A God Somewhere

Last week, I read Dragon Ball Vol 1, which was a fine blend of humor and action. This week I decided I needed to read something that was a little meatier. I wanted a book that would test my preconceived notions of superheroes. So, I read A GOD SOMEWHERE written by John Arcudi with art by Peter Snejbjerg, published by DC Comics/WildStorm.

(See all volumes of this series in our TPBs & Graphic Novels category!)

A God Somewhere is the story of Eric, a man who suddenly gains superpowers and becomes the world’s first and only superhero. Well, not so much a superhero but a being with incredible powers. The story is told from the perspective of Eric’s best friend Sam. Eric, Sam and Eric’s brother have been best friends since high school. After high school, Eric and Sam had trouble adjusting to life in the real world and are unmotivated slackers with high ideals. When Eric gains his powers he starts to use them to help people. But, in short order Eric realizes that he is different from everyone in the world. He is so different that when he commits a crime he decides to walk away from the legal system… and starts killing people. At first Sam enjoys the rewards of being a celebrity’s best friend, but when Eric starts killing people he starts to wonder where it all went wrong.

Just when I thought all the Superhero-in-the-Real World stories had been told, Arcudi has written a classic of the genre. He achieves this by making the superhero Eric a believable, everyman type of character. Eric isn’t power hungry or even trying to change the world; he is your slacker best friend from high school who never quite achieved his potential. He’s the friend that ended up on a reality TV show and got warped by all the attention. In this case, instead of a reality show, he ended up with superpowers.

Because Eric is such an everyman, and so easy for the reader to identify with, the impact of his actions is all the more tragic. At the same time, Arcudi doesn’t give Eric’s thoughts and motivations to the reader on a silver platter. Arcudi doesn’t provide easy answers and it’s up to the reader to see, and understand, Eric’s actions through the eyes of his friends and family. Sam provides the reader with a voice to ask why.

Snejbjerg’s art is, as always, glorious. It’s a shame that he isn’t on a monthly book any more because he is just as good today as he was back in the ’90s on Books of Magic and Starman. In this book I think I was most impressed by his ability to show not only scenes of incredible violence but also capture the quiet moments. The pages showing the effects of Eric’s various rampages, showcasing the destruction and gore, are certainly unsettling. And in a lesser hand would overpower the message of the story. But Snejbjerg manages to get as close to that line without going over it. At the same time, he handles the quiet moments with a zest that keeps the pages interesting.

If you’re looking for something about capes and cowls that is more than punching and hitting, then this is a good place to start.

- David Lee