Marvel Month Part 4(of 5)

The main character has been described as ugly and irritating. The art has been called childish and cartoony. In the words of one particularly misguided reviewer – “The story? Actually, I couldn’t care less. Who cares about a little boy, playing Spider-Man with a sister who’s a bully. And the comic made by Gus, same there.” My response to reviewers like these is – You need to take yourselves a lot less seriously.” Mind you, several well-placed explicatives were deleted from my quote in the interests of an all-ages column suited to this title.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that this book can be used as a test for any comic reviewer. Anyone who judges this title so harshly as those examples I gave above is really not worth your time, and you should probably look elsewhere.

So what exactly is The Marvelous Adventures of Gus Beezer all about? Read on …

Cast of Characters

The title character, the lovable Gus Beezer, is your typical little boy. Just like most boys his age, he loves playing, loves superheroes, loves pretending to BE a superhero, and by extension loves comic books. In fact, as might be expected, sometimes his imagination runs away with him, and he can take his games a little too far.

He also loves making his very own comic books, starring himself, of course, as the heroic Marvel Kid, with his pet Zabu as his sidekick, Marvel Dog. His origin? One boring day, a kid and his dog were walking around when they were struck by lightning (Blue Blazes!). They then tripped over a microwave into a vat of dangerous radio-active proto-slime! Thus they were granted their amazing powers. Sounds like something you would write as a child?

Gus Beezer is a Marvel Universe character, and as such, he exists in the very same world that the heroes he idolizes do. So of course, he wants to meet them. What fun would this title be if he did not get the chance? In the three issues of Gus Beezer to date, he has met Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men. A little kid’s dream come true.

Gus has two sisters. His older sister, Emily, terrorizes her unsuspecting little brother as all older sisters do. His younger sister, the toddler Tillie, terrorizes him in an entirely different way (to tell you any more about Tillie would constitute a SPOILER!). Little boys Gus’s age of course despise girls, so he reacts to his own sisters the very way you would expect. They often pop up as villains in his comics and his imaginary games.

Gus has a nemesis – the portly Dunbar Dilpepper, who lives next-door, wears a bow tie to class (on purpose! Gasp!), and will torment Gus any way he can.

Thoughts

This is a kid’s book, and should be treated as such. But as great entertainment material for children often does, it makes a real effort to appeal to the adults who may happen to read it (by choice or otherwise). Loony Tunes is a classic example of this style- cartoons which we all enjoyed as kids which have an entirely different appeal when we grow older. Gus Beezer will not make you roll your eyes in disgust as something like Barney might- you will actually enjoy reading this “kids” comic. Beyond that, I really think this title is a great comic to actually READ to a child. Who would have thunk it?

Each issue is neatly divided into two parts. The top portion of each page is the main story, while underneath the tear at the bottom is the story by Gus Beezer himself, featuring his very own art. The bad reviewers out there are already rolling their eyes in disgust. “The pages lack BALANCE! You mean I have to go back and read the same book again? I get lost if I read them both at once!” The format actually is unique and appropriate. Sure the format is off the usual “beaten path” of comics today, but kids don’t care about that stuff. Each page has different things to look at and quite frankly a kid is not going to care if they have to flip through the book a couple of times. They were going to do that anyway.

One thing that this comic does that should appeal to your run-of-the-mill comic reviewer is Gail Simone’s writing- she really demonstrates her character prowess with this series. One thing I have always liked about Simone’s work was her ability to write a wide assortment of believable characters. Men and women, heroes and villains, and everyone else, Simone has the rare ability to craft unique and deeply realistic individuals in her stories. I am sure many of you have read work by otherwise good authors who just could not get something right about a particular character- the most common instance of this is the portrayal of female characters by male authors (or vice versa). In Gus Beezer, she demonstrates that she can also write believable children, and that is quite an accomplishment. Though somewhat exaggerated (quite intentionally I am sure), the kids in Gus Beezer are distinct and real- you would almost think that Simone herself was a little BOY growing up. Once again, my admiration of her work goes unchallenged.

The art is what you might expect from a title like this- deliberately cartoony. The best artistic aspect of Gus Beezer is the representation of “his” artwork. It is a bit more detailed than your average young child could probably accomplish, but the style is uncanny. Stick legs, no perspective, boxy objects, all drawn on typical notebook paper – Jason Lethcoe manages to capture the feel of a child’s drawing without stooping to total slop- quite an accomplishment.

One thing that bugs me more than anything about the comic industry today is the lack of real titles for kids. The one real problem with Simone’s representation of Gus is his obsession with comic books- that was a trait kids of my generation were the last to really possess. Comics today are too hard to find, and quite frankly, big-name books like Spider-Man are simply not suitable for readers that young. I have written at great length about this subject in the past, and I have always pointed a finger right at the comic publishers. They are not the only ones to blame though- a certain portions of comic fandom shares the blame for this as well.

In reading some reviews (some were outstanding, and my hats are off to those few) for the three Gus Beezer books on the shelves today, some (like the one I quoted at the beginning of the column) are quite representative of certain readers of comics today- the type of person who has a “formula” for a great comic. They require a deep story (no matter how superficially deep), highly detailed or “artistic” drawing, and a serious feel. These “Comic Elitists,” a product of the modern comic age, seem to have lost touch with what comics are all about and have lost any real perspective. Universally, when a book aimed at a younger audience comes out, these people will bash it relentlessly for not living up to their ridiculous standards. Sadly, these people don’t realize that their attitude is most unhealthy for the future of the comic market. It is imperative to judge a comic for what it is, and along those lines, Gus Beezer is a treasure.

I have said it before, and I will say it again. The comic industry cannot survive as specialized as it is now. Comics have the stigma of being for “geeks” generally, at worst, and a quirky form of pop-culture at best. Comic Elitists don’t particularly care about this, but some do feel that the key to ending that stigma is to make comics a real art form, something to be respected by the general world. Unfortunately, while a noble concept, that approach would inevitably lead to the death of comics. Books of that nature are hard for a new reader to get into, and brand new comic readers would likely not have the patience required to get hooked. As such, fewer and fewer new readers would come to stay, resulting in even higher prices and less circulation. You can see this happening today. Kids are the key to the future of the comic industry.

Bottom Line

Children’s comics are absolutely essential to the future of the industry. And fascination with popular heroes like Spider-man and Batman are simply not enough. Most young kids today, while fans of the characters, have likely never read a comic in their lives. I know of several myself. Comics are not accessible to children- they are not cheap enough, not readily available enough, and most responsible parents would not allow their kids to read the comics of today anyway.

Spider-man would survive if comics were to die out today- living on through other mediums like television and the silver screen. It is not enough to rely on the draw these characters to get people to try comics when they are old enough to really seek them out on their own. The answer is to make books available to kids, and to have the existing comic fans not only support them, but to spread the word to get these titles in the hands of kids.

Every other form of entertainment has a thriving array of children’s material, so why not comics? Books like Gus Beezer are an excellent start. The Marvelous Adventures of Gus Beezer & Spider-Man #2 (with a new art team) will hit shelves next month. I urge all of you not only to go out and pick up a copy, but to also pick up another copy for a child, any child, you might happen to know. We all hate rising comic costs and cancelled titles due to low sales- but we also like the books we read to remain a consistent high quality. The more kids that read comics, the better things get for the industry on all fronts. So go out there and spread the love.

Credit where credit is due-

The Marvelous Adventures of Gus Beezer is
Written by- Gail Simone
Pencilled by- Jason Lethcoe
and Colored by – Hi-Fi

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