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Poor kid.

Mark, aka Invincible, is taking us through the process of growing out of adolescence and into an adult. That involves pain, confusion, and most of all, disillusionment. Mark is a good kid at heart; a year ago he unabashedly loved his mom, idolized his superhero dad, and was thrilled to experiment with his nascent inherited powers. The beginning of his story involved the crushing discovery that his dad, the most powerful and beloved superhero on the planet, was actually a bad guy, an alien sent to spy on and ultimately conquer the weak human race. Mark was rocked by this his betrayal, and knew that he was hopelessly outmatched, but he did what he believed to be right; he fought his dad. The fight left Mark very hurt, but not quite dead. His father had left the planet and he found himself having to explain to his mom and to the world his reasons for driving off their protector. When everyone learned the truth, he was supported as a new hero by the public, but his mom was devastated, sinking into depression and drinking. Mark lost the care and protection of both parents, and gained the weight of the world’s protection. He didn’t quite lose his faith in humanity, he clung to his black and white notions of right and wrong.

Since then, Mark has realized that he has a lot to learn about girls, and about living with a higher purpose/ obsession without being a jerk to those close to him.

He hasn’t been entirely on his own. He has been working for Cecil, a man in charge of a secret government organization. Cecil swooped in to protect Mark’s identity and public image as well as his mom’s safety, when his dad’s true motives were revealed. Cecil gave Mark a focus for his powers and a renewed belief that he was doing good things. He would call Mark away from his regular life at all hours and give a specific location, enabling Mark to show up in the nick of time to serve and protect innocent people around the world.

Spoiler warning:

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I’m not sure what I can say about Buffy #12. For those who are not initiated in the Buffyverse, you probably don’t know how well-developed and emotionally engaging the characters on that that show were, and how much there is to build on or lose in any follow-up effort. We fans can be a hungry band of wolves, always wanting more, but willing to turn and attack if characters are misused. There have been Buffy comics for years with decent writers living outside of canon, but Joss launched the latest title as a true extension of the show, Season 8, and everything counts.

For those who do know what I’m talking about, but haven’t read the comic, or at least this issue, yet, I don’t want to spoil a single moment! Suffice it to say that it all felt incredibly true, while opening up new doors. And it was really funny! I first became aware of Drew Goddard as a tv writer on Buffy, and he went on to write for Angel, Lost, Alias, and most recently the film Cloverfield. It is wonderful to see his return to Buffy via the latest comic arc. He is clearly a fan of the medium, and like Joss, knows how to use panel layout to add comic and dramatic timing to his words.

#12 begins a new 4 issue arc, and the current plan includes 50 issues total to represent a long Season 8 of the show. I can’t wait for more.

Thanks to a last-minute email from a friend (fellow poster Jason), I got to see Alison Bechdel when she gave a reading at the U of Minn on Thursday evening. Alison is famous in some circles for her enduring comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. I discovered collections of this comic in my university’s Women’s Center library. A green-haired girl at a mostly-male engineering school, I often retreated to the Women’s Center to feel a sense of belonging. There weren’t many of us there, but we managed to generate our fair share of glamorous drag parties, heated discussions about the gay boys leaving our toilet seat up during their meetings, and drama amongst the many cute baby dykes and bi-curious flirts who danced and drooled over one another.

Dykes to Watch Out For showed me a mirror of my own little experience and a vision of a much bigger and more diverse queer community out there in the world. A chosen family of socialist radicals, lawyers working on the system from the inside, independent bookstore-owners struggling to compete, and kinky girls just looking to get laid. Actually, they were all getting laid, and it was a heady vision of what grown-up life could be like for me one day. The idea that so many options could lead to love, professional success, undermining the dumbass status quo, and even when all of the above seemed lost, a group of friends who would always be there with support and validation. Needless to say, at 17 this vision was all still a distant dream for me, and I am grateful that her books were there to give me hope.

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Read the latest issue, and then click below to read my review (SPOILER):

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