The science of imagination
Comic books have gotten an unfair rap. Long considered a nerd milieu, comics are a celebrated art form enjoyed in countries around the world by readers of all ages and backgrounds. However, the way they came about being the subject of uncool association is a simple misunderstanding: roughly 50 years ago, comics made a shift from the supernatural to the superhuman, and everything shifted along with them.
"Comics, as a medium, are a little magical," explained Conor McCreery, who created IDW's Kill Shakespeare with Anthony Del Col in Toronto. "There are lots of things you play with in a comic. A comic is rarely ever completely realistic — in fact, I think most comics that are totally realistic are probably boring and misuse the medium."
McCreery pointed out that even since the shift in comic stories brought on all those years ago, the only thing one needs in order to enjoy comics today is imagination — which is exactly what comics set out to ignite when they first emerged in their present-day format early in the twentieth century.
The Back-Story
Though comics have been printed in their earliest forms since the 1840s, the beginning of the age of comics as we know it is a result of the 1935 debut of National Allied Publications, which was responsible for the creation of the comic book format, and its eventual takeover by the newly formed Detective Comics, Inc. in 1937.
Detective Comics (or DC, as they would come to be known in the following years) was responsible for launching a number of notable series, including their namesake Detective Comics — which introduced the world to Bob Kane and Bill Finger's Batman in 1939 in issue #27 — and the Action Comics series, which introduced Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Superman in its premiere in 1938.
At the same time, Timely Publications — founded in 1939 — was launching a number of series as well, including Captain America Comics, which debuted in 1941 with the Cap himself punching Hitler in the face. Timely would go on to become Atlas Comics in the 1950s, and eventually be known as Marvel Comics in 1961.
This is where the major shift occurred; as comics began to enter what is known as the Silver Age in the late 1950s, the superhero archetype enjoyed a positive boom with the debut of the Flash in DC Comics and the creative revolution out of Marvel Comics in the early 1960s, led by mastermind Stan Lee.
The Prequel
Lee's vision was simple: a new era of superheroes and comic icons based in reality. Not only would heroes and comic stars live and work in real cities across America — a concept that competitor DC rarely forayed into — but they would be real people with real lives, jobs, relationships and all the problems that come with them. It was that vision that launched The Fantastic Four in 1961, and The Amazing Spider-man in 1962.
One aspect of this vision, however, meant embracing reality in the creation of the heroes; each new hero was created with a back-story that embraced the scientific over the supernatural, like unforeseen complications on a mission to outer space or a bite from a radioactive spider. So important was this drive that many of the comics that sprang forth from the new Marvel age were heavily steeped in meticulous science fiction theories and concepts, unintentionally relegating them to the likes of the nerds and geeks alike.
The casting of characters in the new Marvel series as regular people was also revolutionary — Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) and Peter Parker were, themselves, widely considered unpopular and nerdy, a new concept in an industry where the heroes were aliens with superhuman abilities or millionaire playboys with unlimited resources. In fact, Peter Parker was the first teenage character in comics to step beyond the traditional sidekick role into the limelight, mixing his teenage fears and insecurities with the added responsibility of protecting his native New York from evil.
The Present
Though there's an element of familiarity in being able to relate to the characters, one can debate whether it is important to be realistic in comics. Indeed, if writers were expected to be perfectly realistic, not only would they need a team of researchers working for them, verifying every fact and concept, the comic itself could be so technical as to overwhelm the underlying story.
Whether they realize it or not, comic readers are adept at suspending their beliefs in order to enjoy a story. To illustrate the point, McCreery related it in a way that geeks everywhere will understand.
"Even though it's set in space, in a lot of ways Star Wars isn't science fiction," McCreery posited. "It's more like fantasy—adventure, in that it's got this prophecy, it's got this 'Force' story, it's got this young man learning how to use this innate power. And, you know, you've got laser guns and you've got spaceships, but at its heart it obeys the demands of the fantasy—adventure drama."
"Star Trek to me is much more like classic science fiction in that it's about the technologies and how you apply them," he continued. "It's about logic conquering — or, sometimes, logic facing — faith, and how that can't be explained and how that's sometimes a problem for the characters. And you look at Star Trek fans, and they're very exacting as to how that world should work."
Similarly, while comics can have their foot in science fiction, McCreery pointed out that despite the theories and concepts embedded in the work, there is a lack of specificity inherent in the science.
Marvel tried to make things fairly realistic, but still they never said, 'Well, this much radioactive spider venom went into Spider—man, meaning he can only lift this much weight.' They don't play with those rules, they just let you know that there are limits to Spider—man."
"We have fans who view almost Shakespeare's canon through the lens of a Trekkie, in that there is one answer, and one answer only," he explained, relating the theory to Kill Shakespeare writers. "But just as freeing — and a little more often, thankfully for us — are people looking at Shakespeare again, almost as if it was a fantasy adventure, or a spiritual type of story."
To Be Continued?
A lot can be learned from comics and comic creators; not only do they excel at crafting and relating original stories on a frequent basis, excelling at the art of visual storytelling in ways that few others have, they've discovered and routinely demonstrate that the key ingredient to adventure, to wonder and to marvel is only imagination, and lots of it.
Comics have enjoyed a rich history over the past seven decades, and are going as strong as ever. London has a lot to offer comic fans, and in this issue, Interrobang has a guide to the finest comic shops here in town worth perusing — perhaps you'll rekindle a lost love of adventure, intrigue or even introspection.
"Comics, as a medium, are a little magical," explained Conor McCreery, who created IDW's Kill Shakespeare with Anthony Del Col in Toronto. "There are lots of things you play with in a comic. A comic is rarely ever completely realistic — in fact, I think most comics that are totally realistic are probably boring and misuse the medium."
McCreery pointed out that even since the shift in comic stories brought on all those years ago, the only thing one needs in order to enjoy comics today is imagination — which is exactly what comics set out to ignite when they first emerged in their present-day format early in the twentieth century.
The Back-Story
Though comics have been printed in their earliest forms since the 1840s, the beginning of the age of comics as we know it is a result of the 1935 debut of National Allied Publications, which was responsible for the creation of the comic book format, and its eventual takeover by the newly formed Detective Comics, Inc. in 1937.
Detective Comics (or DC, as they would come to be known in the following years) was responsible for launching a number of notable series, including their namesake Detective Comics — which introduced the world to Bob Kane and Bill Finger's Batman in 1939 in issue #27 — and the Action Comics series, which introduced Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Superman in its premiere in 1938.
At the same time, Timely Publications — founded in 1939 — was launching a number of series as well, including Captain America Comics, which debuted in 1941 with the Cap himself punching Hitler in the face. Timely would go on to become Atlas Comics in the 1950s, and eventually be known as Marvel Comics in 1961.
This is where the major shift occurred; as comics began to enter what is known as the Silver Age in the late 1950s, the superhero archetype enjoyed a positive boom with the debut of the Flash in DC Comics and the creative revolution out of Marvel Comics in the early 1960s, led by mastermind Stan Lee.
The Prequel
Lee's vision was simple: a new era of superheroes and comic icons based in reality. Not only would heroes and comic stars live and work in real cities across America — a concept that competitor DC rarely forayed into — but they would be real people with real lives, jobs, relationships and all the problems that come with them. It was that vision that launched The Fantastic Four in 1961, and The Amazing Spider-man in 1962.
One aspect of this vision, however, meant embracing reality in the creation of the heroes; each new hero was created with a back-story that embraced the scientific over the supernatural, like unforeseen complications on a mission to outer space or a bite from a radioactive spider. So important was this drive that many of the comics that sprang forth from the new Marvel age were heavily steeped in meticulous science fiction theories and concepts, unintentionally relegating them to the likes of the nerds and geeks alike.
The casting of characters in the new Marvel series as regular people was also revolutionary — Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) and Peter Parker were, themselves, widely considered unpopular and nerdy, a new concept in an industry where the heroes were aliens with superhuman abilities or millionaire playboys with unlimited resources. In fact, Peter Parker was the first teenage character in comics to step beyond the traditional sidekick role into the limelight, mixing his teenage fears and insecurities with the added responsibility of protecting his native New York from evil.
The Present
Though there's an element of familiarity in being able to relate to the characters, one can debate whether it is important to be realistic in comics. Indeed, if writers were expected to be perfectly realistic, not only would they need a team of researchers working for them, verifying every fact and concept, the comic itself could be so technical as to overwhelm the underlying story.
Whether they realize it or not, comic readers are adept at suspending their beliefs in order to enjoy a story. To illustrate the point, McCreery related it in a way that geeks everywhere will understand.
"Even though it's set in space, in a lot of ways Star Wars isn't science fiction," McCreery posited. "It's more like fantasy—adventure, in that it's got this prophecy, it's got this 'Force' story, it's got this young man learning how to use this innate power. And, you know, you've got laser guns and you've got spaceships, but at its heart it obeys the demands of the fantasy—adventure drama."
"Star Trek to me is much more like classic science fiction in that it's about the technologies and how you apply them," he continued. "It's about logic conquering — or, sometimes, logic facing — faith, and how that can't be explained and how that's sometimes a problem for the characters. And you look at Star Trek fans, and they're very exacting as to how that world should work."
Similarly, while comics can have their foot in science fiction, McCreery pointed out that despite the theories and concepts embedded in the work, there is a lack of specificity inherent in the science.
Marvel tried to make things fairly realistic, but still they never said, 'Well, this much radioactive spider venom went into Spider—man, meaning he can only lift this much weight.' They don't play with those rules, they just let you know that there are limits to Spider—man."
"We have fans who view almost Shakespeare's canon through the lens of a Trekkie, in that there is one answer, and one answer only," he explained, relating the theory to Kill Shakespeare writers. "But just as freeing — and a little more often, thankfully for us — are people looking at Shakespeare again, almost as if it was a fantasy adventure, or a spiritual type of story."
To Be Continued?
A lot can be learned from comics and comic creators; not only do they excel at crafting and relating original stories on a frequent basis, excelling at the art of visual storytelling in ways that few others have, they've discovered and routinely demonstrate that the key ingredient to adventure, to wonder and to marvel is only imagination, and lots of it.
Comics have enjoyed a rich history over the past seven decades, and are going as strong as ever. London has a lot to offer comic fans, and in this issue, Interrobang has a guide to the finest comic shops here in town worth perusing — perhaps you'll rekindle a lost love of adventure, intrigue or even introspection.
