Comic books/graphic novels

Post Reply New Topic

I picked one up for the first time in over 20 years not long ago and was reminded of why I don't read or collect them

Two enemies face off: Iron Man and Magneto

Magneto: "They sent you to do battle with me?! Don't you know what my abilities are?"
Iron Man: "Good thing my armor is made from carbon nanotubes!"
Magneto: "Foiled again!"

It's like when you're kids playing space or something; someone fires a laser at you that they overloaded by a billion percent. Good thing your shield is bolstered by a trillion percent and reflects the energy back at the attacker!

Is there a name for this like of thing? Only thing that comes to mind is deus ex which I find common in comics.

Are there any comics out there that don't do this? Something good?

"Deus ex" means "god out of" or "god from." Your query leaves me at a quandary.

deus ex [machina] is a literary device employed to save the day.

I guess, in a sense, superheroes are godlike, right? They fly in to save the day. Interestingly, there are lots of folks who like their heroes without superpowers. The new CW show, Arrow, presents "stripped down" versions of superheroes. The link is below.

Arrow

I guess, in a way, some comic heroes like Batman & Robin, Black Widow, Hawkeye and The Punisher can't "one up" anyone in regards to superpowers. They don't have any.

The full term is deus ex machina, or "god from the machinery." Back in the days of Greek and Roman drama,
poor playwrights used a "god from the machinery" to provide a way out for a hero who otherwise would be
hopelessly trapped and overwhelmed by his antagonist. From what you're telling me, comic book writers resort
to this plot device at just the right moment to shatter your willingness to suspend disbelief--and ruin their story
in the process.

Spike Milligan's children's story Badjelly the Witch uses deus ex machina--to validate a child's attempts to tell a story.
When young children try to tell stories they made up, they often have to resort to this plot device as a way of ending their stories.

As for comic books or graphic novels that don't use this device: I'm looking for stories like that myself.
Julie Cohen's romance novel Girl from Mars features a cartoonist for the fictional comicbook "Girl from Mars" whose
best story renounces deus ex machina in favor of a less-than-happy ending that is yet fully justified by the story itself.
See if you can scare up a copy at the local used books store.

I remember something similar where Iron Man threw an engine at Magneto, but it was actually a wooden prop painted metallic to look like a metal engine. It was mildly amusing playing on Magneto's abilities I guess.

When I think of any comics that didn't do that The Savage Dragon comes to mind. The Dragon himself actually takes severe beatings from villains. He only later bounces back from his healing ability.

hit the nail squarely on the head.

I read lots and lots of comics and pulp. The writing quality is going to be highly variable in both formats... I actually like a lot of the badly written stuff.

Edgar Rice Burroughs is a horrible plotter, but he's an amazing world builder. For me, the appeal of comics and pulp is in its amazing worlds and colorful characters, not it the quality of the plots.

The best writing in comics is usually found among the indie titles these days. I'd recommend the indie stuff by Jonathan Hickman (click), The Sixth Gun series (click), and The Walking Dead (click) as good reads. Those books all have interesting worlds and compelling characters... The plots may, or may not, be up to your standards...

For mainstream titles Scott Snyder has done some fantastic work on Batman/Court of Owls series, but again, the story is really a character study... I thought the plot was fine, but I also didn't think it was all that important either. Your mileage may vary.