Generally, I'm not crazy about superhero comics. It might be because I had minimal exposure to them during my childhood (a few X-men episodes, maybe some Fantastic Four, Spiderman and Batman, and none of them complete series.) and that wasn't enough to really turn me into a full fledged-fan. I mean, I don't even know what Rogue's real name is, now when I think of it.
So I think I must have been a bit on the oldish side when I finally moved to an area where there were actually comic shops and I had the freedom to peruse them. Now the problem is, I look at these comics through the eyes of a semi-adult, and not as a kid. As a result, I see mostly the flaws and loopholes instead of what presumably people call "The Magic".
It's a shame, but as a result the superhero genre didn't really hold any appeal for me, except maybe the challenge of seeing if I could do better.
Magellan is a superhero comic. But the reason I really like Magellan is that it defies the conventions of traditional superhero-ism, and actually tries to make sense scientifically. Stephen Crowley has really worked things out in the background, and the characters are believably portrayed. Flawed. With quirks and habits. Human despite their inhumaness, you know?
Most of all, the main character, Kaycee is a norm (person without superpowers) trying to keep up with a whole bunch of people WITH superpowers. Of all superheroes, the ones I like most are the ones without powers (i.e, Batman). Most superheroes tend to be defined by their powers (The energy blasting character, the speeder character, the powerhouse character etc).
A super-hero without powers is special, not because of he/she was born with abilities other people don't have, but because he/she worked for and gained abilities people don't have. They start off with the same attributes we did, but somehow they pushed themselves into doing much more. Yet because they don't have god-given (or not god-given), powers, they're still as vulnerable as the people they strive to protect.
And despite all this, they do what they do. It's compelling. And for me, that justifies the 'hero' in the 'super-hero'.
Oh, and today's comic showing at Graphic Smash:
Gotta side with Charisma on this one. If someone my age thought my dad was hot, I think I'd feel freaked out too.
