As February draws to a close, so does this series of entirely random choices of things about comics that I happen to find entirely awesome. For the final selection, then, how could I resist one of the greatest comic staples of all?
The secret identity concept is one that’s sadly been somewhat abandoned in recent years, beaten back by thoughts of realism and fear of seeming ridiculous or the such, and it’s a shame. Yes, the idea that a pair of glasses or domino mask could make your dual identity impossible to uncover by anyone with a pair of eyes and the ability to recognize voices is ridiculous, but that is a large part of its charm, for me; the secret identity is a massive portion of the wish fulfillment aspect of superheroes (It’s the “if only they knew the real me” thought process made concrete), and also something that’s become oddly real in the internet age where it’s easy to make up a name and post commentary online behind a digital mask of anonymity. We all have secret identities now, to an extent; I just wish that today’s superhero comics played up that aspect of modern life some more to reflect it.
February 29th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Who’s Ernie?
February 29th, 2012 at 11:43 pm
An artist who works for the Daily Planet. Those panels are from Superman #330, “The Master Mesmerizer of Metropolis!” I love that story.
Here’s a good link that talks about it:
http://slaymonstrobot.blogspot.com/2007/12/things-that-make-me-smile-superman-330.html
March 1st, 2012 at 3:19 am
Thanks for the info Kevin!
March 1st, 2012 at 6:04 am
It’s ironic that Martin Pasko used to write extremely long, articulate fan letters detailing the shortcoming of DC comics, then became a pro and wrote one of the dumbest Superman stories ever.