... in which we could be heroes, just for one day
Last night I went to have a nap, forgot to set my alarm clock, and woke up 14 hours later. Um. o_O I do feel much better for it now, though, and after rushing a bit to do stuff, decided that I was going to treat myself to reading The Kryptonite Kid by Joseph Torchia over dinner. And, well, I'm damn glad I did.
Ohhhh, it's brilliant. The central conceit - a novel done in letters a kid writes to Superman - is pulled off excellently, and just... wow. I really think the possibility of this novel alone makes the entirity of comicdom worth it. Despite every bad thing about superhero comics (and damn, Torchia lambasts them all - "She's - dead! Choke!" indeed), this book manages to get to the heart of why they matter, why anyone cares at all, in a wonderfully true and funny way.
That said, this is one of the most fucking heartbreaking stories I've ever read. You may think this is incompatible with the above, but Torchia really is that good. (Not to say he's perfect, but, well, if I had half his talent I'd be happy.) I cried, and it's only what I'd call Woah books that can do that. I found it to be one of those things where you're on the edge of your seat going "nononononononono..." and yet you keep reading, knowing it'll happen anyway. Wah, people. Just... waaaah.
I really do want to read it again. It's relatively rare that I want to read a book again straight away, too; I re-read things fairly often, but I don't usually want to until at least a little while has passed. This time, though, I'd love to go back through it just to analyse it; I want to do an essay on it one day. The treatment of religion alone, and how that's directly linked to the portrayal of idealism and illusions and their role in society, and the way that can be linked to the story as a queer text... mmmm. There's simply loads to deal with. I think there's a thesis in the way religion and belief in superheroes are described and compared and ultimately shown to be the same, dangit; it's a shame I'd have to choose between this and Sandman. I wanna do both!
Plus, his is a geek novel in the best possible way: not only are there loads and loads of geeky references to Superman canon - the title, people! and Mr Mxyzptlk! - but those references go towards building a novel that's complex and interesting and so worthy of analysis. Eeeeeee. I wonder whether someone more versed in Superman would get more out of it... it made me want to research every single one of the things mentioned. I think I know enough to get most of it, and quite a bit was explained anyway - including who the Kryptonite Kid was, and WAH all over again- but still. It's a shame there are apparently no study guides on this. (And yes, I looked. :P)
One thing I'd like to study is the unreliable narrator. Not only is Jerry young, he can't spell and he's also rather mentally messed up, especially at the end. If any of the rest of you have read this, I'd love to know: do you think Jerry and Robert actually did end up hooking up, albeit very briefly and First Timely, at the end, and the smut bit was Robert writing Everything-everything down again? Or was that just in Jerry's head, indicating that he has finally figured out exactly what a queer is and that he is one? I'm thinking either interpretation could be justified enough to work and bring different things to the story, but at the moment I'm going for "in Jerry's head". Though I also think there's sufficient canonical evidence to say Robert returns Jerry's crush, I'm rather doubtful that either of them would act on their feelings at that point, even if it would add more to the explanation of future!Robert.
At this point I'd like to squee over the existence of a text that has not only queer subtext, but then makes it text in a subtle, brilliant, fascinating way. Way to show how queer issues are relevant to everyone, Mr Torchia. And way to fucking break my heart while you do it, too, even if you did make me do a little dance when I realised that every time I'd mentally gone "oh, dude, a queer reading of this so works", the author agreed with me. :D
Also, I have a few more questions I want to ask people in the know. Apparently, Joseph Torchia wrote a sequel to the novel, a little snippet published in a gay fiction magazine in which Jerry meets Superman. However, it also appeared that this was a reaction to being told he had to cut some stuff out, but this stuff was then later added back in. So... is this extra thing in fact the same thing as the dream where Jerry meets Superman and then goes all Krypto on him in the novel itself? Is this the same thing as the stuff that was edited out? Or is there more on Jerry and Robert and the gayness that I'm missing out on? And, is Joseph Torchia dead? I can't see anything online that says he died - a Joseph Torchia is recorded as dying, but it's his dad, as far as I can tell. However, I found this, and it makes me sad to think that he's either dead, or so poor he has to sell books he got signed. Woe.
Hmm, so... yeah. I really can't recommend this book enough. It's one of those things that is simply True, despite it being made up. This is the world, and everything that goes with it.
In other news, I think it says a lot about me that my Hanukkah celebrations today involved both lighting a candle and joining in with Ginette Reno singing Sainte Nuit, despite the fact she's much better than me. Heh. (I persist in believing that music in other languages rules; I love how it means you get to really feel the sounds made, and not just the meaning. Though the meaning is still very important - my dad sings along to Muslim religious music, and I always wonder how he can do that without going nuts trying to find out what it says. Singing something I don't understand is like nails on a blackboard to me. Or possibly more like a very forceful itch. :)) And I've decided I'm going to light candles for thirteen more days, instead of just seven or my usual none: you see, there's ONLY FOURTEEN DAYS LEFT. :D
Heh, what I actually meant by that was: happy Hanukkah, everyone. And, y'know, happy Tuesday, and happy life.
Ohhhh, it's brilliant. The central conceit - a novel done in letters a kid writes to Superman - is pulled off excellently, and just... wow. I really think the possibility of this novel alone makes the entirity of comicdom worth it. Despite every bad thing about superhero comics (and damn, Torchia lambasts them all - "She's - dead! Choke!" indeed), this book manages to get to the heart of why they matter, why anyone cares at all, in a wonderfully true and funny way.
That said, this is one of the most fucking heartbreaking stories I've ever read. You may think this is incompatible with the above, but Torchia really is that good. (Not to say he's perfect, but, well, if I had half his talent I'd be happy.) I cried, and it's only what I'd call Woah books that can do that. I found it to be one of those things where you're on the edge of your seat going "nononononononono..." and yet you keep reading, knowing it'll happen anyway. Wah, people. Just... waaaah.
I really do want to read it again. It's relatively rare that I want to read a book again straight away, too; I re-read things fairly often, but I don't usually want to until at least a little while has passed. This time, though, I'd love to go back through it just to analyse it; I want to do an essay on it one day. The treatment of religion alone, and how that's directly linked to the portrayal of idealism and illusions and their role in society, and the way that can be linked to the story as a queer text... mmmm. There's simply loads to deal with. I think there's a thesis in the way religion and belief in superheroes are described and compared and ultimately shown to be the same, dangit; it's a shame I'd have to choose between this and Sandman. I wanna do both!
Plus, his is a geek novel in the best possible way: not only are there loads and loads of geeky references to Superman canon - the title, people! and Mr Mxyzptlk! - but those references go towards building a novel that's complex and interesting and so worthy of analysis. Eeeeeee. I wonder whether someone more versed in Superman would get more out of it... it made me want to research every single one of the things mentioned. I think I know enough to get most of it, and quite a bit was explained anyway - including who the Kryptonite Kid was, and WAH all over again- but still. It's a shame there are apparently no study guides on this. (And yes, I looked. :P)
One thing I'd like to study is the unreliable narrator. Not only is Jerry young, he can't spell and he's also rather mentally messed up, especially at the end. If any of the rest of you have read this, I'd love to know: do you think Jerry and Robert actually did end up hooking up, albeit very briefly and First Timely, at the end, and the smut bit was Robert writing Everything-everything down again? Or was that just in Jerry's head, indicating that he has finally figured out exactly what a queer is and that he is one? I'm thinking either interpretation could be justified enough to work and bring different things to the story, but at the moment I'm going for "in Jerry's head". Though I also think there's sufficient canonical evidence to say Robert returns Jerry's crush, I'm rather doubtful that either of them would act on their feelings at that point, even if it would add more to the explanation of future!Robert.
At this point I'd like to squee over the existence of a text that has not only queer subtext, but then makes it text in a subtle, brilliant, fascinating way. Way to show how queer issues are relevant to everyone, Mr Torchia. And way to fucking break my heart while you do it, too, even if you did make me do a little dance when I realised that every time I'd mentally gone "oh, dude, a queer reading of this so works", the author agreed with me. :D
Also, I have a few more questions I want to ask people in the know. Apparently, Joseph Torchia wrote a sequel to the novel, a little snippet published in a gay fiction magazine in which Jerry meets Superman. However, it also appeared that this was a reaction to being told he had to cut some stuff out, but this stuff was then later added back in. So... is this extra thing in fact the same thing as the dream where Jerry meets Superman and then goes all Krypto on him in the novel itself? Is this the same thing as the stuff that was edited out? Or is there more on Jerry and Robert and the gayness that I'm missing out on? And, is Joseph Torchia dead? I can't see anything online that says he died - a Joseph Torchia is recorded as dying, but it's his dad, as far as I can tell. However, I found this, and it makes me sad to think that he's either dead, or so poor he has to sell books he got signed. Woe.
Hmm, so... yeah. I really can't recommend this book enough. It's one of those things that is simply True, despite it being made up. This is the world, and everything that goes with it.
In other news, I think it says a lot about me that my Hanukkah celebrations today involved both lighting a candle and joining in with Ginette Reno singing Sainte Nuit, despite the fact she's much better than me. Heh. (I persist in believing that music in other languages rules; I love how it means you get to really feel the sounds made, and not just the meaning. Though the meaning is still very important - my dad sings along to Muslim religious music, and I always wonder how he can do that without going nuts trying to find out what it says. Singing something I don't understand is like nails on a blackboard to me. Or possibly more like a very forceful itch. :)) And I've decided I'm going to light candles for thirteen more days, instead of just seven or my usual none: you see, there's ONLY FOURTEEN DAYS LEFT. :D
Heh, what I actually meant by that was: happy Hanukkah, everyone. And, y'know, happy Tuesday, and happy life.