In Which I Don’t Destroy The World…

Well, It was bound to not happen I suppose. I have finished reading The Science Of Superheroes by Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg and I am slightly disappointed that I didn’t learn how to gain god like powers. Ah, well, all the better for humanity.

TSOS is really more of a science primer using various superheroes as a basis of discussion rather than a detailed scientific breakdown of the heroes and their powers, but it is on the whole an enjoyable read and a good resource for someone to get introduced to critical thinking. One aspect of the book I found strange was the author’s choice to discuss the original versions of the characters rather than the modern versions, but I suppose with so many reboots and retcons for the powers that it was probably easier.

Not too surprisingly, nearly all of the characters discussed, both from DC and Marvel were found to be impossible, with some relatively simple physics defeating the mightiest powers. The Batman of course proved to be the most possible of all the characters discussed as most of the technology that batman uses really exists in some form or another, even going back to his origins.

The book does digress at one point, when discussing evolution in regard to teh X-men, but going of into a diatribe against “creation science”. While I agree that there is no credible evidence for creationism, there really was not room for the discussion in the book, and it does sort of distract from the experience a bit. Then the authors conclude that with the emergence of genetic manipulation the X-men may be possible.

That part aside, the book is fun and it great to see someone taking the “what if”s of comics and giving them a serious treatment. So it seem that if i want to become a superhero/villain, I will need to either turn to fanciful technology or wait for genetic technology to catch up to the comics.

In other news, I have decided, after reading the second issue of The Traveler that I will no longer be following this series. I simply can’t get behind the awful awful attempts to use scientific jargon to explain the story. It is distracting and frustrating to me because, although I am not a physicist, I have a fairly solid understanding of the basics of relativity and to a lesser degree, quantum physics. I really hate when a comic attempts to over explain what is happening using scientific words / theories.  Ultimately the stories are pretty impossible, and it get that, suspension of disbelief and all that, but the more they try to explain it, the more I actually think about what is going on, and the more I become distanced from the story, which is what I should be focusing on. Y The Last Man was almost ruined for me when they tried to explain what happened at the end. Either use some vague explanation, or invent a new “science”. When the core concept doesn’t jibe with what I know, well, pass.

In terms of comics that I am enjoying, let me just say that Irredeemable and Incorruptible are both mighty fine reads and there are several trades available for each if you are interested in catching up. I talked about Irredeemable in Panelcast 75 and I will probably talk about Incorruptible next episode.

Also, I love our new commercial for the IECE and I like to replay it every now and then. If you haven’t seen it yet, for shame! Go watch it and tell us how much you blorgin’ loved it. Alright, I am done exhorting for now.  Pester me to make new Geek Girls episodes so that I can remember to get on that.