Review: Ted McKeever’s The Superannuated Man #1- Isolating yourself from the mutants.

Writer & Artist: Ted McKeever
Publisher: Image Comics
Released: 4th June 2014

There’s a very real sense of loneliness, madness and isolation in Ted McKeever’s work, but it’s all done with a wonderfully eccentric sense of the absurd, and although undoubtedly lonely, it’s far from unhappy and depressing. I really enjoyed his last book (Miniature Jesus), the study of an alcoholic’s decision to stop drinking, through the metaphor/allegory of a talking dead rat and broken Jesus statue. You have to do a bit of the work for yourself when reading Ted’s books, but it’s very rewarding to do so. These books are full of meaning, and the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out. This is not television. This is work from an artist who has something to say. Plus you have his gloriously illustrated panels as well. Panel after panel of beautiful artwork that offers a portal into the surreal, stylised and heavily symbolic world of Ted McKeever's imagination.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I didn’t know what the word ‘Superannuated’ meant, so I looked it up. Here’s the definition-

su·per·an·nu·at·ed  (spr-ny-td)
adj.
1. Retired or ineffective because of advanced age: "Nothing is more tiresome than a superannuated pedagogue" (Henry Adams).
2. Outmoded; obsolete: superannuated laws.

Quite interesting, don’t you think? Will I ever use it in everyday conversation? Probably not, but at least I know what it means now. So what’s this comic book about then? Here’s what I made of it, plot wise first:

The narrative follows an isolated individual (who in appearance is identical to the main character in Miniature Jesus, so perhaps this is how Ted McKeever sees himself?), as he scares away strange slang speaking mutant creatures who are increasingly beginning to pry into his private life.

“Things were simple. I didn’t bother them. They didn’t bother me. But lately I catch more and more of them creepin’ around. Funny. There ain’t nuthin’ of importance in here.”

This then is the man who is obsolete, outmoded and too old to be of any use to anyone. He’s decided to hide, but it appears that the outside world won’t let him be. Even though he is useless, they refuse to leave him alone. I can understand that. Oh, and there’s something big going on in town with a giant creature attacking the mutants. Will this pull the Superannuated man back into the world? Perhaps he will discover that he’s not quite as useless as he is thought that he was? Or perhaps he will just be completely useless, and the creature will do nothing more than drag him kicking and screaming into the world and prove just how redundant he really is?

Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing where it all goes. The glorious artwork alone is enough to keep me buying the book, but just like his previous title, this book has a story with allegorical depth as well, stating something about contemporary society, and the human condition that you don’t often get in mainstream comics.

If that sounds like your kind of thing, then pick up the book. It’s already making me think about the choices we make, as we grow older and the choices we make to engage, or isolate ourselves from the strange mutant creatures that we are all surrounded by.

What do I mean by that? Aren’t all strangers’ mutants to the outsider who sees himself as the only sane and rational person left in a world gone mad? See? The book has made me ponder these things, and that’s why I’ll be getting every copy, and then putting out these reviews. I feel like the book might be saying something worth listening to, and that’s sadly far too rare in comic books these days. Thanks for reading this review now go order the comic. It’s only $3.99 (£2.38), and you’ll get a lot more out of it than the latest Avengers book. Rating: 9/10