Superman: No More Heroes

We've all heard stories about haunted video-games, "lost episodes" of beloved cartoons or TV shows. But there has always been a medium that until recently seems to have been immune to such tales, the humble comic book.

Now before you ask, I don't for one second believe that there is a massive conspiracy or some hidden reason for the event I am about the share with you - I think what happened was an example of something that has no reason, no grand scheme.. it simply happened.. I hope it never happens again..

So, what happened? I'll tell you - I am a collector of DC comics and as such I have always had a soft spot for Superman, anyone who is into comics knows that some titles go into dark and disturbing imagery so when strange or gruesome things occur most rightfully dismiss it as part of the story.

This was how I first reacted when I got my hands on what I believed to be a new Superman title named "No Heroes" - the cover was completely black and the Superman logo was broken and decayed looking, again I thought this was all part of the story.

I had already flipped through a few pages before purchasing and to my surprise it was a fairly standard Superman book so I bought it without much thought.

Taking it home with me I sat down and began to read the comic in more detail, as soon as I opened it I was greeted with artwork that was drastically different from what I had seen at a glance in the store - everything had a red tint to it and the characters were all angry and battered looking.

Superman especially looked extremely menacing and as I read the text appearing on the speech bubbles I admit I was pretty shocked - this was not marked as a mature title and DC had until fairly recently been pretty uptight about how Superman was and was not to be portrayed, making what I read pretty confusing to say the least:

"Heroes aren't real. It's all fake. Everything's a fucking lie."

"People aren't going to save you, they'll watch you bleed. You deserve to die."

"Life is a fatal disease which slowly eats us away. You're not perfect. You're no hero..".

Again and again I read these dark, mysterious lines - it wasn't unusual for dramatic works such as comics to add moments like this but as I continued to read I couldn't help but feel this was very off for a Superman book. Not a single word of encouragement or hope was to be found. Our titular "hero" just kept silent as everyone around him spewed forth messages of hate and despair.

The artwork grew increasingly disturbing which each new page until eventually I began to question if this was some kind of joke - Superman walked down the streets of Metropolis and observed the rotting bodies of many heroes and villains from comic books, to my surprise some of the characters were not even DC owned.

After a while the story grew violent as Superman began to destroy what was left of Metropolis, the destruction more graphic that normal - even in the more "extreme" editions of the comic.

Soon Metropolis was destroyed and a two-page panel depicted the carnage, bodies laying on the street - what looked like children impaled on spikes formed by debris and figures hanging lifelessly from nooses tied to street lamps and sign posts.

Finally the comic ended with a full panel page of Superman, staring directly ahead as if looking to the reader, a speech bubble prominently stating:

"For years you watched us suffer. Now it's your turn, hero.".

I didn't quite understand what that meant and at the time I was still a bit disturbed by the whole comic so promptly put the thing away and never gave it a second glance.

After such a horrid comic I decided I needed a change of pace so got out one of my old Batman comics, the old and goofy version of the Dark Knight most people hate but I (somewhat ashamedly) have always rather enjoyed.

I read the comic, it's old humor and camp-style a refreshing difference from the horrors and misery of "No Heroes" - this was how I always remembered classic DC, fun and enjoyable.

I got halfway through the comic and had just opened a new page when my eyes grew wide with shock - I almost dropped the comic as I saw to my utter disbelief a full-page panel of Superman, in that disturbing art-style and staring once more from the comic page, the prominent speech bubble stating:

"You don't get to be happy, hero."