Graphic Novels! - It's A Bird...

While I’ve done away with themed months here, I still gotta talk about some Superman during September. It just feels right even when the man in question doesn’t show up. Today’s pick is just one example of that. During my last peruse at McKay’s, I was trying to find something to get. This book caught my eye. Outside of a couple of books, I haven’t read much Vertigo, so seeing something involving Superman in that line piqued my interest.

It’s A Bird… was released by DC under their Vertigo line in 2004. It was written by Steven T. Seagle, and it’s not the Marked for Death guy, okay? Let’s get that clear. Seagle had actually written for Superman in the past, and he’s done other things for DC and Vertigo. He’s also known for being one of the creators of Ben 10. The artwork was done by Teddy Kristiansen. He actually won an Eisner award for this book and a couple of others.

It’s A Bird…

Writer: Steven T. Seagle

Artist: Teddy Kristiansen

Letters: Todd Kline

SYNOPSIS

I wanna keep things light here. The book is essentially an autobiographical book for Seagle. It chronicles his thoughts as he’s asked by DC to work on Superman. Even though he’s not a fan of Superman, he decides to see if he can even get an idea on the character. All he remembers of the character was this old book that he and his younger brother read when they were  . Throughout the book, he tries to get Superman and goes all around the bend with him. He only sees the flaws of Superman, but he eventually learns to understand Superman and takes on the book.

Throughout the book, Seagle’s also dealing with his own personal turmoil. We find out that his family has struggled with Huntington’s Disease, and it’s something that his family has kept a secret. The book starts out with us finding out that his grandmother suffered from it. The secret is even affecting his relationship with his girlfriend Lisa, and even his work a bit. He finds out from his mother that his father’s disappeared and that gets him worried that the disease has shown up again. All of this as well as his job come to a head here.

OPINION

This was a pretty interesting read. I’ve seen some say that it’s one of the best Superman stories without Superman in it. I don’t know if I can say that yet, but this was a pretty good read. All of this is being told from Seagle’s perspective. We get his thoughts on a lot of stuff here. Seeing him try to figure out the Man of Steel was pretty interesting. Seagle starts out as a guy who just didn’t see anything interesting about Superman, and while he may not be the biggest fan at the end, he does come to respect him.

During the story, small 2-page vignettes are spliced in that talk about an aspect of Superman. They also mirror what Seagle is going through at that moment. Everything gets thrown on the table like Superman being an outsider, the double life, the loneliness, the power, and strangely enough, fascism. I guess Seagle somehow prophesied how fascinated folk would be with Superman (or an homage) going full tyrant in some stories these days. On the other side of the story, he lays out how much Huntington’s effected his family. He also tries to describe the disease in detail at some point when we meet another relative that has it.

The artwork is pretty good and inventive. It’s something that you really don’t see much in mainstream comics. Kristiansen adds a lot of variety to the work presented. It kinda has an airbrushed feel to it. Seagle’s side of the story has its own grounded artwork. The colors are pretty good. The lack of color in some pages makes a lot of the art work. The vignettes are where he goes off the wall a bit. Each of them has a certain feel for what message or aspect that’s being presented. I see why this won an Eisner.

There isn’t much for me to dislike about the book. Seagle written here can be a bit of a douche at times to the people he loves. Then again, he starts out as a Superman hater, so I already don’t like him much, haha. I also felt that the plot about his dad kinda ended abruptly. It wasn’t the main focus of the book, but that did feel a bit brushed over in the end. Other than those things, this was good.

Overall, this was a good read. It’s not every day where you read a Superman story without Superman in it. It also kinda makes me want to check out what Seagle’s other work on Superman looked like. Well, that’s all I got for today. Now if you excuse me, I need to see how this Bendis run fared out. For now, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there. Don’t be punching any writers that talk about the coolness of Superman, okay?