Tales of Two Superboys
Kurt Busiek has created a name for himself by asking one question - what would it be like to live in a universe like those in the comics? Rather than try to make their world more realistic, he embraces all of the absurdity of the Silver Age. His main title is Astro City; there he spends issues exploring the areas around a world changing battle. Secret Identity takes that attitude and applies it to this story.
Even before reading the story, it's obvious that this is going to be a much different work than the Earth Prime Superboy. The latter tale fit completely in one issue of DC Comics Presents, an issue that wasn't even completely devoted to his story. This comic is a four issue mini series. We're going to learn a lot more about this Clark than the other one.
This Clark gets a lot of crap because of his name. Maybe it's because he's from Kansas, maybe it's because Busiek has more of a feel what's it's like to have an easy hook for people to mock you, but this reaction seems a little more realistic.
While the Earth Prime Clark plays along with the joke, this one hates it. He's completely over sensitive. He sits with a group that he calls geeks, who are busy discussing Quantum Leap and role playing games, but somehow he thinks that a discussion about superheroes is mocking him.
Drawing characters who feel real is one of Busiek's strengths. Clark just feels real. Even when he's being stupid about people harassing him, it seems natural. That sense of character serves him well. Once he's fully sketched, his joy upon having powers works too.
That's the point that comic book writers forget sometimes. They focus on the ways of making their characters lives dramatically interesting, but they miss the point at the heart of comics. If anyone of us suddenly had these powers, our first thought wouldn't be enemies discovering our identity and threatening our loved ones. It would be, "I CAN FLY!!!!"
Ultimately, that's the point of Secret Identity. While there are events that happen, it's not a traditional comic book story. It's four books sketching the life of Clark Kent, from his youth to his marriage. It's not about having these powers to fight crime (although there is some of that), it's about having them to live, and that's a story that was not being written in the 80s.
It's weird reading these two back to back. By the end of the mini-series, I almost think that I'd rather read stories in this universe than in the post-Crisis one. That's an illusion. The hints of the interesting world at the end of Clark's life are interesting largely because they're just hints. Years of stories set in that world might have the same issues as the one we have now.
It's not the world that I want. The DC Comics universe has many fascinating characters. It's just would be nice to see more people feel like this Clark Kent. Yes, your life isn't perfect, but at the end of the day, you can fly!
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