Bizarro Comics
by Chris Duffy and Stephen De Stefano
DC Comics

Archetypes of good and evil, eerily fascist power as a means toward redemption, a unique American mythology — scholars have defended the importance of superhero comics for years. Yet, the young literati whose hipness borders on tragic refuse to pick up a comic book unless its publisher is listed as "self." Well, those who skip past the Marvel and DC shelves of their local comics store will miss out on an attempt by DC to catch their eye.

Hoping to give small press comics book writers and artists their shot at the DC cadre of characters, DC Comics has released a hardcover graphic novel called "Bizarro Comics." The central story, scripted by Chris Duffy and drawn by Stephen De Stefano, has two of Superman's goofiest adversaries, Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bizarro, working together to save the 5th Dimension. They do, by penning a series of short stories, each actually written and drawn by some of the best known names working in small press comics today. It sounds inane, and it is.

The point is that DC is allowing these talented artists, who wouldn't normally set foot near a superhero, a chance to to have fun with these characters and create some splendid artwork. The talent of those involved is staggering: Eddie Campbell, Gilbert Hernandez, Evan Dorkin, Kyle Baker, Jeff Smith, Matt Groening, Tony Millionaire, Brian Ralph and several others. They all have one thing in common — a fond (and DC hopes refreshing) disrespect for the heroes of the past. Sometimes that disrespect comes across as playful and shows a real love for the history of the stories. At other times, the collection falls flat on its face.

In most indie comics, the superhero is gone, often replaced by depressed, sarcastic protagonists bored with their urban or suburban backdrops. Worse yet, when writers do include a hero, they do so with the intent of deconstructing him or her. Like sarcasm, deconstruction is the easy way out. All you have to do is let people in on the joke that superheroes are a bunch of closeted masochists in tights. Kurt Bursiek, writer of "Marvels" and "Astro City" has said that the only real reason to deconstruct the hero is to later reconstruct him or her, and he has proven that in his own comics. In "Bizarro Comics," a few of the writers ignore that more difficult second step.

For instance, Dylan Horrocks sits Supergirl and Mary Marvel down for coffee and cheesecake. That Supergirl would chat about relationships and the paparazzi isn't insightful — it's banal. The same goes for Will Pfeifer's Green Lantern and Bob Fingerman's Metal Men stories. They bring nothing new to the characters except an opportunity for forced jokes. Why try to force superheroes into the real world? Making them normal people doesn't add anything; it detracts.

Much better at a reexamination of the superhero was the "Bizarro Comics" predecessor, "Batman: Black and White." That book also collected short stories by respected comic artists like Neil Gaiman, Bruce Timm, Katsuhiro Otomo and Bill Sienkiewicz. The difference here was that these artists esteemed their subject. They reinvigorated Batman by digging deeper into the question of what a superhero is, not by pulling away from it.

There are welcome diversions in "Bizarro Comics." The Green Lantern story by Chris Duffy is whimsical and amusing. The same can be said for the Bizarro story that provides the book's structure, though a Behind the Music joke dates the book already. Kyle Baker creates a cute tale of Superman's frantic babysitter. Evan Dorkin's fun at the expense of Superman and Batman comes across as affectionate. And, the artwork throughout is superb.

At the end, "Bizarro Comics" states its thesis through a character who says, "The stories are childish, and they show no respect for traditional generic conventions. In short they are offensive and abnormal." Some of the writers should take that statement as the compliment it was intended to be. The others should realize that the deconstruction of superheroes into everyday folks creates more tedium than entertainment.

— Andy Ross (apross@earthlink.net)