Considering DC Comics’ ingenuity for exploiting every facet of its characters lives that a preschool incarnation of its mightiest heroes and heroines hasn’t appeared in any official capacity is a little surprising. JL8, a web-comic written by Yale Stewart has capitalised on the hole in DC’s catalogue. It follows the exploits of DC’s finest as primary school students in a manner not all that dissimilar to the frequent cut-scenes in the Teen Titans cartoon in the mid-2000s. The characters are cartoonish, out of proportion and all resolutely entertaining.
One of my runaway favourites was Batman. Gone is the DC emphasis on the tragic loss of his parents and instead we’re greeted by a spoilt and bratty boy named Bruce. He hates wearing his costume to school because he doesn’t look intimidating, he is suspicious of girls and the danger of them carrying cooties and he’s marvellously quick with the put-downs, shooting down Superman’s judgement declaring, “Well Clark, that’s because you have no sense of style.” His double-act with Alfred is highly amusing, and plays on a comedic note that’s rare to be found in any medium showcasing the Dark Knight. It’s entirely amusing because there are situations that we’ve all experienced.
Hal Jordan is the snitch, yelling to the teacher when he thinks Batman’s bullying Martian Manhunter, who’s incorporated as a transfer student from Mars. Barry West as the Flash is a hilarious and quick-witted prankster, steeling chairs and taking glee in any mischief or misdemeanour. The girls make a show too, Wonder Woman (Diana) filling a Lisa Simpson-style role as a know-it-all, but far less annoying than her yellow counterpart. Power Girl is a girlie-girl personified, obsessed with ponies and crushing hard on Superman…until she finds out Bruce loves her and that he’s loaded.
JL8 is hilarious, but you don’t have to be quite such an obsessed DC fanboy as me to enjoy it. The point of the piece, to me, is that the superheroes are incidental. They simply heighten already well-established storylines. The bullies in the school are famed DC super-villains, including Lex Luthor and Poison Ivy – they’re the older, cooler kids who rule the playground and mock and mess with the younger kids. The parents, especially Wonder Woman’s mother Hippolyta, are embarrassing. Barry and Hal trick Martian Manhunter into making a fool out of himself, by saying that on Earth you punch people to show you’re pleased with them, which ends in disaster at Diana’s birthday party.
The dialogue is witty, the characters are lovingly rendered but also receive some self-depreciation, and JL8 is simply a fabulous piece of work.