Political Superhero Celebrity – La Muse Review

Celebrity & Politics Get Skewered In Decidedly Adult Superhero Story

Nov 17, 2009 Peter Wong

Adisakdi Tantimedh and Hugo Petrus' graphic novel La Muse brings the superhero tale into adulthood with a freewheeling satirical mix of action, geopolitics and glitterati

The superhero comedy/drama La Muse was first published as an online serial long before Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. But in its story of a woman who brings irrevocable change to Planet Earth, the tale provides a valuable reality check on current American anxieties and naivetes regarding the pace and types of possible sociopolitical change.

Superhero Celebrity, Neocon Target

Six months ago, Susan La Muse was an ordinary leftist political activist. However, when video footage of her saving a London crowd from a suicide bomber publicly reveals her superpowers, she becomes an international celebrity. The revelation upends the world of Susan’s ordinary sister Libby. The talent agent must now represent her superpowered sister and fend off scandal…even as said superhero plans to use her celebrity and her superpowers to create a better world.

Violent anti-abortionists, homophobes, religious fanatics, and other right-wing extremists hate and loathe everything Susan represents. In a twisted tribute to the leftist superhero’s effectiveness, numerous death threats have been made against her. But her most determined opponent turns out to be Agent Venkow and the sinister and powerful neoconservative cabal backing him. They’re willing to use any means to coopt, discredit, or even kill her.

Tantimedh entertainingly dramatizes the dynamics of effecting political change. The neoconservatives are people who prosper under the current inequities they’ve built or exploited from the current system. The tactics deployed against Susan have been used against other effective leftists in other lands and times. If Susan was just an impotent complainer, she could be easily ignored or publicly dismissed.

But La Muse offers more than political astuteness. Its emotional core is the alternately loving and hair-tearing relationship between two very close sisters. Susan finds willing sex partners like magic yet often takes impulsive hackle-raising actions. Libby displays continual common sense on her sister’s behalf yet hates Susan’s reminding her of her near constant sexual frustration. When a crisis arrives, though, the talent agent can put aside her hostility and stand by her sister.

Continues Themes of Alan Moore’s Watchmen

Both Alan Moore’s Watchmen and La Muse ask “How would the world change if one Superman-level hero were introduced into it?” Moore created a dangerous politically unbalanced world pushed to the brink of nuclear Armageddon. By contrast, La Muse heads for a more positive direction. Susan repairs the hole in the ozone layer and rehabilitates African child soldiers, but leaves interpersonal disagreements to ordinary mortals. Yet her actions also cause panic in the stock markets.

Moore praises La Muse as a future template for superhero comics’ new direction. It challenges destructive traditional assumptions of superhero comics. Petrus’ art underscores how sexual anxiety dominates the look and feel of contemporary superhero comics. Susan and Libby are quite capable of surviving on their own without needing male assistance. The sisters are also comfortably sexy without needing Hooters-size breasts and insanely thin waists. Women are generally the story’s most significant characters.

Tantimedh has admitted in an interview that his graphic novel is part wish-fulfillment fantasy. That can be seen in Susan’s way of ending African genocide. Yet the book also challenges the wish to have one magical person or leader automatically swoop down to save people from their failings. Isn’t it more satisfying to empower people with the opportunity to focus on saving themselves?

Considering the Politics of Change

La Muse asks if the real barrier to solving the world’s problems is the self-satisfaction of people benefitting from the world’s existing inequalities. The graphic novel also asks how people would respond to the changes created by a real-life Susan. For those who want to purchase Tantimedh and Petrus’ work, they can go here. For those who want to sample the serial first, they can go here. But definitely check it out.

The copyright of the article Political Superhero Celebrity – La Muse Review in Graphic Novels/Comics is owned by Peter Wong. Permission to republish Political Superhero Celebrity – La Muse Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.