The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.

Yesterday our course had a visiting lecturer who happened to be my tutor from my BA degree. Dr. Roger Sabin is arguably the worlds leading expert on comic-book culture and has written numerous books and papers on the subject. I must confess, and Roger has been made well aware of this in the past that comics have practically escaped me. The few occasions I have read any comics were when I purchased the ever so occasional Beano or Dandy when I was a child (more interested in the promotional drumstick lolly) or when I was given a (for what was the majority sexually explicit) copy of 2000 A.D when they were being given away in Newquay as a part of a promotion (I was about 10 years old at the time.)

In the course of the lecture/seminar we discussed comic books in relation to wider cultural concerns and I would like to further discuss one of the points I raised in the discussion duration. It seems to me that comic characters differ greatly when looking at the American and British output contrastingly. In America most superheros start off as dowdy geeky sorts with little hope in life and are subsequently transformed into a 'hero' with muscles, personality and earth saving abilities. In Britain however our comic book characters are similarly geeky, flawed and outsiders but make a virtue of it through rebellion and making the best of what has been given to them.

It is also interesting to note how the 'ideal' physique is represented. Let's look at Clark Kent/Superman as an example:


Here we see Clark Kent as civilian, nothing remarkable in his appearance with 'preppy' style and large framed glasses, an unassuming character.


...and here we see Clark Kent transformed as Superman with over-accentuated muscular structure, minus spectacles, clothing with a figure hugging silhouette. To me this has a lot to do with specific targeting and the quest for 'The American Dream.' Comic books, for the most part are read by adolescent boys and always have been. These days (in particular) this audience is seen as 'geeky' and the sort of audience who are not particularly renowned for their suave lothario nature (I am well aware this is a massive generalisation but I feel it humorously illustrates my point.) American comics seem to make the 'Average-Joe' uncomfortable with their god-given lot and yes, YOU too can be 'a' Superman if your heart desires. This notion is backed-up with the inclusion of specific advertisement alongside the comic strips, spot-creams and Mountain Dew all apparently making you one step closer to invincibility.

Before I go onto give British examples I shall stick with this theme of 'Americanization' and look now to Action Man as he is known here, or, over the pond as G.I. Joe.
Once again we have an instantly noticeable difference in physique ideals; Examples:


Here we see British 'Action Man' slight of figure, gormless expression, the only real 'action' coming from a little toggle at the rear of his head to make his eyes move.


...and here is G.I. Joe with highly emphasised torso, once again America seems to give it's children a different ideal for aspiration complete with 'dynamic' facial expressions, all features are made larger apart from the feet which need to fit into standardised army boots giving the doll strange proportions which is not necessarily the case with 'Action Man.'

With this in mind let's look at some of Britain's most beloved comic book characters:

Billy Bunter as one example endears himself to use through humorous and obsessive gluttony and he is not the only character whose main trait was to eat, this seems to be a uniquely British fixation far removed from the ultra-fit and honed figures of American comics and toys.


Desperate Dan was the main character of The Dandy, a character whose 'superhero' status was played out through the consumption of enormous pies made from entire cows horns n' all.


The Bash Street Kids were featured in the pages of The Beano, a British institution, each character weirder, uglier and more flawed than the next to some children these characters were heroes because of their rebellious anti-parental, anti-establishment stance.

It seems that here in Blighty we are most comfortable when poking fun at our foibles, muscle and brawn are not conducive to the alleviation of social status. Instead we would much rather show our mettle through eating epic pies, placing a whoopee cushion under a teachers posterior or being rotund and funny looking. Here we are more than happy to be Clark Kent as opposed to Superman and aspire to an Action Man who looks like Nicholas Lyndhurst.