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Scott Bukatman on "Superman in Slumberland: Playful Plasmatics in the Comics"
Wednesday October 10, 2012 | 06:00 -08:00 PM | Stanford Humanities Center

I’m not sure whether comparing a superhero comic like Superman to an early comic strip like Little Nemo in Slumberland makes immediate sense or no sense whatsoever. For someone not versed in the world of comics, the comparison would hardly raise an eyebrow—Superman and Little Nemo are the protagonists of two comics aimed, seemingly by definition, at younger readers. They are both equally a part of “popular culture,” functionally and fundamentally equivalent. But to the comics reader the two might seem—literally—worlds apart. Little Nemo belongs to the Sunday funnies of an earlier day—a comic strip that served as a wondrous show- case for the virtuosity of its creator, but one without a strong mythos, with a protagonist marked by no great distinction (it’s never clear just why the princess so desires his company) who never seems any the wiser for his experiences. He is a largely passive agent. Superman, on the other hand, is a fully fledged character with a rich history, both in terms of his origin story and in the rich continuity that has accrued over the course of seventy-plus years of stories. He is an exemplar of physical and moral force, an upholder of values, a citizen of the cosmos who masquerades in the guise of human frailty. He represents the best that we can aspire to (although to Lex Luthor he is a walking, flying reminder of all that we can never be). While originally a child’s fantasy figure in the nascent medium of the comic book, as that medium has matured, so has Superman. He is no Nemo. But I want to make a nuanced case for seeing Superman as of a piece with Little Nemo, recognizing their similarity as agents guiding us through playful realms of plasmatic promise.