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seriousficOf the genres, the one that's really exploding right now is urban fantasy. Sometimes you may think it's another genre, but not really. Urban fantasy is the stepchild of soft science-fiction and fairy tales, so it tends to get around. For instance, Warehouse 13? Urban fantasy. Unless you want to argue that celebrities' hairbrushes being haunted is a legitimate scientific theory that they're exploring the ramifications of.
And Jack Kirby's Fourth World was actually the first urban fantasy. Unlike most superhero comics, which are about regular people who become extraordinary (even Superman starts out a guy who thinks he's human before learning he's an alien), the Fourth World was about otherworldly societies that exist within or alongside the traditional one. Even in urban fantasies where there's no 'masquerade,' the plot tends to quickly go to "Welcome, outsider, to the inner workings of the werewolves, which no human has ever seen!" Orion and Mr. Miracle weren't superheroes--they were guys who showed up on Earth to do their thing.
So, why not apply the more traditional urban fantasy formula to the Fourth World and see what happens? Take one tough, sexy female cop, or private investigator, or government agent. She starts investigating Orion, who is basically the prototypical urban fantasy male: hot, driven, dark secret, with a bestial side he struggles against. They fall for each other and fight Darkseid.
So where do Mr. Miracle and Big Barda come in, since they're unquestionably the stars of the Fourth World universe? Well, any urban fantasy worth its salt has recurring allies, a trend from noir novels. Spenser has Hawke, Harry Dresden has Michael Carpenter, Orion will have Mr. Miracle. Every few issues, he'll need help with something, so he goes to the suburbs where Scott and Barda are trying to have a Tupperware party or watch the big game, and tell them he needs some assistance with slaying a dragon or breaking into a Cadmus vault. They'll be like Lily and Marshall from How I Met Your Mother, just superheroes. The Frees can be a happily married couple and Orion can have all the romantic tribulations an ongoing series needs. Everybody's happy.
And Jack Kirby's Fourth World was actually the first urban fantasy. Unlike most superhero comics, which are about regular people who become extraordinary (even Superman starts out a guy who thinks he's human before learning he's an alien), the Fourth World was about otherworldly societies that exist within or alongside the traditional one. Even in urban fantasies where there's no 'masquerade,' the plot tends to quickly go to "Welcome, outsider, to the inner workings of the werewolves, which no human has ever seen!" Orion and Mr. Miracle weren't superheroes--they were guys who showed up on Earth to do their thing.
So, why not apply the more traditional urban fantasy formula to the Fourth World and see what happens? Take one tough, sexy female cop, or private investigator, or government agent. She starts investigating Orion, who is basically the prototypical urban fantasy male: hot, driven, dark secret, with a bestial side he struggles against. They fall for each other and fight Darkseid.
So where do Mr. Miracle and Big Barda come in, since they're unquestionably the stars of the Fourth World universe? Well, any urban fantasy worth its salt has recurring allies, a trend from noir novels. Spenser has Hawke, Harry Dresden has Michael Carpenter, Orion will have Mr. Miracle. Every few issues, he'll need help with something, so he goes to the suburbs where Scott and Barda are trying to have a Tupperware party or watch the big game, and tell them he needs some assistance with slaying a dragon or breaking into a Cadmus vault. They'll be like Lily and Marshall from How I Met Your Mother, just superheroes. The Frees can be a happily married couple and Orion can have all the romantic tribulations an ongoing series needs. Everybody's happy.
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Date: 2012-09-21 09:28 am (UTC)