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Soon I Will Be Invincible
11-09-2007, 04:38 PM
Who was it who initially posted a thread about discussing this book my Austin Grossman? I thought it was Valles, but I can't seem to find anything that looks right. I finished the book last night and wanted to jump on in...-- Bob
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One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Re: Soon I Will Be Invincible
11-09-2007, 06:07 PM
I don't know if I posted originally on this or not. But I also have read the book and found it awesome. -Logan
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Re: Soon I Will Be Invincible
11-09-2007, 09:50 PM
So did I, to the point of a) wondering if I could fit in a Step there and b) wondering if I could get away with some of the hero names on COH.
(Admittedly, I saw some dumb editing and typesetting errors, but they were minor and spotting stuff like that is just one of my annoying quirks.)
I loved some of the clever little bits -- in the chapter where Impossible breaks into the Champions' HQ while they're searing his old base, the mirroring and inverse mirroring themes amused me greatly. I couldn't help but laugh out loud over the Champions being impressed by the architecture but noting he used cheap office furniture, while he loathed their architecture but loved their chairs...
The Narnia shoutout was amusing and sad -- I suppose Regina was an analogue to Susan -- and it took me a couple chapters to suddenly shout out in realization, "Sean's hammer!" (startling my wife in the process).
Then there's the whole underlying theme of belief/gullibility, particularly with origin stories.
A really wonderful piece of work.-- Bob
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One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Invincible
11-10-2007, 01:41 AM
I agree totally. To quote the wikipedia article,
"Another recurring theme is the place of superheroes in a modern world. While Grossman takes care not to satirise the superhero genre of itself, he uses them to take pot-shots at post-2000 morals and ethics. For example, the conceit that Impossible's actions are caused by a mental illness (Malign Hypercognition Disorder) rather than his own choices reflect on modern notions of personal responsibility"
"Grossman also transfers the structural dynamic of graphic novel character pieces like Watchmen to prose, blending the fantastical notions of superhumans with raw emotional content, the thoughts and feelings of the characters - and the frequently disturbing root causes for their behaviours - given as much time, space and importance as plot dynamics."
A couple of parts of the book made me think of Doug as well, particularly the part about how people are unable to understand what having superpowers is like in the same way they cannot understand your own illness or disabilties, making me think of how the incredible abilities he has are tempered by more intensely frustrating and potentially destructive elements of Doug's powers. Yeah he's a badass superhero. He also never goes a single day without having to strain himself not to inadvertantly hurt or destroy something. I hope that a step does appear in this universe someday, allthough I suppose it'd have to be set either pre or post book to work.
LOVE THIS BOOK
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Re: Invincible
11-21-2007, 01:29 AM
Anyone know any other great books of this genre? I think this one and From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain are the only ones I've found. --
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel
"Camaraderie, adventure, and steel on steel. The stuff of legend! Right, Boo?"
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Re: Invincible
11-21-2007, 01:41 AM
I haven't read this, but it sounds like something worth picking up. On the subject of metahumans having to restrain themselves to keep from hurting other people, there's a narration in an issue of Marvel's Exiles, back when Judd Winick was writing it, that talks about heroes having to "hold back." At the time, one of the main characters was Mimic, an variant of the Silver Age X-men villain who had not gone down the villain road, but had joined the X-Men and become their leader. Mimic is able to copy other heroes powers (hence the name) and begins the story with the powers of the original X-Men. During the story in question, he has to break into Castle von Doom (owned by everybody's favorite wacky dictator). During a prolonged fight with Doom's security, there is a narration talking about how Mimic and other heroes get together and talk about the problems of being a hero and they all agree that they really like fighting robots, because they don't have to fight back.
The fact that this narration occurs while Mimic is waist-deep in wrecked Doombots, with a small smile of satisfaction on his face, just makes for good storytelling.Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
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Ebony the Black Dragon
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"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."
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Re: Invincible
11-21-2007, 02:52 AM
I'm more interested in the way they satire the superhero genre.--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel
"Camaraderie, adventure, and steel on steel. The stuff of legend! Right, Boo?"
Murmur the Fallen
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satire?
11-21-2007, 03:03 AM
Hmm. Didn't really see much in the way of satire-satire, which is to say puncturing anything.
No, wait, let me back up. There was satire but mostly with Doctor Impossible and his two quirks--Hidden Fortresses and Declaiming. The first can be shared with James Bond villains as well as the second, so . . .
Anyway, I set up a thread in Future Steps on this before I noticed this thread.
-murmur
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Re: Invincible
11-21-2007, 05:23 AM
Quote:
I'm more interested in the way they satire the superhero genre.
While it isn't a satire, the Wild Cards series does handle the superhero genre in a rather realistic and adult manner. There are currently 17 books in the series, with another three contracted (the next one comes out in January). There are also several comics (with more supposedly on the way) and two GURPS suplements (with a Mutants & Masterminds supplement supposedly on the way)."Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM ofthe Rings XXXV
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"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV
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Re: Invincible
11-21-2007, 05:53 AM
Yeah, I remember Wild Cards. I liked the first couple books, but then they went goofy. Maybe I should pick it up again, it has been almost...holy crap, 20 years.--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel
"Camaraderie, adventure, and steel on steel. The stuff of legend! Right, Boo?"
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