21st Century Literature discussion

Discussion thread for Part III: The Funny-Book War.

The Carl Ebling chronicle was very well done. I enjoyed the build to the initial confrontation between Joe and Eberling with Joe realizing that Ebling had been drawn into the Escapist storyline and become a secret fan of the comics. I think that gave a nod to the potential of art, even "low" art, to subtly introduce an alternative perspective and possibly bridge divides. That obviously didn't happen with Ebling, but there was a softening of edges to some extent. In this case, I am glad that the two did not reach an accord, because that would have forestalled the possibility of an epic fight between the two in which the bounds of fantasy and reality are blurred. Chabon did a fantastic job in describing Joe's ascension into the role of the Escapist as Ebling assumed the character of a supervillian. I actually had to begin the bomb section anew because I was uncertain if it was real or part of a comic bomic subplot. Great writing.

The interplay between Joe and Ebling was one of my favorite parts of this book. It felt like a story inside the story.