The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking On The Information SuperHighway

There's certainly much to be said for living during the Information Age, as we do today. Research is so much easier now, with no trips to the library required when you can find it all on your computer. Whatever interests you have, no matter how obscure, you can find websites that cater to your tastes. And the days of arguing endlessly over who won the most World Series titles in the 1960s are gone forever, as with but a moment's typing and clicking you can have the answer at your fingertips. (It was a tie, by the way: both LA Dodgers and NY Yankees took the decade with two championships each.)

On the other hand, you now have to contend with having surprises spoiled for you like never before. I remember hearing stories, when I was a kid, of movies coming out and the theatre patrons being implored to not ruin the twist ending when talking to their friends who hadn't seen it yet. And generally, that worked! Ah, what a simpler time! I also recall having a subscription to my favourite comic fanzine of my childhood, The Comic Book Reader, which came out once a month and provided news and previews of comics that were still a month or two away from being released. And yet.. somehow that publication managed to whet my appetite for what was to come, without ever spoiling anything for me! I can't even really say how they pulled that off. Possibly the publishers simply didn't give away anything important, or maybe the fanzine was simply careful about what it printed. Whatever the reason, there never seemed to be any downside to the process.

A few months ago, we had the mainstream media go into a feeding frenzy over the fact that Spider-Man was going to unmask to everyone in the Marvel universe at the end of Civil War # 2... which the media found out about and started reporting on the day before the comic came out! I successfully navigated that minefield: I knew something big was coming in that issue, but managed to avoid any word of what it was. It took some work on my part, though, as even landing on the wrong website during that 24 hour period could be enough to see a headline like, "Spider-Man Reveals ID On TV!" So much for spoiler warnings!

This morning, we saw something similar. I'd put a spoiler whiteout over it, except that it's already been on CNN so what would be the point? In Captain America # 25, out this afternoon, the Star Spangled Avenger gets shot by a sniper and is declared dead by the time the final page rolls around. Pretty big news, despite the fact that:

a) he'll no doubt be back, and probably within the next year or two, and
b) DC did something like this with Superman over a decade ago, and as much as I like Cap, he's just not in the same league as the Man of Steel, as far as awareness of the character within the general public is concerned.

More important than the shock value of the story - which is of course what's being covered - is its high quality. I just finished reading it, and writer Ed Brubaker spins a tear-inducing yarn that incorporates much of Steve Rogers' history into it, as well as sticking an icepick into the reader's heart with its last page revelation as to who actually pulled the trigger. This issue sets up tons of tales to come, and presumably sets the stage for someone else to take over the Captain America identity, temporarily or not. And even though that last bit's a re-tread for longtime fans - the shield's been picked up by at least a couple other men in the past - my confidence in Brubaker's ability to craft an original and compelling story around it is pretty high. In that sense, the spoilage of hearing about "the death" before even having a chance to read the comic, as I'm sure thousands of comic fans experienced today, pales compared to the thrill of everything else the issue had to offer. But still.

And really, I understand why there had to be so much news around this comic, and that it probably benefits comics in the long run, since it should bring some new (or old) readers into the fold, and maybe some of them will stick around if they like what they find. Those who remember comics in the early 1990s recall the wild tales of people paying $75 and more to get copies of Superman (Vol II) # 75, once the general public found out that it featured the death of the Last Son of Krypton. I doubt anything quite that dramatic will happen in this case, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were some sad events on a smaller scale. Certainly the owner at my comic store was complaining about not having been clued in by the publisher to order more than the usual number of copies, so I imagine there'll be a supply and demand situation, at least until Marvel does a 2nd printing.

And since I did manage to not have it completely spoiled - like with Civil War # 2, I knew something was up but not what - I suppose I shouldn't complain. But what kind of a blog entry would that make?