Theory of Modes

As i was reading the Theory of Modes in Frye's Anatomy of criticism i was constantly reminded of how many of the ideas he puts forth are expressed in comic books. For instance in part 1 Frye says" If superior in kind both to other men and to the environment of other men, the hero is a divine being, and the story about him will be a myth in the common sense of a story about a god. Such stories have an important place in Literature, but are as a rule found outside the normal literary categories." I am a huge comic book fan and i read tons of comics and tons of things that people write about comics. Superman is a character that exists outside the normal bounds that most people are capable of. I have read many articles about how the myth and the legend of Superman. Most of these articles are written by critics of the comic book and not the actual writers. The most interesting thing i've ever found about Superman was a pamphlet in a church comparing Superman to Jesus Christ. I read through it and chuckled. These people were using a pop culture icon to help spread their faith. I was amused to say the least by some of the allusions they used to make Superman spread the word of god not fly off to another adventure. In reading Superman you can see where myth, romanticism, and irony play into the five different theories of mode.