Literature of Comics and Graphic Narrative: Reconsidering the Superhero- Locke and Key- Realism in Comics

While speaking with my dad on the phone one day, he told me what comic books were like for him when he was young. It was just super heroes saving peoples lives with super powers. But since I read a lot of comic books now, I have a different experience from him.

Comics have changed as a whole, and not just the super hero ones. They now focus on character backstory, interactions, setting, tone, a whole narrative just to get the story going from A to Z. The surreal setting seems less to come from fairy tales and more into comics. While keeping the superesque theme that my dad grew up with it has changed into incorporating more realistic elements. Things like relationships, past experience, loss, sexual activities, violence and more are heightened into an unrealistic universe. It could be argued that this change makes the readers relate to the characters more and understand their experiences. In contrast they over-exaggerate the fantasy themes and have realistic explanations (mostly scientific) for their items and abilities.One series that I've found a while ago does this really well. It's called "Locke and Key", in which depicts three siblings using supernatural keys to fight an antagonist who is possessed by an entity. The entity is trying to find a certain key that releases demons from the other side. Each key that a character finds has magic properties that either effect the person or effect the environment when used on a door. The series has a narrative and goes from one siblings perspective to the other. The heavy theme of loss is major in the story since the kids lost their father and them and the mother have different ways of dealing with it. It has a nice resolution and I would highly recommend reading it.

Another comic book series that deals with super-powered beings is "The Authority" created by Warren Ellis. "The Authority" shows a take of super heroes living on a flying ship in space where they solve the problems of calamities happening on Earth. As with "Locke and Key" they also have personal issues like relationships, sexual activity and drugs. Each character's abilities and personalities are widely different and their bizarre behaviors are even apparent in battle. One of the key things that make them different from you "regular heroes" is that they kill most of their foes. There is no "if I will them, I will be just like them" bullshit. They do whatever it takes to save planet.