Broken Frontier

When you pick up a comic book to read, one of the very first things you do, regardless of genre, is something so innate and sub-conscious, but entirely human, that is absolutely essential for the enjoyment of the book. Suspension of disbelief.
Without it, most forms of popular culture just wouldn’t exist. Where would Picasso be in his cubist moments if we as the onlooker are unwilling to let our imaginations go one step further into the artist’s thoughts? How would Mozart have been able to sustain a reputation for greatness long after his death, if the listener were not able to take leaps and bounds into the unknown and be carried away by something completely abstract, and yet at the same time so creatively stirring? Comic books are no different. In fact some genres of the comic book world stretch that suspension of disbelief to breaking point. Science Fiction!!

Aha, I hear the cry, how can something grounded in science be less believable than a comic with demons pouring from every page and magical zaps and zings flying about. But fear not, there is a rational explanation for this. Most people (and yes I say most people as there are some out there who do think it is all real) accept that dragons and magic and the like don’t exist. So when you read a comic book with its roots in a magical origin, suspension of disbelief kicks in. There can be no rational explanation for it, for you as the reader have been taken beyond the bounds of rational explanation and have accepted that what ever is to follow is all part of the constructed world where certain laws have been circumvented, snapped in two and tossed out of a building from a great height.

Science fiction is another kettle of fish all together, however. In the early days of comics, when science was still uncovering and exploring ideas that have been proven to be possible now, (cloning for example) or at least to even be real, (in the case of black holes) the writers seized upon a popular scientific idea, made it the basis for a cool superhero, then forgot about it in favour of the plot. Unlike their novel counterparts who went to great lengths to make their science plausible, the comic book world never really embraced that aspect of realism. Being honest about it however, it sounds so much cooler if a ‘cosmic ray’ came down and zapped the humanity out of you and left you with super powers.  It is an enticing idea to anyone. Anything as vague as a ‘cosmic ray’ (which are real by the way) could happen to you or me, and how cool would it be to actually be a superhero! Lots of people must agree with that, or superhero books wouldn’t have done so well. Of course there are plenty of other aspects that make some of our iconic superheroes more than what they are, Superman, Batman are both champions of those who are downtrodden and put upon. And Spiderman goes one step further and is one of those put upon ‘geeks’, giving a connection that is vital for their survival in the premiere league of heroes.

So what has brought this on? I am not a huge reader of the superhero genre. It doesn’t really entertain me that much. Plus my sometimes overtly sensible brain has a tendency to try and work through the practicalities of what is going on, for similar reasons that I don’t enjoy horror films, (but do like horror books weird huh). Not very scary if you can figure out what is supposed to make you jump within the first five minutes of the film. As with superheroes, my brain tends to get fogged with working through the science on a practical level, and then starts to unravel, as it doesn’t all add up. Which is when, strolling through my comic shop, I happened upon a book, which seemed to be the perfect companion to my thoughts: The Science Of Superheroes, by Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg. 

This delightfully entertaining coffee table book is a whimsical look at the ins and outs of the superheroes whose origins are from a scientific background, selecting a handful of the major characters from the past 60 years of comics. So Superman and Batman are in there, as is the Hulk, Flash and even the X-Men. Talking in real scientific terms, (or at least in relation to what we know at the moment) they discuss whether Superman could fly or whether Spider-man could exist. What is an interesting aspect of the book is they are not out to tear down these much cherished icons that are as synonymous with the US today any other great American figure, fictional or real.
Instead, where possible, they offer up real options to justify how these characters could work. One of my favourite being the suggestion that the Green Lantern should just summon up a bucket of green paint and splash it over anything yellow, thereby being able to affect it. Which whilst somewhat going towards destroying the exciting plot, (after all a superhero that is infallible??) it is a practical solution, and one which I know my brain would be shouting at Hal Jordan to do. Much the same way you start offering practical solutions to people who don’t turn the light on in a darkened cellar in the horror movies (unless your one sick puppy and can’t wait for the gore splatter of course).

Some of the science in The Science Of Superheroes can be a little dense, but fortunately, they give you the technical approach and then lay it down in simple terms, so that even the most jaded, science-phobic reader can understand what is going on. It gives an entertaining pre-history of the character they are covering, and there are interviews with some of the top professionals in the industry, from the early days and now, in the appendix. If you’re a sceptic like me, then this is a brilliant look at superheroes, if you’re a superhero nut; this is the perfect light reading to complement your favourite heroes. As a straight from cover-to-cover read, or as something to dip into, this book is well worth the look at, and it poses some intriguing possibilities and surprises that could yet give me faith in the Superhero!

- Immelda Alty

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Note: The Science of Superheroes by Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg, published by Wiley.
ISBN: 0-471-02460-0.