Karnak #1 - "The Flaw in All Things, Part 1"

[laughing_tree]

"Honestly, all I really did with Moon Knight was boil the character back down to all the elements and traits that mattered. Karnak was even simpler." -- Warren Ellis

Comments

[captainbellman]

I suppose "You were flawed by being born" is better than a third iteration of "A pig coughed and you're what fell out".

Given that it's a bald, bearded bloke walking around cynically ripping everything to shreds to the extent that it would make Greg House grab his collar and sweat, I can't help thinking this version of Karnak is essentially Ellis' closest portrayal of himself in superheroic form...

[silverhammerman]

Not only that, but Karnak is explicitly in it for the paycheck, and while Ellis is no hack, he makes little secret of the fact that he writes what he does because he gets paid for it.

[captainbellman]

Even his hostility towards Coulson and SHIELD could reflect Ellis' disdain for editorial interference.

[captainbellman]

The hoodie is a nice step-up from "The Leader's spare hat", though. Taking some styling tips from Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor, viz: being a Diogenes-style curmudgeonly street philosopher.

[thezmage]

Having only read the scans here, I have to wonder: is there more to this tile than just Karnak being a dick to everyone?

[dr_archeville]

When io9 covered this a few weeks ago, they pointed out that the title's/character's main draw is in how different it/he is from the other Inhumans-heavy title, Uncanny Inhumans. Medusa talks of integration, Karnak demands acknowledgement of his difference around him. While Medusa soft-talks the media, Karnak is brusque and uncaring about anything that isn’t Inhuman. Karnak represents everything that Medusa & Co. are trying to placate in Uncanny Inhumans.

[icon_uk]

Given that he's talking to or about the Inhumans, or NuHumans or whatever they're called, I don't think he seems to be caring about the Inhumans either, only his own philosophy, which is entirely coloured by the non-Terrigen induced flaw-spotting perceptions he has.

Mostly it's him being a dick.

[7dialsmystery]

There's also some ass-kicking.

[agharta75]

If Karnak is going to be an Eastern mystic, he needs to say "May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits" at least once.

[icon_uk]

What the hell kind of philosophy is THAT?

"The stone is more important than you because it does bugger all and can neither change nor influence anything nor appreciate anything, nor feel emotion towards anything. Yay rock!"

Who would let Karnak make such utterly loathesome demands. He's essentially saying "I will save your child but first he must be converted to my religion until I say otherwise and BTW your lives are meaningless and rather than respect your beliefs I will make you endure mine"

Why would someone like this have adherents? Who would want that much cynical abuse?

Okay, I can think of one subgroup which might, but they tend to pay for it, thank the nice person in charge of the dungeon and then go home. They don't WALLOW in it as a personal philosophy (AFAIK)

For some reason this sort of reminds me of the "Mr Robot" TV series; beautifully made, very well acted, but so achingly cynical of pretty much the world that I genuinely couldn't bring myself to watch past the first episode (I acknowledge that may have missed a gem there, but I just couldn't take any more)

[captainbellman]

It kind-of reminds me of Diogenes, the original homeless philosopher (the Cynical school, which he exemplified, is named after the Greek word for "Dog", since he lived like a dog on the streets - or so it is said).

I've been reading the anecdotal stories of Diogenes recently and realised he is basically the wellspring for a multitude of characters - Dr. Cox, Dr. House, MCU Tony Stark (to an extent), Britta Perry (to another extent), at least one character in everything Ellis has ever written, etc. - whose modus operandi is to question everything and be generally unpleasant to other people, following the Cynic's path. (None of them, you will note, have lived on the streets as Diogenes did - except Britta, now and again. Evidently one can question society and still have a cushy medical practice.)

This wasn't because Diogenes genuinely despised anyone in particular - he was against society itself, and people's tendency to act unthinkingly and do what was "acceptable". By being rude and provocative (e.g., masturbating in public, spitting in the face of a host, telling Alexander the Great to stop blocking his light), he hoped to shock people into thinking for themselves, the way Brecht would later use alienating techniques in his plays to shock people into thinking about the ideas behind them. Nothing was beyond question.

Karnak is a lot more sadistic than Diogenes, and, well, super-powered, but his fascination with rocks is in-tune with the philosopher's love of all things natural; and his demand for the aggrieved parents to give him a beloved object is probably so that they have a better appreciation for their son over that object.

Of course, I'm not saying he's not a dick either. Just that I get what Ellis is going for with him.

[pyrrhocorax]

I read it as the son being the object to be given up, which makes less sense now that I reread it. But what object could possibly make a person believe the universe is a kind and beautiful place? It seems to me it would make more sense to ask them to give up their philosophy or religion. Would a pet count? Or maybe a holy book? But they could always get another copy...maybe it’s a medication, that would work. Does it reveal what the object was in the story?

[captainbellman]

Enh, it could even be a flower, or a photo album, or a christmas gift. I unfortunately cannot buy comics where I am at the mo, so I haven't read past that bit.

[silverhammerman]

Well that page isn't included here, but Karnak explains that he knew the fellow he's torturing was a mole because he smirked when Karnak made the request. So my read was that Karnak wasn't making a real request, he was just being an ass to measure people's reactions.

I haven't had a chance to read the second issue yet so I can't be sure, but I don't think Karnak is actually trying to get some sort of treasured object.

[pyrrhocorax]

Ah, that makes more sense. Still, he does seem to value objects (or at least rocks) pretty highly, so maybe he’s making a play for their heirloom stone-with-a-hole-in-it.

[captainbellman]

The secret plot twist is that "The Tower of Wisdom" is more accurately "The Tower of Hoarding". Karnak's pet rock collection is carefully alphabetised and each section is arranged by colour.

[doodleboy]

Well Thomas Ligotti made a cult following publishing books about how human self-awareness was a mistake and humanity should just end itself so....

One thing I think that keeps it from being too cynically grimdark is that Karnak is kind of ridiculous and the comic knows Karnak is ridiculous (he keeps his phone in it's own dungeon).

[captainbellman]

Eh. The 11th Doctor did it first, and while he was being a monk, too.

Who knows, maybe Warren's a fan. I wonder if they could ever wrangle an episode out of him.

[doodleboy]

He does watch the series. I remember him blogging complaining about the new theme song with the first 11th episode.

Ellis writing Doctor Who would be interesting... if only because his writing sensibilities would be different from the show's usual voice. Hard (er) science then Doctor Who's comic book science, cynicism versus Doctor Who's optimism. Realism versus the fairy tale motif Moffat has.

[laughing_tree]

Warren Ellis actually wrote a prose story for Doctor Who Magazine way back when, before he was a name. I think I recall reading him say that it was pure paycheck work, though.

[captainbellman]

I look forward to whoever takes over this series after Ellis doing a shockingly bad job at living up to the work he did on it.

[bruinsfan]

I'm not being wowed by this at all, and that's the first example of Ellis' work that I've ever had to say that about.

[captainbellman]

You've not read his "Astonishing X-Men Lecture Tiredly About African Nations" storyline then?

[bruinsfan]

Fortunately, I have not.

[laughing_tree]

How about Gravel?

[bruinsfan]

Not familiar with it.

[tigerkaya]

Arts nice other than that, pretty meh.

[alschroeder3]

Wow. Take an disliked character and make him more unlikeable. Is he enough of a bastard to be fascinating, or just more of a jerk?

I am kind of interested what sort of masochists would want him as their spiritual leader, though. Or did I answer my own question?

[lilacsigil]

I really enjoy Ellis's work generally - there's a certain combination of worldly cynicism plus a general optimism about humanity in general, if not certain people in particular, that appeals to me a lot. But sometimes he slides too far over into the cynic's corner. I will be interested to see if this gets balanced up at all, or if the point is "Karnak is a dick to everyone, makes you think"?

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Ya know, I wish sometimes that writers would realize that they're not that clever.

Other worldly beings have been around for decades, and hell, even corporations have rights.

"Human rights wouldn't apply to inhumans" really makes no sense in a world awash in other worldly things.

[laughing_tree]

And, realistically, the obvious existence of real magic, not to mention gods like Thor and Hercules, would drastically change the spiritual character of society. Realistically, the presence of super-people since World War II would have drastically changed culture. (Think of how many blockbuster movies would have to be monumentally different, just for starters. If a person in the Marvel universe watched Independence Day or whatever, they'd go "Why aren't there any superheroes trying to stop the aliens?")

Superhero comics are all about willfully ignoring the realistic consequences its fantasy elements would have on the world! And they're all the better for it because it allows them to maintain the relatability that's such a huge part of the genre's appeal.