COMIC BOOK CHARACTER: Unleashing the Hero in Us All

Zimmerman, an IVP associate editor, is a devoted yet critical comics fan who wears his enthusiasms on his sleeve. The book's best moments are its riffs on superhero convention, such as a tribute to the costume as "likely the single most ludicrous device in the comic book universe" or a cogent summary of the laws of superhero sexual chemistry: "If a woman is a villain, chances are some male hero has a thing for her. If a woman is a hero, chances are two male heroes have a thing for her." Zimmerman also displays a strong sense of historical and political context for the comics, as in his discussion of the shifting significance of Captain America or the distinctive worldviews of the Marvel and D.C. universes. By comparison, his efforts to bridge between superhero and biblical universes, or to discuss specifically Christian content, are less spontaneous and seldom break new ground. Zimmerman's strong suit is not relating theological principles but posing theological questions with the vividness of superhero symbolism: "If you were a superhero, how could you get through a day without wondering about the origin of reality, without questioning how you came to be so specially gifted?... how could you avoid demanding an accounting from God for the pain and suffering you witness day in and day out?" (Dec.)