Alt Superheroes? WTF?

Screen capture courtesy of Altsuperheroes.tumblr.com

So I talked to the writer who does Alt Superheroes today. Wasn’t what I was expecting, really. I mean… I guess you just have this preconception of bloggers as thirtysomething business school dropouts who “never got to explore their creative sides.” But this kid seemed pretty put together. Good looking guy, too. Solid tan. Good hair – he thinks thinning a little bit, but good.

Seemed pretty well rounded to me – likes sports a little, Pearl Jam a little, Alexis Krauss a lot. But for now, he’s pretty focused on this “alternative superheroes” meme, and by “pretty focused,” I mean, “goofing around on the weekends”. It’s a pretty neat little blog – not particularly original (this ‘alt’ ship has sailed, you know?), but pretty neat. From what I gather, it’s more of just a straight entertainment site, and I think it’s a safe bet he’s getting more entertainment out of it than the actual readers.

It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure. I’ve kinda dabbled in the whole Hipsterrunoff-lite pseudo poetry stuff here, but I know that probably turns off a lot of readers who’re just here for smartass analysis of Hawks-Magic, or something of the sort. Alt Superheroes makes me laugh, but what do I know, you know? I mean, I f*cking loved the third Keane record! The third Keane record! That thing got crushed!

ANYWAYS, short description for those of you inclined to juvenile sensibilities, talk of indie rock, and funny (and stolen) pictures of superheroes spanning the ages: … ha! I guess that’s kind of the description. But whatever. You might like it. You might not. You might think the only two sites worth your while are Sports Casualties and Kylerancourt.com. And to that I say, good on ya mate!

So yeah, this Alt Superheroes thing could last for a day, or a week, a year, a lifetime. It could be huge. It could be a disaster. The author – I mean, if you can call him an “author” – really didn’t seem to have a good bearing on the whole Tumblr phenomenon or, for that matter, a sense of where he thought this nascent little site would go. It sounds to me like he got the idea in a bar on Saturday night, went live on Sunday morning, and then basically thought up all the current material laying poolside that day. Like I said, kid’s got a tan on him, but this thing could literally cease to exist come Wednesday. Wouldn’t surprise me at all.

For now, it might be something to check out. In its current form, you can knock out the entire site in about three minutes, give or take three minutes if you’re high and/or drunk. And again, the guy running it seemed like a pretty cool cat. A little quirky – like he’s constantly wired on caffeine or something – but clever, too, when he’s not prattling on about his favorite bands and whatnot.

I’m gonna link this thing in the blogroll for the time being. If you see it listed, it means this guy’s still updating the site. I’ll yank the URL as soon as he flakes out. Should be in short order. But for now it’s up, and approved for consumption. I think it’s funny, but it’s a certain kind of funny. Give it a try if you’d like, but be forewarned. Not for everyone. Not safe for work. And not particularly world changing. But then, I like Keane. I mean, freakin’ Keane! So what do I know?