by Anna Josephson and Jeff Michler
Jeff: How is this for an opening metaphor: Like the real Universe, the Marvel Universe is ever expanding at an ever increasing rate to include all of pop culture? Or, maybe: Thanos is the black hole of the Marvel Universe, inexorably drawing all of pop culture into his narrative orbit?
Anna: How about: In its attempt to control all pop culture characters ever created, Marvel is a capitalistic Big Brother?
J: I know! Marvel’s never ending attempt to commoditize pop culture and fetishize commodities is evidence that Marx’s critique of capital was right.
A: Not really a metaphor, Jeff.
J: I know, but it’s overwrought and slightly plausible, like Peter Quill’s interior monologues.
A: Yeah, yeah, tremendously overdramatic. But, despite the potentially overblown nature of the internal discussions: did we enjoy Guardians of the Galaxy when we saw it over the weekend?
J: Yes, we did!
A: And did we enjoy it so much that when I saw Legendary Star Lord #1 and #2 at our amazing local bookstore earlier this week I got it, primarily because I thought it would continue the fun?
J: Yes, you did!! And, do we still enjoy the adventures of Peter Quill?
A: Meh. But… full disclosure; I don’t generally like superhero anything. I like The Incredibles, and I’ve seen one Batman movie. But, I typically agree with Liz Lemon in matters of sportsball and superhero material:
“… Maybe things that men like are boring to women … Football, motorcycles, steak restaurants, really dark superhero movies. These are things that suck.”
So, with that in mind, Jeff, what did you think of this?
J: I liked it. It has been over a decade since I’ve read cape comics and not much has changed. The men are slim, the women heave their bosoms around, and the villains are ugly with ugly names.
A: Well, in defense of the heavily bosomed woman, she is pretty bad-ass. She kicks Peter’s butt, stands up for her own honor, and generally seems to always get what’s hers. I think if she was a weak, flimsy lady, I wouldn’t have found the comic so, almost mindlessly, enjoyable. That said, I find myself continually describing it as “cute”.
J: Well, I think Peter would accept the compliment, though he would probably prefer Dashing. I agree the first two books are fun and easy to digest. Sam Humphries is clearly not putting a lot of effort into the story but he is clever enough to keep the script free from groan inducing lines.
A: Paco Medina’s characters are drawn with a clear, strong hand, and I found the color-palate pretty pleasing, but the whole thing does look a bit manufactured.
J: I agree, but it does mean that the comic looks very much like the Guardian’s movie world, making the book easily digestible to new fans.
A: And, while the story is fun and Peter is an excellent companion, let’s not kid ourselves that the only purpose of the comic is to extend Marvel’s hegemony.
J: Besides the Guardian crew, the first two issues clearly establish that Thanos, the ultimate villain of The Avengers movie franchise is the prime villain here. Also, we meet Kitty Pryde in issue #1, which creates a vector for Marvel to integrate The Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers, and The X-Men into one SUPER MOVIE!!!
A: And here I thought Patton Oswalt was kidding with his filibuster in Parks and Rec about a super connected super universe full of super heroes!
J: I look at this book, and the whole set of Marvel movies, and I am not sure what to make of it. One on hand, character crossovers are a staple of comics and I enjoy the connections Marvel has sown into their films. I’ve liked the Kitty Pryde character back when I used to read The X-Men and the idea that Ellen Page might show up in the next Guardian of the Galaxy film kicking ass with Chris Pratt is really exciting (unlikely as it is, since Fox owns the X-Men). But, on the other hand, I can’t help feeling Marvel’s continual sewing of connections is nothing more than a crass capitalist ploy to increase share value.
A: We’re economists, so we can’t pretend that we don’t see the huge money-making potential which exists in crossing the universes of super heroes.
J: Yes, but Marvel is an entertainment company not an artist collective. Can we really be upset at them for monetizing their character archive as efficiently as possible?
A: I’m not a fan of many of their caped avengers but I don’t hold it against Marvel for building as large of a product as possible. They don’t pretend to have some higher worth.
J: That’s true for many of the Avengers story arcs and Guardians of the Galaxy. But, The X-Men have always been a vehicle for social commentary on anti-Semitism, gay rights, and the disenfranchised in general. Some of the Avenger story-lines also play at social commentary. So, what happens to those stories that seek to comment of social issues when they are melded with silly commercialism like Guardians?
A: That is the tension between the artists and writers, who may have a higher purpose, and the parent company of Marvel itself, Disney, that wants to make good on its investment.
J: You’re right. And it’s not new to comics. Film… music… any artistic medium that has a commercial appeal faces this challenge – the balancing of artistic endeavor with commercial gain.
A: Well, regardless of the universe Quinn is inhabiting, be it one with Kitty Pryde looking to comment on the disenfranchised or one with Thor looking to cash in, I want hang out with him and the other Guardians a little more.
Anna Josephson and Jeff Michler are both development economists finishing their PhDs at Purdue. They enjoy reading and discussing television and graphic novels together when they are not debating theories of economic growth. You can find their scholarly work at http://ideas.repec.org/
