CHARACTER VS. ARCHETYPE

On July 24, 2009 Sean T. Collins wrote:

'[Curt Purcell] articulates a problem with serialized superhero comics that not even Jim Shooter-style "new-reader friendliness" can overcome, namely that even if a superhero comic uses exposition to provide you with all the information you need to make sense it, it still "presuppose[s] a history of emotional attachment to these characters" to connect with it. And frankly there's no more of a way around that than there would be to make latecomers to The Sopranos instantly connect with the plight of Christopher Moltisanti. It's just the nature of long-form serialized storytelling. The key is to avoid plot points that are simply "Hey look, it's That Guy!" in favor of "Hey, look what that guy is doing!"'

I agree with this-- in part.

IMO, the sort of archetypal characters favored by popular fiction are less independent from their functions in the plot than characters in canonical literature, or at least the literature of what I've called "thematic realism." This means that the "emotional attachment"one gets from popfiction characters like Sherlock Holmes and the Fantastic Four is very different from that of those literary characters who have enjoyed wide popularity, such as Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.

Personal aside: one of my first Marvel comics was FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #5. At that time I believe I might have gotten the sketchiest idea of what the FF were about from a MARVEL TALES reprinting a Human Torch tale, wherein the other three members guest-starred with their fiery partner. For those not acquainted with FF ANNUAL #5, it could almost be retitled FF GUEST STARS ANNUAL #5, since it not only intro'd me to support characters like Alicia and Crystal, but also to Black Panther and the Inhumans, who joined the FF in battling Psycho-Man and three supervillain flunkies.

It was a heady mix, to be sure, considering how little I knew about the various characters' backstories. But I would say that my desire to know more about those backstories proceeded not just from intrigue as to the characters themselves, but also as to their function in exciting, imaginative stories of super-powered conflict.

Sean points out that the problems of "long-form serialized storytelling" are not unique to superhero comics, and I agree. If one tried to pick up an ANITA BLAKE book late in the continuity, I believe one would find oneself deluged in backstory summations no less onerous than any of those of most superhero comics, and probably a good deal less immediately engaging than Lee and Kirby's FF ANNUAL #5.

But, if a reader were sufficiently motivated to read a book about a sexy paranormal adventurer, I think that reader would manage to overcome those barriers for the sake of ENJOYING the GENRE itself, where the characters are far less distinguished from the genre's plot-functions than one finds in thematically-realistic works.

So for me, and possibly others, the primary "emotional attachment" is to the archetypal forms of the genre, and attachments to the characters is of secondary importance-- which is why "new-reader friendliness" may not be as important as some have supposed.