The Super Suburbs

It was high hot noon when a black car pulled up and popped its trunk; the driver packed in every last belonging. Straight south towards the exit and onto the highway, the wheels rolled out the city.

Up and over the clouds and back down again, land and load at Y-W-G. With the skyline cleared the eye takes in clouds and stars and sunset. We drive past strip malls and parking lots and grocery stores, rows of houses covered in stucco.

So we land at the summer stead, a sisters’ condo to sleep at. Long roads lead in all directions to buildings built out not up, spaced across the prairie. Between the small town and big city left short and long ago, here now are suburbs never before lived in.

And with the tracts and cul-de-sacs comes a character to navigate them. Enter Superman of the Suburbs, ready for the summer.

*Photos by Andrea Dyck. Art direction is all yours truly.

Superheroes are just like everyone else: they think Nick Jonas is dreamy.

In the same way Alan Moore makes humans into superheroes, Ian Pool makes superheroes into humans. In his glossy set of fantasty-photographs, the Hulk walks the dog, Batman grabs a late-night coffee, Spiderman whizzes in a back alley, and Darth Vader shows us, yes, everybody poops.

Today the rain keeps me indoors, but Pool lets me dive into the fantasy of everyday life. Super-life. 

Take that, Watchmen.