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Visiting my local comic store, I wasn't surprised Astonishing X-Men #12 hadn't arrived yet (it usually takes a month), but I got my hands on Supreme Power #13 and #14, which means my waiting time till November when the trade collection is available will be shorter. To recapitulate: Supreme Power is, imo, the best thing JMS wrote (and still is writing) since Babylon 5. It revived an old Marvel project, taking certain DC archetypes - Superman, Batman, the Flash etc - and giving them a twist. Considering I read much unhappiness with the present state of the comicverse Batman franchise and Superman franchise in ljworld, I feel obliged to point out that what JMS did with these archetypes is fascinating and respectful and three-dimensional all the way through.
Earlier on, I was reminded of that classic, Watchmen, with the "how would the "real" world react to superheroes" premise, though not in the sense of JMS just doing a Moore imitation. In the two issues I read most recently, I've begun to wonder whether he's not engaged in an (creative) argument with Frank Miller, specifically with the depiction of Superman and Batman in The Dark Knight Returns. Because the encounters between Mark Milton/Hyperion (the Superman equivalent) and Nighthawk (the Batman equivalent) sound like counterpoints and antiversions to those between Batman and Superman in The Dark Knight Returns. JMS basically deconstructs both Batman's and Miller's central argument, Superman as an agent of the system and Batman as the true, lone and uncorrupted superhero fighting the fight as it ought to be. ( Who watches the watchmen? )
Earlier on, I was reminded of that classic, Watchmen, with the "how would the "real" world react to superheroes" premise, though not in the sense of JMS just doing a Moore imitation. In the two issues I read most recently, I've begun to wonder whether he's not engaged in an (creative) argument with Frank Miller, specifically with the depiction of Superman and Batman in The Dark Knight Returns. Because the encounters between Mark Milton/Hyperion (the Superman equivalent) and Nighthawk (the Batman equivalent) sound like counterpoints and antiversions to those between Batman and Superman in The Dark Knight Returns. JMS basically deconstructs both Batman's and Miller's central argument, Superman as an agent of the system and Batman as the true, lone and uncorrupted superhero fighting the fight as it ought to be. ( Who watches the watchmen? )
