thinking he’s from a by-gone era. DC Comics revived the Batman character with Frank Miller’s superb re-imagining. It took a genius stroke of the pen to breath new life into an old character. But this happens on a rare ocassion.

I think Marvel’s brave to shake up their universe, even slightly. Let’s move the cards around a bit. Killing off a character might abruptly end a saga, and a comic run, but it also opens up new doors. New doors for new characters.

I remember vividly my greatest comic book read ever. Second would be Frank Miller’s Dark Knight. The first, however, was McFarlane’s Spawn, issue 1. Talk about reinventing what a superhero is. A hellspawn from Satan, cursed to be on Earth. Okay, that’s a loose version of Spawn’s back story, but close enough to give you an idea of what a contrast hero he is. I was hooked. Before I started college and simply lost enough free time to pursue comic collecting, I read nothing but Spawn.

That’s the power of a new, totally different character.

Now is the best time for artistic expression. Let’s not forget comics aren’t just a form of mindless action and big-muscled heros. Captain America was created to contrast very real events happening in our world. It was an answer to a problem. Unfortunately, our world is just as dangerous, with new problems without easy solutions. I think we’re at a moment in history where the cards look different. This isn’t a Cold War. This isn’t a World War. But it’s a war nonetheless.

Back when our fear revolved around the atomic bomb, it’s interesting to note how many heroes’ back stories centered around effects of radiation. Comics are a reflection of our times.

I think the comic world needs to head to the big desk of ideas, and find heroes that understand our world. We need a few new heroes that might have answers. Killing off Captain America is a bold move, but one I think is needed.

Clamoring






    
Body:

Preview

Somebody Might Say: