I make my living as a writer. I have done so now for the past seven years, so, it stands to reason that I have a vested interest in words and how they're used. I also have some pet peeves, such as when people are unable to figure out the difference between "it's" and "its." When people think "fit as a fiddle" is a metaphor. When someone says an individual is looking for "their" whatever. You get the idea. So Ted McKeever's comedy story about two would-be super-heroes and their use of language in their activities made for an entertaining experience for this particular reader.
An aside: With my luck, in light of the above rant, a number of readers of this site will pick out a mess of mistakes in my writing this week. Oh well.
Though he initially gave Spider-Man a rough time, the unusual individual known as Typeface now patrols the streets of New York, looking to dole out his own unique brand of vigilante justice. He attracts the attention of an odd man obsessed with the proper use of the English language. Typeface inadvertently inspires him to become a costume-clad avenger himself. He becomes SpellCheck, dedicated to eradicating... grammatical errors, colloquialisms and poor sentence structure.
McKeever's oddball art style suits the oddball characters in the spotlight in this bizarre story. Spellcheck is an extreme personality, and that's reflected in his appearance. McKeever uses exaggeration to reinforce the over-the-top personalities and premise that make up the story. Buccellato offers up some dark, unnatural colors that help to reinforce that twisted atmosphere nicely.
Part of the point here isn't just to harp on language and how it's being bastardized. McKeever also pokes fun at the super-hero genre in general. "With great power must also come-- great vocabulary!" Through this quirky new character, McKeever examines what makes an exciting super-hero name, and the character's literary look at a genre that he intends to join is oddly entertaining.
The weird thing is that I can relate to SpellCheck's frustrations. When I edit a press release at the newspaper, I'm always amazed at the fact that many PR professionals -- who are supposed to be writing as a part of their jobs -- have no idea what they're doing. When I hear people around me misusing language and literary theory -- the constant misunderstanding of exactly what is irony, for example -- I fortunately have the presence of mind to keep my yap shut, though, unlike SpellCheck. I imagine Mr. McKeever is the same way, and I'm betting this story was a welcome catharsis.
