Ralph Snart Adventures: Let's Be Good Citizens!

Most dreamers escape the reality of their dreary everyday lives by slipping into wild fantasies. Not Ralph Snart. In his everyday life, this Walter Mitty in reverse is a brainwashed fiend, toy of the evil Dr. Goot, who is pursued by the aptly named Suckerman. A typical day for Snart involves interacting with superheroes and villains, knocking down skyscrapers and engaging in idiotic dialogue. In his dreams, however, Snart is a harmless drunk, living a normal life with his dipsomaniac roommate, Mr. Lizard. His problems include trading all his empty beer cans for another case of beer and haranguing the guy at the local bodega into selling him booze on Washington's birthday. This scenario is the opposite of every fanboy's world, and offers some scope for commentary. Readers will probably find that they, too, prefer the simple life to Snart's waking hours. But that's partly because the dialogue and situations in the "real life" episodes annoy when they're meant to amuse. Dreamland Snart and Mr. Lizard are just this side of crazy, but driven there by situations we all recognize. It's hard to resist Mr. Lizard's solution to an overcrammed freezer ("Blow it up!"), and Hansen's R. Crumb–like art is highly appropriate to this world. Readers should go ahead and dream with Snart, but skim the "reality" episodes. (Nov.)