April 5, 2009

Barry Allen's Blues

Sure, he sacrificed himself to save the universe, but now he's back. So what did he really sacrifice?
I have to admit that, although I haven't read Flash: Rebirth # 1 yet, part of me...is very reluctant to do so.

No, it's not about the book - more about recent events, and the back-from-the-dead issue that keeps popping up.

The end of this week has been a little difficult - two of my former high school classmates died suddenly, and my mother went into the hospital late Friday, part of her overall liver problems.

It got me thinking about how we handle death...and how, in comics, it's often dismissed, tossed aside almost as a plot point.

Granted, I am mixing my reality with my fantasy, so please bear with me...

Death and illness are never easy to handle - both can come suddenly, and enduring through the middle of it is often tough. Magical thinking - wishing that someone would return, even if for one last farewell - is natural. I want things to be better simply to avoid that awful ache...

...but in comics, it seems to cheapen the overall impact. It makes death and dying seem almost irrelevant. I may be reading way too much into this - after all, I had objected to the revival of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, and I was proven wrong - but there seems to be an inability to tell new stories - or to take new chances.

Still, I'll read Flash: Rebirth # 1 and judge it on its own merits. Maybe it's my current mood, but given the amount of loss I've had...it just doesn't seem right.

No comments: