All-Star Superman -- Übermensch

A panel is usually the smallest part in a comic book. Sequences need them to work together, and here lies, like Eisner pointed out long ago, the strongest potential to perform art in comics. To craft a good sequence you need the right panels arranged in a meaningful and harmonic order. But like music, you can achieve a more interesting approach by building tension using a dis-harmonic interval in a chord or scale. In comics and sequences, it can be achieved by inserting a panel that may seem like it doesn't fit and has no connection to the story. It isn't comfortable for us to stop reading because we doesn't understand the just seen. Like in a song with dis-harmonics you want to know why the musician decided to disrupt your hearing-pleasure with a, in you ears, unfitting note. The most time, the artist wants you to listen (or in our case read) mindfully. It's a trick to say: "Are you still listing? There's something important happening here!" So the intention to interrupt our reading-flow lies hidden deeper in the panel and you've got to dig a bit to access his real meaning.

This panel is an example for an element to break up a story and fill it with something that should be focused on. The panel is out of "All-Star Superman" a award-winning comic of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. The story is no part of the regular DC Universe and focuses on the last days of Superman. By saving a team of astronauts crashing into the sun Superman overloads his cells with solar radiation and receives new powers. But this new powers demand a high tribute of him. He's got only one more year to live. In this last year Superman masters twelve tasks which are the core story-line of the book. This panel takes place in the seventh labor: The creation of life. In his laboratory he created a small universe around a tiny earth containing a mankind without superheroes. Earth -Q. The panel we are talking about is set in this new created earth and mirrors our evolution.

The transition from the sequence on mars, where Superman deploys the people of Kandor to be save after his passing, to the chosen panel is very hard. There seems no connection between the  story-line and the displayed panel. But right now it is time to get a shovel and start digging. Here we see a middle-aged man sitting and writing at a table. The clothing, furniture, and a shining gas-lamp suggests the scene takes place in a long gone time. Looking closer, we can read the title of the man’s work: Also sprach Zarathustra -- Friedrich Nietzsche's book about the idea of the Übermensch -- translated as superman -- the parousia and the will to power. Nietzsche, a german philosopher who lived in the end of the 19th century was convinced by the thesis that only the creative man can overcome himself and the burdens of life. The term Übermensch was often misunderstood and used in political or harming ways and the  interpretation of "über" as super is delusive. The primal thought was of a "hinüber" what means across or over to (sth.). So the "Übermensch" should be translated as "man who overcome himself".

The direct connection to Superman in the story around the panel from Earth-Q is obvious. Superman is facing the death but his primal task is not to find a cure and safe himself but rather create a model of a world without him, and be assure that mankind will survive in his absence.  By accomplishing all his labors he overcame himself and finally stated that he is an Übermensch - the Superman. Also creating life in the seventh labor is not a usual task and Morrison subtle and subliminal levels Superman near to a god-like being. In Nietzsche’s work, the Übermensch is the next human stage of physical and mental evolution and Morrison uses this ideas to project their virtues on Superman. Overcoming nihilism and the denial of dreaming or philosophic ideas by stand the ground for a life-affirming sight on the world is a core-idea of Superman's character and Nietzsche's view on the real man within man.

So we explore this panel to the heart of his meaning (of course in context with the story) and now we are at the level of awareness Morrison wanted us to have. He wanted us to listen and interrupted us on mars with a dis-harmonic panel and we experienced that even an aged character like Superman can still be used to teach us higher concepts of philosophy and life itself. That is what art is supposed to do.

Greetings Andy

Post edited by ClumsyG

Action Comics #19

Hello comic-friends,

so the long Grant Morrison run has ended. Some people are disappointed, some people are speaking of
great two years in Action Comics. Maybe I will write a longer post about the Morrison run. We'll see.

But lets face the new team for Action Comics. Tony S. Daniel and Andy Diggle. Andy Diggle is new for me and so I can relax and judge his work without any preconceptions. Mr. Daniel is another point. I know him of the series "The Tenth" and I didn't liked this title. The pencils were horrible and the story wasn't worth a penny. But Tony developed a nice style since then and his work nowadays is much more appealing than in the late '90. And he delivers a quite good work in this one.

Lets get to the cover. It's a folded double-page with a surprise: Jimmy Olsen is the opponent of Superman in this issue. But this is just a very boring wannabe hook for the issue and lasts just one page in it. Much ado about nothing. The story it divided in three parts and the first and second part takes place "One year ago..." in Qurac. Lois and Clark are reporting from an "arabic spring" and Clark praises Lois up to the skies which is so annoying  that you can throw the book right in the can. But just two pages later it's starting to get interesting. You could say, when you aren't good at writing an interesting story between two characters without using the worst and oldest clichés and doesn't even try to go deeper, you are forced to kick in the f**ing door with a big fight. And this was well done by Diggle.

The upcoming fight with three biomechanic, by "War of the Worlds" inspired, giant human controlled robots is well paced and entertaining. Tony does a good job on them and some panels got a very cinematic look. The panel where one of the robots launches the Hellstreak-Missiles is very patient and takes his time. The sequence in your head easily creates the picture of the slowly starting missiles, the expanding smoke, the swarm searching for his target: the floating Superman in the foreground. One little example of a good composed comic panel. Dear artists: more of that. Regarding the development of faster and faster cuts in movies and tv-shows, which inspires the comic genre too, we need more time for recognize what is really happening in the moment and feel what the author and artist wants to show and tell us. Of course we expect that the action in superhero comic is dominating but many independent publishers showed long ago new ways for superheroes. The more space (and in comic, space is time) and depth you reserve for a panel and his content the more attention it will get.

Another good action filled panel is the one in which Superman smashes one robot with the other. Its full of force and movement without loosing the focus of what is happening. Maybe the "sound-effect" is a little big and dominant but it still looks great. There is no need for a background because you are right in the middle of it all and the red tone of the page transports the rage and anger subconsciously to the reader. It's a big bang in this final panel of the fight.

The next part takes place in Luthors hideout / secret lab. The analysis of Dr. Lagarde is a nice read but why does Luthor hold her captive? What is he searching for and what does he expect of his own psychologic examination? Right now it just looks like a flat (and boring) way to show the reader the evil-genius of Lex and his uniqueness. The only way to put it out just more strikingly is to draw it right on his forehead: I'm the mastermind of evil! And again we need more of in deep character writing in this title. Lets hope that the upcoming issues will hold a lot more of good writing. After the Morrison run this is a shameless reduction of demanding content and does no justice to this series.

Action Comics #13

Hello comic friends,

quite some time has past since my last post about a normal comic issue. But the vacation of a friend of mine in an English-speaking foreign country provided me with "fresh" stuff. Action Comics #13 is again, like #9 a standalone story. Only the twist on the last page connects the story to the main plot of Morrison. I will really miss him on this title when he quits writing after the 17th issue.

I really liked the introduction of Jor-El imprisoning Doctor Xa-Du. It's dark, cruel and a historic incident because it's the first time someone has been locked up in the phantom zone. In the first place the story develops into a classic plot of an unconsciousness Superman trapped in the phantom zone without a possibility to break free. With the help of the Phantom Strange, who is trapped in the zone too, and his dog Krypto Superman success to break free. After Superman has rescued Krypto from the Phantom Zone too, Dr. Xa-Du enlist into the group of superman-enemy and the bow to the main plot is laid out. The implied Halloween theme doesn't work a second an is really annoying. The book would have worked fine without this, too.

The drawing and coloring is wonderful and a welcome change to Rags Morales "normal" art. Travel Foreman works really good on this title and I liked him as well as in the Animal Man books. His clear, edgy and thin lines are great on Superman and i would welcome him to take over a superman title.

The introduction of Krypto, a character i never really liked and which was in my opinion at all ways a little cheesy, was great. In this form of expression and without the damn cape (a dog with a cape..?) he put down this dusty "Superman-Family" heritage and stepped into the future. I hope Krypto will become more of a serious character than a cute Superman sidekick with fur.

The backup story is not worth to be mentioned here any further. Please DC, stop to spend your money on this crap at the end and invest it in the main-plot or put down the price for the issue.

Panel der Woche #8 / Panel of the week #8

For the english version, please scroll down.

Hallo Comicfreunde,

heute habe ich ein Panel der Woche aus einem ganz besonderen Comic. Es stammt aus "All-Star Superman" von Grant Morrison und dem überragenden Frank Quitely. Wenn diese beiden Künstler zusammen kommen erschaffen sie stehts ein Gesamtwerk, das mehr als die Summe ihrer Teile ist. "All-Star Superman" ist eine der besten Superman Geschichten und ist jetzt schon ein zweifach mit dem Eisner-Award ausgezeichneter Klassiker der Comic Literatur. Wer jedoch oft nicht beachtet wird ist der digitale Künstler in diesem Werk: Jamie Grant. Er hat die Geschichte mit moderner Mitteln in Farbe getaucht und gibt dem Gesamtwerk den finalen "Big Picture" Schliff.

Das Panel der Woche zeigt Lex Luthor. Seine Angst, dass Superman ihn überleben könnte treibt ihn schlussendlich dazu einen wirksamen Plan Superman zu töten in die Tat umzusetzen. In diesem Panel offenbart Luthor sein Vorhaben und es ist der Beginn einer Odyssee über die zwölf großen Taten von Superman vor seinem Tod. Es gibt sehr viele tolle Panels in diesem Comic, doch ich habe das hier genommen, weil es noch nicht viel verrät und Luthor genial dargestellt ist. Nie hat mir Lex besser gefallen.

// English version


Hello comic friends,



Today the panel of the week comes from a very special comic. It's from "All-Star Superman" by Grant Morrison and the superior Frank Quitely. When those two artists come together, you can be sure that they produce a ingeniuse peace of art. "All-Star Superman" is one of the best Superman stories, and is a twice Eisner Award winning classic of comic literature. Who is not often considered is the digital artist in this work: Jamie Grant. He has plunged the story with modern means in color and gives the complete work the final "big picture" cut.

The panel of the week shows Lex Luthor. His fear that Superman could outlive him drives Lex to put his final plan to kill Superman into action. This panel is the revelation of Luthors plan and it is the beginning of an odyssey through the twelve great doings before Superman's death. There are many great panels in this comic, but I have taken this one, because it doesn't reveal a lot and the presentation of Luthor is perfect. The best Lex Luthor i've read.