The New Avengers #52 - Okay, bar none, this is the best title Marvel is publishing right now. Bendis' magical grasp of dialogue is put to great use in this title. The team is great, the fugitive angle they've been playing for the last year and a bit is still working, and the stories are top notch. If you aren't reading New Avengers, go grab the "Breakout" trade and get started. This is the title that's defining what's happening in the Marvel Universe.
Batman: Battle for the Cowl - Arkham Asylum #1 - In my new quest to give the Bat-titles a try I'm starting off with the specials surrounding the search for a new Batman. This one was the creepiest, but it was a nice little stroll down memory lane. Maybe it's time to read Morrison and McKean's "Arkham Asylum" again. That book is a trip. As for this special, the new (are they new?) villains are neat. I'm excited to see where the Bat-universe is going, especially with Morrison and Quitely doing their thing in the coming months.
Skrull Kill Krew #1 - Throwback to one of the few bits of Grant Morrison's ouvre that I would label "mediocre." I probably won't pick up the second issue of this one. But with a name like "Skrull Kill Krew," I had to pick up at least the first one.
Fall of Cthulhu: Nemesis #1 - I will not be able to read this comic until I've tracked down 3 of the 20-some odd issues that preceded it. Thoroughly annoying.
The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft - When I last read a comic story about Lovecraft, it was the Necronauts. This one is somewhat different, and the story (of a young HPL haunted by dreams that seem to come true) hasn't quite grabbed me yet. However, Tony Salmons can draw a stunningly beautiful 20's flapper.
Pride & Prejudice #1 - I was so hopeful for this one. The cover by Sonny Liew is great. The source material is classic. Unfortunately, the contents don't measure up. Sure, it's a faithful adaptation, but the interior art reminds me of Grimm Fairy Tales from Zenescape. All the women are beautiful, but it's like they're wax dummies set in poses. There's no life to the art. Add to that the stilted language of the 19th century, and it spells failure. Shame.
Detective Comics #853 - Whenever Neil Gaiman ventures back into comics, it's a big deal. That said, I wasn't a big fan of "1602," and I never even looked at "The Eternals" (though I really should). So, when it was revealed that he was writing a 2-parter after the death of Batman, I had to pick it up. I just had to. It's Gaiman. And in this, I was not disappointed. I had a pretty good look at the first part here. The second part eschews the form of the Canterbury Tales, but tells a brilliant story about Batman and his death. If Gaiman came back to comics and wrote stories like this all the time, we'd have another Sandman on our hands. It's a shame he's left comics behind. We miss him.
That's it this week. One other item I have to point out is The Freedom Collective #1. I haven't read it yet, but I grabbed it last week. The premise is "What if Jack Kirby and Stan Lee were living in the Cold War-era U.S.S.R. when they decided to create The Avengers?" Inspired. I looked into Communist comics when I was researching Batman vs. Mighty Wing, but it turns out that comics were strictly forbidden under party rule. Which makes Freedom Collective that much more interesting.
Showing posts with label Great General Mighty Wing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great General Mighty Wing. Show all posts
Apr 22, 2009
Jan 22, 2009
Batman vs. Mighty Wing
This is an essay I wrote for my course "Concepts of Culture" last term. I got an A+ on it, and it constitutes my first actual piece of comic book scholarship. This is the essay exactly as it was handed in for the class. I am planning on revising it later on this year, perhaps once I've got a bit of time in the summer.
(Note, Mar.7/09: This essay won 2nd place in the first term 2nd year Humanities Essay Writing awards at McMaster University.)
Batman vs. Mighty Wing
In Dreamworld and Catastrophe, Susan Buck-Morrs references a pair of strikingly similar pictures from strikingly different cultures. The Gulf Refining Company ad and the Magnitogorsk newspaper illustration (Buck-Morrs 191) each portray a man staring from his window at the factory that defines his life, though these definitions could not be more dissimilar. In considering how two opposed cultural viewpoints, the individualist and the collectivist, can make use of near-identical artworks to propagate their disparate views, it is useful to look at the doctrinal tools each culture uses. The North American comic book Batman and the North Korean comic Great General Mighty Wing, through many practices common to comic books, disseminate vastly different viewpoints on the individual and his or her role in society. More specifically, the shared use of animal motifs in these comics concretely demonstrates the difference of ideology through the sameness of form.
Batman, first published in 1939 (Giordano 7), and Great General Mighty Wing, first published in 1994 (Fenkl), are both comics aimed at the youth of their particular nation and era. Both are examples of what Scott McCloud calls “iconic abstraction”(46). This is a cartooning technique that is a process of “not so much eliminating details...as focusing on specific details”(30). McCloud further elucidates this point by saying that a photo, or a realistic drawing, will make one think of an “other,” where a cartoon will make one think of the self (36). In Great General Mighty Wing, all the bees, including the main character, have incredibly simplistic facial features, wide-eyed, innocent, and somewhat child-like. Batman too, in his first appearances, is greatly abstracted by the bat cowl he dons. McCloud goes on to posit that the reason for this abstraction is that if one were viewing realistic images, one would be “far too aware of the messenger to fully receive the message”(37). The respective icons in the two comics are facially abstracted so much that a reader can place him- or herself in the hero's place, and thus receive the cultural message embedded in the piece.
The physical depictions of hero as animal in Great General Mighty Wing and Batman serve very different cultural functions. Mighty Wing is a bee, anthropomorphic and abstracted, but still a bee. His physical depiction is identical to that of the other bees he inspires. This is, in many ways, similar to the depiction of Aleksi Stakhanov who, while described as a hero and leader, blends in completely when pictured with a group of “Stakhanovites”(Buck-Morrs 183). The hero is not physically set apart. He is one of the people, thus showing that any person can be a hero, or indeed that service to the state makes heroes of all people. Batman is not an anthropomorphic animal. He is a man dressed up as an animal, which immediately causes the reader to separate him out from the general population. Underneath his mask he is a man, but by donning the mantle of the bat, he sets himself apart from society. He no longer looks like everyone else. Rather than the image of the hero as belonging to society, the image of the bat makes the hero into a “weird figure of the shadows”(Kane 70). Batman does not lead an army of like-minded, like-costumed heroes in service to the state. His animal depiction separates him from society in exactly the same way that Mighty Wing's inextricably links him to society.
The physicality of each hero aside, even the shared use of animalistic behaviours shows the differing cultural foci. The hive-mind, the collective mentality, as portrayed by the bees in Great General Mighty Wing is a familiar one. Indeed, the perception of the bee as constantly working toward the betterment of its society gives even a Western individualist culture an aphorism such as “busy as a bee.” In remarking that “Mighty Wing's squad worked through the night” and that “they're fast as lightning”(Cho), coupled with the aforementioned iconic abstraction, a reader is invited to identify with the homogeneous, industrious citizen of the state. Batman springs from a cultural idea that is completely antithetical to Great General Mighty Wing's, but that can still be illustrated by an animal behaviour. By picking a creature that is nocturnal, rather than diurnal, one that will “strike terror into [people's] hearts”(Kane 70), Batman is again set outside of the society that he protects. Where Mighty Wing's peers regard him with awe and gratitude, Batman's peers think that “real cops shouldn't have [their] pride stripped away...by some vigilante who's twice the criminal as” those he tackles (Moench 6). In much the same way that his bat mask physically sets him apart from his peers, his propensity for acting in darkness and for using the bat image to instill fear, behaviourally sets him apart. However, individual or collective, bat or bee, an animal behaviour is used to illustrate both.
The animal motif, as used to portray behaviour, physicality, and abstraction, allows Batman and Great General Mighty Wing to elucidate the ideals of two very different cultures. Like the captain of industry in the Gulf Refining Company ad, Batman shows the betterment of society through the actions of the exceptional individual. In contrast, both Mighty Wing and the factory worker in the Magnitogorsk picture better society by being one of many. The use of such similar forms to portray such different ideas not only speaks to the universality of the comic book format, but hints that there are tools that can manipulate people, regardless of the cultural ideology that uses them.
Works Cited
Buck-Morrs, Susan. Dreamworld and Catastrophe. M.I.T. Press, 2000.
Cho Pyong Kwon. “Great General Mighty Wing.” Trans. Heinz Insu Fenkl. Words Without Borders. February 2008. November 3, 2008. http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/?front=FEBRUARY%202008
Fenkl, Heinz Insu. “Translator's Introduction.” Words Without Borders. February 2008. November 3, 2008. http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/?front=FEBRUARY%202008
Giordano, Dick. “Growing Up With The Greatest.” The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. Ed. Mike Gold. New York: DC Comics, 1988. 6-11.
Kane, Bob. “The Origin of the Batman.” The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. Ed.
Mike Gold. New York: DC Comics, 1988. 66-78.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: DC Comics, 2000.
Moench, Doug. “Prey part 1.” Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 11 (1990): 6.
(Note, Mar.7/09: This essay won 2nd place in the first term 2nd year Humanities Essay Writing awards at McMaster University.)
Batman vs. Mighty Wing
In Dreamworld and Catastrophe, Susan Buck-Morrs references a pair of strikingly similar pictures from strikingly different cultures. The Gulf Refining Company ad and the Magnitogorsk newspaper illustration (Buck-Morrs 191) each portray a man staring from his window at the factory that defines his life, though these definitions could not be more dissimilar. In considering how two opposed cultural viewpoints, the individualist and the collectivist, can make use of near-identical artworks to propagate their disparate views, it is useful to look at the doctrinal tools each culture uses. The North American comic book Batman and the North Korean comic Great General Mighty Wing, through many practices common to comic books, disseminate vastly different viewpoints on the individual and his or her role in society. More specifically, the shared use of animal motifs in these comics concretely demonstrates the difference of ideology through the sameness of form.
Batman, first published in 1939 (Giordano 7), and Great General Mighty Wing, first published in 1994 (Fenkl), are both comics aimed at the youth of their particular nation and era. Both are examples of what Scott McCloud calls “iconic abstraction”(46). This is a cartooning technique that is a process of “not so much eliminating details...as focusing on specific details”(30). McCloud further elucidates this point by saying that a photo, or a realistic drawing, will make one think of an “other,” where a cartoon will make one think of the self (36). In Great General Mighty Wing, all the bees, including the main character, have incredibly simplistic facial features, wide-eyed, innocent, and somewhat child-like. Batman too, in his first appearances, is greatly abstracted by the bat cowl he dons. McCloud goes on to posit that the reason for this abstraction is that if one were viewing realistic images, one would be “far too aware of the messenger to fully receive the message”(37). The respective icons in the two comics are facially abstracted so much that a reader can place him- or herself in the hero's place, and thus receive the cultural message embedded in the piece.
The physical depictions of hero as animal in Great General Mighty Wing and Batman serve very different cultural functions. Mighty Wing is a bee, anthropomorphic and abstracted, but still a bee. His physical depiction is identical to that of the other bees he inspires. This is, in many ways, similar to the depiction of Aleksi Stakhanov who, while described as a hero and leader, blends in completely when pictured with a group of “Stakhanovites”(Buck-Morrs 183). The hero is not physically set apart. He is one of the people, thus showing that any person can be a hero, or indeed that service to the state makes heroes of all people. Batman is not an anthropomorphic animal. He is a man dressed up as an animal, which immediately causes the reader to separate him out from the general population. Underneath his mask he is a man, but by donning the mantle of the bat, he sets himself apart from society. He no longer looks like everyone else. Rather than the image of the hero as belonging to society, the image of the bat makes the hero into a “weird figure of the shadows”(Kane 70). Batman does not lead an army of like-minded, like-costumed heroes in service to the state. His animal depiction separates him from society in exactly the same way that Mighty Wing's inextricably links him to society.
The physicality of each hero aside, even the shared use of animalistic behaviours shows the differing cultural foci. The hive-mind, the collective mentality, as portrayed by the bees in Great General Mighty Wing is a familiar one. Indeed, the perception of the bee as constantly working toward the betterment of its society gives even a Western individualist culture an aphorism such as “busy as a bee.” In remarking that “Mighty Wing's squad worked through the night” and that “they're fast as lightning”(Cho), coupled with the aforementioned iconic abstraction, a reader is invited to identify with the homogeneous, industrious citizen of the state. Batman springs from a cultural idea that is completely antithetical to Great General Mighty Wing's, but that can still be illustrated by an animal behaviour. By picking a creature that is nocturnal, rather than diurnal, one that will “strike terror into [people's] hearts”(Kane 70), Batman is again set outside of the society that he protects. Where Mighty Wing's peers regard him with awe and gratitude, Batman's peers think that “real cops shouldn't have [their] pride stripped away...by some vigilante who's twice the criminal as” those he tackles (Moench 6). In much the same way that his bat mask physically sets him apart from his peers, his propensity for acting in darkness and for using the bat image to instill fear, behaviourally sets him apart. However, individual or collective, bat or bee, an animal behaviour is used to illustrate both.
The animal motif, as used to portray behaviour, physicality, and abstraction, allows Batman and Great General Mighty Wing to elucidate the ideals of two very different cultures. Like the captain of industry in the Gulf Refining Company ad, Batman shows the betterment of society through the actions of the exceptional individual. In contrast, both Mighty Wing and the factory worker in the Magnitogorsk picture better society by being one of many. The use of such similar forms to portray such different ideas not only speaks to the universality of the comic book format, but hints that there are tools that can manipulate people, regardless of the cultural ideology that uses them.
Works Cited
Buck-Morrs, Susan. Dreamworld and Catastrophe. M.I.T. Press, 2000.
Cho Pyong Kwon. “Great General Mighty Wing.” Trans. Heinz Insu Fenkl. Words Without Borders. February 2008. November 3, 2008. http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/?front=FEBRUARY%202008
Fenkl, Heinz Insu. “Translator's Introduction.” Words Without Borders. February 2008. November 3, 2008. http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/?front=FEBRUARY%202008
Giordano, Dick. “Growing Up With The Greatest.” The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. Ed. Mike Gold. New York: DC Comics, 1988. 6-11.
Kane, Bob. “The Origin of the Batman.” The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. Ed.
Mike Gold. New York: DC Comics, 1988. 66-78.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: DC Comics, 2000.
Moench, Doug. “Prey part 1.” Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 11 (1990): 6.
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