Friday 17 January 2003

Pic of the day: This is how it looks like. At least the print run I've got.

Supreme comic book

And I mean that literally. "Supreme, the story of the year", trade paperback written by Alan Moore and invented by Rob Liefeld. If you're into comics, the names should be familiar. Then again, if you're into comics you probably have this one already. So let's move on with the review for the rest of the marginally interested.

On the surface of it, Supreme is an alternate universe Superman, and there are lots of details blatantly lifted from the Superman universe. But this does not detract from the book, generally. When this is done, it is done so openly that it becomes less a thievery than a homage to the greatest comic book superhero of all time. For instance the drawing of Kid Supreme and his trapdoor to an underground sanctuary complete with a small row of robot decoys, it's pure Superboy as I remember him from my childhood. And when the time-travelling League of Infinity shows up, the girl who leads them has a symbol on her chest ... not the Saturn rings symbol of Saturn girl, but a simplified picture of the Legion's clubhouse, very easy to recognize. There is quite a bit of this "homage" as we call it. It is a way to show that you know the original comic. Comic geeks love it. Kind of like an in-joke.

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The story opens in a very unique way, though. With his memory consisting mostly of holes, Supreme returns to a world in flux. He is surprised to find a small group of alternate Supremes. After a short battle, he follows them to a place outside time and space ... if you ever wondered what happen to comic book characters who get cancelled, you should enjoy this story.

Returning to reality, our hero discovers that he has a secret identity, and spends some time getting used to it. As he follows various leads, his memories are filled in. This is done by stories scripted and drawn to look like actual comic book stories from those days. It goes all the way down to the colors used in those periods. It's very impressive and will appeal to the nostalgic reader and those who appreciate serial art. Besides, it is fun. Through the rest of the book, landmark events of the past are represented by comic book covers made in the style of that particular period, and with a dramatic illustration that sums up the event. Each of these fills one whole page. The print quality is good enough that these "covers" look almost real.

Despite the similarities with Superman (including the white, caped Hound Supreme and the cute and decent younger female relative Suprema) the story is subtly different. Our hero does not come from another world, but is mutated by a strange meteorite from outer space. Well, it seems to be from outer space. The actual origin is only resolved on the last pages, and will shock the reader to the core. This is true Alan Moore. Simple, yet mind-boggling.

Ethan Crane, the secret identity of Supreme, works for a comic book company. This adds another layer of double meanings (aside from the recurrent jokes about the weirdness of British comic book writers). The best example is where Ethan is invited home to a female coworker to discuss some ideas about the future of the superhero character she is scripting and he is drawing. She initiates a brainstorm about how the love life of a superhero might be, and this leads Ethan to have 3 flashbacks (drawn in 1950es style) where we see 3 alternate histories of him marrying 3 very different women, and every time ending in tragicomic disaster. The female coworker still insists that even a superhero must have the needs of a man ... while she's sitting beside Ethan in the sofa. Buy the book to see what happens next. I found it absolutely hilarious. I couldn't have written it better myself...

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The book is generally cheerful, but toward the end there is high drama and all seems lost. Needless to say, all is not lost, but something precious is. And then we get the final revelation and realize why all this had to happen. Extremely twisty and ingenious.

"Supreme, the story of the year" is recommended for comic books fans of all ages ... golden, silver, bronze and iron. It captures the true essence of superhero comics and should be read after Watchmen (also by Alan Moore) as an antidote to the cynicism found there. Glowing with true magic.