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Superheroes in Novels?
Jun. 30th, 2007 10:33 amWe went yesterday to see Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and very much enjoyed it. It was better than the first (which, for those who saw the first, know that it was mediocre if enjoyable--this might actually also be good and enjoyable, but good is, of course, subjective), and possibly the most fun movie, outside of DOA, that I've seen in theaters this summer.
That movie, plus a couple of new arrivals at the library (Spidergirl) and having just read Watchmen, has gotten me thinking again about the superhero genre and the number of interesting things that can be done with it. Heroes is proving that the genre can be used on television to great effect. A book I'm reading for School Library Journal (which I'd been planning to give a scathing review until I realized I'd learned something from it) points out something obvious that I hadn't put my finger on before: it's not the genre that makes the stories popular. Superheroes in comics are a dime a dozen, but the ones that remain popular have really interesting "abouts." (My first reader, Arielle Kesweder, is always trying to get me to figure out the "about" behind my story--"What is it about?"--to the extent that I've made it a noun.) Spiderman is clearly about power and responsibility, and (at its best) about how that moral code creates tension between Peter and those around him. Superman is about the nature of being human--or not actually being a human but trying to be one. Batman is about the tenuous line between genius and insanity. The X-Men series are nearly about identity politics, and trying to find a way to belong in a world that marks you out as different. Even The Incredibles has a clear theme: what do you do when the world has declared who you are to be unacceptable--and how do you build your life around that enforced lie? (The answer seems to be that you stop lying and embrace who you are; it's really more a movie about a mid-life crisis than a movie for kids, which is why I loved it.) Heroes is probably somewhere between Spiderman and X-Men: what does it mean to have power in a world that seems to need saving?
If it's all about the "abouts"--then why don't we see very many official superheroes in novels? I've seen one novel about a futuristic police force that arrests "costumes," but other than Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Fortress of Solitude (both of which are much more about comics than about heroes), there seem to be very few novels that even mention the word. (That could be because it's got a joint copyright held by Marvel and DC--but you'd think there's be a way around that.)
My meandering way of wondering about things boils down to this: does the genre determine what formats are good for it? Or can any genre work in any medium?
(Also, if you know of superhero novels--outside of movie novelizations or tie-ins to Marvel and DC comics series--that you'd recommend, do pass them on!)
That movie, plus a couple of new arrivals at the library (Spidergirl) and having just read Watchmen, has gotten me thinking again about the superhero genre and the number of interesting things that can be done with it. Heroes is proving that the genre can be used on television to great effect. A book I'm reading for School Library Journal (which I'd been planning to give a scathing review until I realized I'd learned something from it) points out something obvious that I hadn't put my finger on before: it's not the genre that makes the stories popular. Superheroes in comics are a dime a dozen, but the ones that remain popular have really interesting "abouts." (My first reader, Arielle Kesweder, is always trying to get me to figure out the "about" behind my story--"What is it about?"--to the extent that I've made it a noun.) Spiderman is clearly about power and responsibility, and (at its best) about how that moral code creates tension between Peter and those around him. Superman is about the nature of being human--or not actually being a human but trying to be one. Batman is about the tenuous line between genius and insanity. The X-Men series are nearly about identity politics, and trying to find a way to belong in a world that marks you out as different. Even The Incredibles has a clear theme: what do you do when the world has declared who you are to be unacceptable--and how do you build your life around that enforced lie? (The answer seems to be that you stop lying and embrace who you are; it's really more a movie about a mid-life crisis than a movie for kids, which is why I loved it.) Heroes is probably somewhere between Spiderman and X-Men: what does it mean to have power in a world that seems to need saving?
If it's all about the "abouts"--then why don't we see very many official superheroes in novels? I've seen one novel about a futuristic police force that arrests "costumes," but other than Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Fortress of Solitude (both of which are much more about comics than about heroes), there seem to be very few novels that even mention the word. (That could be because it's got a joint copyright held by Marvel and DC--but you'd think there's be a way around that.)
My meandering way of wondering about things boils down to this: does the genre determine what formats are good for it? Or can any genre work in any medium?
(Also, if you know of superhero novels--outside of movie novelizations or tie-ins to Marvel and DC comics series--that you'd recommend, do pass them on!)
