Grant Morrison Interview

In Newsarama, see link on this page, there's a very good post-7 soldiers interview with Grant Morrison, one of the best comics writers working today. Here's the link.

In terms of our approaching obsession with all things genre, including the super-hero, the following part of the interview is fascinating in its application to all genre work in all artforms.

NRAMA: There seems to be meta-commentary on the superhero comic book industry in Seven Soldiers. The major example I can think of is The Seven Unknown Men, who are like seven editors arranging and rearranging these characters' lives. For these characters the importance of improving oneself by overcoming obstacles is given another charged meaning, that of why it is important to reimagine superheroes over time to keep them fresh. Why did you feel the need to comment not just on heroism but comic book superheroism?

GM: I've been earning a living in this field for decades so I guess, like anyone who loves their work, I'm fascinated by the persistence of the superhero concept and its amazing versatility. I see the need to constantly update, re-imagine and reinvigorate superhero characters as an acknowledgment that their stories inhabit timeless, Platonic space I like to relate the activity of 'revamping; to the work of the Aboriginal rock painter - each new generation of Aboriginals is expected to maintain and freshen the paintings which reaffirm the myths and stories of his people. The Aboriginal artist must honor the original work, which may have been created by an ancestor many thousands of years ago, while at the same time adding his own perspective, his own skill and his own fresh wet paint. That's what we do with these super-characters - like the gods or the Dreamtime spirits, iconic superhero characters live in an immanent world where they never grow old or die but must play out their battles over and over again for the education and entertainment of each new generation. Superman will still be fighting Lex Luthor long after we're all dead. Everything from the origin story to the 'Death of Superman' will be replayed and 'repainted' again and again by hands as yet unborn.

That's a beautiful thought -- warms my heart.