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Recent discussions on comics canon and on scans_daily over Civil War have started me thinking about the ways in which people read comics. Or, more precisely, the way I read comics.
In the comments to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
inlovewithnight’s post on comics canon, one respondent compared the complex, ongoing canon in titles like X-Men to soap operas. This really rang a bell for me, because Marvel comics (and the occasional sufficiently melodramatic/action-y primetime drama, like Lost) are my soap operas. Complete with long-lost siblings, evil twins, comas, drama-filled on-again-off-again relationships, psychological illness, near-death experiences, and Deep Dark Secrets. And also superpowers and ninjas and giant alien robots.
Days of Our Lives is sadly lacking in superpowers and violence, so instead of watching that, I pick up the latest issue of X-Men and scan through it in the book store every month. I tend to follow X-Men as it comes out, the same way people follow a soap opera. (Will Rogue and Gambit’s relationship last? Who will be brainwashed into turning evil next?).
With other titles, I read largely via trades and (now) downloads, for the same reasons I prefer to watch tv shows on DVD—instead of tiny instalments of canon spaced out over a long period of time, I get a whole lump of reading material at once. But I still read it with that part of my psyche that’s forever a 15-year-old girl, a mindset that falls somewhere between “Oh, the beautiful tragicalness of their doomed love!” and “Yay, giant robot go boom!”
I don’t expect Marvel to have a consistent thematic philosophy running throughout their Civil War stuff, because, let’s face it, the reason fans can’t figure out what the message is supposed to be is because Marvel isn’t really sure what the message is supposed to be. Beyond: Look! Melodrama! Violence! Angst! Prejudice is dangerous and oppression is wrong! Also, ninjas!
And that’s enough of a message for me. I’m here for the doomed love, the emotional trauma, the h/c, and the hand-to-hand-combat. Any political commentary or deeper meaning is a bonus.
Also, it would be nice if Gambit came back to the X-Mansion soon and Iron Man and Captain America kissed on panel. Oooh! And I want to see Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock’s reunion in the next Daredevil issue. If there’s no crying and hugging and emotional breakdowns, I will be very disappointed.And if Steve dies at the end of Civil War I will scream and cry and throw the comic across the room
In the comments to
inlovewithnight’s post on comics canon, one respondent compared the complex, ongoing canon in titles like X-Men to soap operas. This really rang a bell for me, because Marvel comics (and the occasional sufficiently melodramatic/action-y primetime drama, like Lost) are my soap operas. Complete with long-lost siblings, evil twins, comas, drama-filled on-again-off-again relationships, psychological illness, near-death experiences, and Deep Dark Secrets. And also superpowers and ninjas and giant alien robots. Days of Our Lives is sadly lacking in superpowers and violence, so instead of watching that, I pick up the latest issue of X-Men and scan through it in the book store every month. I tend to follow X-Men as it comes out, the same way people follow a soap opera. (Will Rogue and Gambit’s relationship last? Who will be brainwashed into turning evil next?).
With other titles, I read largely via trades and (now) downloads, for the same reasons I prefer to watch tv shows on DVD—instead of tiny instalments of canon spaced out over a long period of time, I get a whole lump of reading material at once. But I still read it with that part of my psyche that’s forever a 15-year-old girl, a mindset that falls somewhere between “Oh, the beautiful tragicalness of their doomed love!” and “Yay, giant robot go boom!”
I don’t expect Marvel to have a consistent thematic philosophy running throughout their Civil War stuff, because, let’s face it, the reason fans can’t figure out what the message is supposed to be is because Marvel isn’t really sure what the message is supposed to be. Beyond: Look! Melodrama! Violence! Angst! Prejudice is dangerous and oppression is wrong! Also, ninjas!
And that’s enough of a message for me. I’m here for the doomed love, the emotional trauma, the h/c, and the hand-to-hand-combat. Any political commentary or deeper meaning is a bonus.
Also, it would be nice if Gambit came back to the X-Mansion soon and Iron Man and Captain America kissed on panel. Oooh! And I want to see Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock’s reunion in the next Daredevil issue. If there’s no crying and hugging and emotional breakdowns, I will be very disappointed.
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Actually your "giant robot go boom" reminded me ever so much of the girl in Nextwave...
From: (Anonymous)
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With Civil War... I'm not sure how they plan to resolve the whole "half the superhero community hates the other half" thing (You have a plan, right, Marvel? Tell me you're not emmulating DC here), but right now I'm still in the "Yay, they're fighting each other! Even though it's the last thing they ever wanted to do and they used to be friends/still are friends! Spider-Man is all sad and conflicted! It's like opera!" phase, where I'll gleefully keep reading as long as there's a sufficient level of melodrama and angst.
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From: (Anonymous)
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Sometimes I'm behind the badassery, but there are places where he needs to tone it down and/or stick in some fluffy stuff for contrast.
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My computer is having issues and the internet connection in my appartment is not working, so I'm in the school computer lab.
And in other computer/internet-related weirdness, the Red Zone scans showed up in my inbox today, bizarre ages after you sent them.
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