Escape Artists
Escape Pod => Science Fiction Discussion => Topic started by: bolddeceiver on September 15, 2008, 01:00:52 AM
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Judging by EP, apparently literary superhero stories count as SF, so for those of you left in the cold by the abrupt ending of Dr. Horrible, I highly recommend Soon I Will Be Invincible, by Austin Grossman. It's a fun novel, and it does some interesting exploration of the possible motivations behind the tropes of superhero comics, espescially the personalities and hang-ups of supervillains. It's heavily character driven, but not at the expense of plot, and the world is beautifully fleshed out and feels way bigger than the events of the novel alone.
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So, not recommended for those of us who thought the ending of Dr Horrible was absolutely perfect? ;)
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Thanks for the tip, sounds like something to put on my reading list.
As for Union Dues on a SF podcast, it has been grandfathered in. UD was running before Podcastle or Pseudopod were around.
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Thanks for the tip, sounds like something to put on my reading list.
As for Union Dues on a SF podcast, it has been grandfathered in. UD was running before Podcastle or Pseudopod were around.
Kinda depends on the Superhero, doesn't it? Batman is SF, Sups is F with bits of SF (Wonder Woman definitely is F, J'onn J'onzz SF, Flash is kinda SF-y, Aquaman is F, Green Lantern is F for Pseudoscience/SF for Aliens, Green Arrow is SF, and that's just a few of the main JLA'ers, ignoring the Marvel universe and the characters that actually use magic). It's like a lot of genre fiction — attempts to make it fit into boxes kills/constraints it.
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I thought "Soon I Will Be Invincible" was a lot of fun. I have to admit that I bought it for the title and the cover. I was prepared to be disappointed, but I enjoyed it. It's fluff, but it's fun fluff. And, it was clean enough to pass to my 13 year old son.
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Thanks for the tip, sounds like something to put on my reading list.
As for Union Dues on a SF podcast, it has been grandfathered in. UD was running before Podcastle or Pseudopod were around.
Kinda depends on the Superhero, doesn't it? Batman is SF, Sups is F with bits of SF (Wonder Woman definitely is F, J'onn J'onzz SF, Flash is kinda SF-y, Aquaman is F, Green Lantern is F for Pseudoscience/SF for Aliens, Green Arrow is SF, and that's just a few of the main JLA'ers, ignoring the Marvel universe and the characters that actually use magic). It's like a lot of genre fiction — attempts to make it fit into boxes kills/constraints it.
I agree.
There are plenty of examples that straddle the line; any line, in any medium. Even so, we still create "genres" in an attempt to fit the analogue world in to digital boxes. I would say that Batman is more SF because he's a "normal" human who has great skill and greater gadgets: in other words the science he uses is a bit fictional. Wonder Woman is more fantasy because she's based on a fictional tribe and her powers are more 'magical' (flight). Although I'm sure the opposite can be argued too.
Either way UD is on EP because it was here first.
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Ya, Wonder Woman is fantasy, Superman is Science Fiction (of the less than plausible sort). Superheroes are perhaps a genre of their own. However, the "realistic" takes on the Superhero concept, such as Union Dues or Wildcards almost always ignore the outright fantasy stuff. I don't we'll see any Norse Gods flying about on magical hammers in the UD universe.
Of course, Union Dues isn't really "superheroes" at all. It's a universe where super powered people are dressed up to look like superheroes to make them acceptable to the public. It's a science fiction "what if" real superpowered people started appearing in a world already used to comics and movies about Superman and Spiderman?
Anyway. Topic. Haven't heard of SIWBI, will have to check it out.
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However, the "realistic" takes on the Superhero concept, such as Union Dues or Wildcards almost always ignore the outright fantasy stuff. I don't we'll see any Norse Gods flying about on magical hammers in the UD universe.
Have you read Marvel's "Ultimates"? It is pretty much as realistic as UD or Wildcards, and they do have a Norse God (or do they, it's an interesting plot arc).
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Picked it up the other day. Looks like a good read.
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It certainly starts off very strong. There are some really memorable parts, and a couple of eyeball rollers, but overall I enjoyed it. The new take on some of the characters like Tony Stark and Thor are cool.
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However, the "realistic" takes on the Superhero concept, such as Union Dues or Wildcards almost always ignore the outright fantasy stuff. I don't we'll see any Norse Gods flying about on magical hammers in the UD universe.
That's one of the things I really liked about SIWBI, the way it sort of left the actual nature of those things ambiguous, espescially regarding the characters Elphin and Mr. Mystic.