TAKE A RIDE ON THE WILD SIDE

i thought i'd do a little comic book review.i have no idea why i did not write about this earlier..prob cause i did not have any place to write this in. I do remember telling folks around me about this comic i had just read. i think one person i do tell about my comic book readings on a frequent basis other then Jon boy is my oncologist Doc. B.

Mom, apple pie, chevrolet and Superman...
All things American. the Ulitmate American icon being Superman...and the writer mark millar putting him in the ultimate what-if senario. Imagine superman wasn't red, white and blue...imagine superman was red...communist red? instead of baby Kal-El landing in the loving arms of Ma and Pa Kent in the good ol' U.S of A., he lands in the loving arms of Josef stalin back in the U.S.S.R. NO longer superman American icon, but superman soviet comrade- needless to say the storyline is more then intriguing. In the hands of a lesser writer the story would have fallen into a cookie cutter, black and white, America good, Soviets bad, feel good propaganda. Thank God mark millar is not a lesser writer. and thank God his favorite color seems to be gray. all this is caught in the graphic novel entitled Red Son.

the artistic palette of dave johnson's and kilian plunkett's pencils.andrew robinson's and walden wong's inks, and paul mount's colors combine to create a Kafkaesque(http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/kafka.htm) , Max fleischer cartoon that collides with the best of propaganda art.(Max Fleischer is unarguably one of the pioneers of animation. His responsibilities in bringing Betty Boop and Popeye to the silver screen would alone warrant him a place in the history books) its not like you're reading a graphic novel but watching a movie. This book is everything i love about comic books...its that whole nazi feel...a tale of great morality with art that leaps off the page and into your mind's eye.
Even if you have never read a comic book before, you can pick this book up and follow the story and enjoy a great ride. but don't be fooled; it is much more then just that. Red Son is a sharp social commentary on capitalism vs. communism and current American foriegn policy. Not bad for a funny book.if you are a comic book fan then you will notice the detail to the superman mythology. All the elements that make superman great are there : Lex Luthor, Lois Luthor..(yes i typed that out right!), Jimmy Olsen, even Batman, Wonder Woman, and the greatest Green Lantern of them all, Hal Jordan. All of them the same, yet different - all reinvented. Even the traditional "S" on his chest has been replaced by the hammer and sickle, one thing is still the same- Superman believes he is still doing the right thing. He has the best of intentions, but we all know what the road to hell is paved with. Yet superman still wants to make the world safe, except this time he is willing to force us to see that his way is the best.

Ben Franklin once wrote "those who would sacrifice their freedom for safety will find they inherit neither." That line, written over two hundred years ago, may have more meaning now then ever before. Good writing challenges the way you think. Great writing changes the way you think. RED SON is great writing. Mark Millar started writing this book in 1995..a far cry from what the world is right now. Looking into the future and seeing Superman as the poster child for Big Brother. the X-ray vision seeing, all super-hearing listening, all knowing, all powerful Big Brother. All- encompassing security, like a baby in a super blanket- just one thing...don't think for yourself and don't challenge the system. free will or freedom in exchange for absolute security- i dont think Ben Franklin would have liked that idea. have a good read folks.