The Standard

This is another one of my favourite pages.  In fact, when I’m pitching the comic at conventions, I find this is a very effective page to show potential readers to highlight what the book is about.  Because really, when you look at it, so much of Gilbert Graham’s character is contained in a nutshell in this page.

There is the central conceit of him being an old man forced to don his superhero costume again.  And the body language in that last panel and the presentation of him not being in the best shape and the costume not fitting anymore adds a bit of humor to that.  We get a bit of Gilbert’s own humor and pragmatism in that “Old man, you look ridiculous” line, too.  There’s also a look at the buried sadness under the jolly exterior that Gilbert lives with.  Also note the callback when Gilbert says that Alex was a better Standard than he ever was… remember, Alex said the same thing about Gilbert to Bill Finney back in Chapter 1.  Both self-deprecating sorts, those Standards!