When we are children, we are often a desire.
Because it’s all new. A wide range of slates of possibilities we want to experience. We want it all. We see what our friends have and we want it too. All toys. All brand name clothing. All games. It is not exactly greedy, but rather a kind of attribute through having. As we age, those desires and desires change. Some still have dreams and desires for big ticket items. Million dollar homes and expensive shiny sports cars.
But as we age, our desires become simpler for many people. Our material needs are often met through work. If you want some kind of luxury, just save credit or buy. Asking someone else about their birthday or holidays is reduced. (We recognize that this is a position of privilege that no one has experienced, and it makes clear that there are people who always want more, people who stock up on wealth and material goods.
Our perspective changes. And what we want will change. Often, a little more time.
“He’s in his own world.”
Two thirds of the Watchmen team worked to tackle the question of what would be gained for men who could rise from the surface of Mars, fly around Jupiter for fun, putting enough pressure on coal to form diamonds. Superman Annual #11 by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and Tom Ziuko attempts to answer what lies at the heart of Superman’s desires. When Monglu delivered him a black mercy plant, he locked Superman into a fantasy world where he got it.
Of course, the answer is quite complicated. In the Superman fantasy world, Crypton survives, but it’s not a perfect world. I wonder if the conflict is what Superman wants, or if his mind is a by-product of opposing the trap. Because I wonder who wants a world where his father is a bitter, forgotten man and proves wrong about Crypton’s destruction. Or the invasion of the authoritarian and reactionary regimes trying to turn the clock back feels like Alan Moore still resolves some of his themes and feelings in Margaret Thatcher’s British and Vendetta’s V.
But when you think about it, the state of the world of Crypton is a bit of a window dressing. What is Superman’s desire a bit simpler, and what will Moore come back to what happened to the man of tomorrow? It’s family. Wife and children. Time spent with my father, cousin and aunt. And a simple and quiet life. He doesn’t cast himself as a hero. Or, it’s especially important in this fantasy world. What man can you want anything? peace.
“Which one is polite to kill first?”
The artwork by Dave Gibbons and Tom Ziuko is amazing. Gibbons’ ability to portray Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman as icons is not something to laugh about. There’s something special, intangible justice when he tackles superheroes, like Neil Adams and Alan Davis. The blessing of movement. Capture something bigger than their lives. He warns them with what is headed when they play against Monglu.
There is also a solid distinction between the real world and Superman’s fantasy life. Tom Ziuko gives a real world full color with white grooves separating the panels. The fantasy world is trapped in a red boundary, with a limited color palette in the background. It works to make it easier to understand as another reality, a bit fantastical. A convention that is repeated in different forms due to different letters. There are also some clever transitions between the two worlds, either visually repeating the image or carrying over dialogue.
The entire creative team of Moore, Gibbons and Ziuko is firing on every cylinder for Superman’s annual #11. It is rooted in some pre-crisis characteristics and circumstances, many of which are considered timeless. This story shows us the sacred thing Superman really wants to do with the sacred thing of goodness and the cruelty that delivers it in simulation. Even Superman wants what everyone wants in their hearts. It is not a problem with the discovery or blood.
Classic Comic Computation: Superman Annual #11
Superman Annual #11 – “For a man who has everything…”
Author: Alan Moore
Artist and Letter: Dave Gibbons
Colorist: Tom Jiuko
Publisher: DC Comics
Release date: May 28, 1985
Alan Moore, Superman vs. Mongul, and Superman: What happened to The Man of Tomorrow, can Alan Moore, Superman vs. Mongul, and Superman have collected in the DC universe?
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