I want to learn more sign language.

[stubbleupdate]

As part of my S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fantastic Four fan-in for Jonathan Hickman, I've gone back through his Image stuff, most recentlyRed Mass For Mars. It's sadly not drawn by Hickman as Pax Romana and Nightly News are, though it does look like it's coloured by him, and there's still the telltale title pages.

There's a standard superhero story that supports a good idea about what utopia is, can be and has been (and it's not an island off San Francisco). We're in the future, a world not too different to that of our own comics, apart from the alien invasions and disease that has massively reduced the numbers of the human race.

To make for a mild diversion and a piece that will stand in its own right, here's Lightbender, one of the superheroes, and how he amuses himself on a slow day.

It's worth saying that this fits into the ablist, xenophobic and gore categories.


This is Lightbender. He speaks in the third person. And is also going quite mad.


Yes, he's French, actually.
And doing this as a bit of a pisstake.
I think that the Void style creatures are a symbol of his madness, though they might be a manifestation of his powers. I'm not entirely sure.

Comments

[thanekos]

I suppose sign language would be a technicality.

[icon_uk]

My biorhythms must be really off today, because I'm not getting into this either. It's "Deranged superpowered being does something grotesquely vile but we're supposed to find it sardonically amusing because it's a post-modern take on the genre... or something", and that's been done before, and better IMHO.

[badficwriter]

Apparently, he's..joking?

Either way, my problem is that the joke sounds too much like ho-hum stereotype humor. Needs more oomph.

[shanejayell]

Well, that was... interesting.

It's KIND of funny, sorta, but not my thing.

Tho as a Canadian I'm amused we're the next country to go.....

[generalfreedom]

Meh. Doesn't do anything for me.

[tsunamiwombat]

Yeah I got a chuckle.

[tsunamiwombat]

So wait, this is a HERO? Is this one of those Millaresque worlds where all the Superhero's are crooks and villains? Or is Lightbender...unique and about to get jobbed by a flying brick?

[ian_karkull]

I forgot what it was, but there's a semi-logical reason (in the context of the overall story) as to why he did this. Either way, what I found most amusing about this that Lightbender seems to be Alan Moore, reimagined as a superhero. A powerful sorceror, who's also totally bonkers.

This is the weakest of Hickmans Image projects though. It's pretty standard fare superhero stuff, a few interesting ideas here and there, but I foud it really hard to care about Totally-Not-Superman loosing his son to alien parasites or whatever.

His other stuff is far superior.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I found the bit about Thanksgiving fairly amusing. I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to find the rest amusing, so I have no regrets that I didn't.
Also, are those weird critters the aliens that invaded, or some sort of manifestation of Lightbender's powers.

[glprime]

I'd be the batman-expy laughing at him for his utter failure at understanding linguistics and the evolution of language.

Also, calling a Romance language "peasant speak" is just hilariously ignorant.

Maybe the "context" helps, but this really just seems trashy like everyone else has said.