Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 219



Only Krnovel

219.

Sodapop was a superhero with a unique charm that lived up to his name.

The black and red suit was a new color that she wore as a marketing model for a famous cola company. The government asked her to reconsider the color, saying that it did not match her original image of mint and blue, and Sodapop thought the same.

[But it was too much money to refuse······!]

Sodapop shouted, his hands clasped together as if in prayer, placed on one cheek, and his pupils turned into dollar shapes.

Looking at that cut, Comic Book Master Bill couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow.”

‘This is no joke.’

And then I turned the page again and saw the author’s name, ‘Chris McCady,’ and I knew I had to remember it.

This way of exaggerating the character’s emotions was quite refreshing and intuitive.

Chris McCady, a young artist, showed a strong, unique drawing style that was attractive even though his lines were rough, and this, combined with the work called ‘Kung Fury’, also helped sell the book.

Sodapop was a truly charming superhero.

With the ability to create carbon dioxide and make it explode, she patrols downtown with Kung-Fury, subtly teaching the current superhero ‘mayor’ the situation.

And the story was so interesting that it made you wonder if it really would happen if superheroes were actually government agents in real life.

[I drank genetically modified soda when I was young and that’s how I ended up like this.]

[Really?]

[Ahaha! Of course I am! Dude, it’s just natural. Most superheroes are like that. But should I say that I added that setting because my character’s characteristics require me to be approachable to the public? That’s the most important thing to survive in this market. How approachable you are to the public. Isn’t that why many superheroes are gradually revealing their faces? I’ve been thinking a lot about doing that myself lately.]

‘Hey, you’re taking it like this?’

‘But I think this is what it would be like in a world where government-approved superheroes make money.’

‘Isn’t he more popular than most movie stars?’

Nerds couldn’t help but get sucked into this uniquely presented new world of superheroes.

‘Kung-Fury’ Issue #4 did just that, immersing Kung-Fury and readers deeper into the world through a new character named Sodapop.

The nerd guys at Kitten’s Comic Book Store were reading through issue #4 of ‘Kung-Fury: Comics’ without a second thought. Then, seeing them gathered in the inner playroom and reading the book thoroughly without saying a word, the owner Kitten smiled slyly and took out a new book from the box that had arrived that day to fill the empty space.

Again, Sodapop was a really lovable character.

The sleek body suit showed off her curves. The way she urged Kung-Fury to register with the government and become a certified superhero felt very confident.

Here, in Los Angeles ‘somewhere’, the security situation is not very good. And yet the main argument was that there is always a shortage of superheroes.

[It’s a dangerous job, so many people die.]

[Then why are you a superhero?]

[It’s money, money! That damn money is why I’m doing this.]

Sodapop laughed out loud, then let out a long sigh.

And then, they face an incident.

Kung-Fury exaggeratedly mixed the martial arts moves he learned from Shifu to defeat his enemies, and Sodapop also used his abilities to rescue civilians. The carbon dioxide she freely created in the air was expressed in the form of a bubble-like sphere, and the readers were captivated by its unique directing.

And the lines are wrapped in speech bubbles that give off a bubble-like feeling.

{Pop☆ Pop☆}

Bubbles made of carbon dioxide burst with cute hand gestures.

The nerd guys who were looking around at the picture depicting a curvy body in a seductive pose pushed their heads a little deeper into the comic book.

Gulp. The only sound that could be heard in the quiet playroom was the sound of swallowing saliva. Inside the page, Kung-Fury was in the middle of listening to Soda Pop’s line, “Pop☆ Pop☆,” and was looking dumbfounded.

[Do you really have to go to such lengths to blow it up?]

[······I can’t help it. This is all business. Ah~! Everyone, don’t stay out too late~!]

Sodapop, who was sighing softly, quickly returned to providing fan service to the citizens as a ‘superhero’ after they hurriedly left the place with their thanks.

It’s ‘super’, but it’s not ‘hero’.

In front of him, Kung-Fury thought for a moment and then asked:

[How does superhero registration work?]

[If you go to the city hall in costume and say you want to register, government agents will come to your house in a few days. Then, you will take various tests and if you pass, you can register.]

[You know who I am, even though I didn’t even show you my face?]

[Oh, what I’m saying is, I don’t know how far the government is monitoring us. But I guess we have to do that much to prepare for a communist attack, right? ······Hey, if we say it like this, even if a CIA agent overhears our conversation somewhere, they’ll probably say it nicely, so it’s better to talk like a patriot when you’re in costume. Okay?]

Sodapop speaks indifferently, then glances around and whispers.

Issue #4 ended with her winking slightly (the eyes on her mask were slightly closed for a cartoonish exaggeration) and a line from Kung-Fury expressing his determination to register and become a superhero.

One by one, the nerd guys at Kitten’s Comic Book Store who had finished reading began to raise their heads.

Their eyes sparkled with satisfaction. But since their reading speeds were different, they didn’t say anything, and they waited until Fred, who was the last one left, finished reading the comic.

“Whew, that was really fun.”

And as soon as Fred raised his head, muttering, the stories came pouring out like a flood.

“Isn’t Soda Pop totally cute?!”

“I want a soda pop tattoo on my chest!”

“You seem to be really into tattoos since last time······.”

“Wow, how did you create all these characters?!”

The most important part of a superhero comic book has to be the ‘superhero’. And God created a charming character that even these worn-out nerds can admire.

A superhero who cutely shouts “Pop☆ Pop☆” with adorable movements, but then immediately says it’s all because of money.

“It’s a groundbreaking work in many ways, and it has groundbreaking characters.”

“In fact, Kung-Fury looks normal.”

“Hey, hey. Watch your mouth. Of course he’s normal anywhere.”

“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant······.”

Michael suddenly became trash.

Listening to that conversation, Bill chuckled and came to this conclusion.

“If this is God’s intention, it is truly amazing.”

“Wh, what are you saying, Master?”

“We are watching this work by empathizing with the character of ‘Kung-Fury’. In that sense, he is a very interesting character. He is similar to Sodapop in that he is ‘super’ but not a ‘hero’, but he does not show the aspects of the American society that is presented in the work that are stale. Isn’t it as if he represents us who are watching this new and unique superhero world?”

“Wow, that’s a great analysis!”

“That’s right! You could see it that way!”

“Damn, why did we only get to Issue #4!”

“Someone knock me out for a week! I want to see more of ‘Kung-fury’······!!”

“Me too! I want more of Sodapop’s hip line!”

“······Ah, that’s a bit.”

“She’s a great superhero. Let’s not just approach her in a sexual way.”

Michael became sullen again under the strict, dignified, and serious persecution of the nerd guys.

Everyone was so excited and chatting that it was reaching its climax, and Kitten, who had been sitting at the counter quietly listening to the conversation, peeked his head into the playroom and spoke.

“Hey, guys.”

“What’s going on, you comic book seller?”

“Have you forgotten that today is the day that ‘Kung-fury: novel’ comes out?”

“······!!”

“Oh, what a stupid mistake!”

“I was missing the most important thing!!”

“Thank you, comic book seller!”

Led by Bill, who jumped out of his seat, the nerd guys at Kitten’s Comic Book Store set off on a long journey to find ‘Kung-fury: novel’, which hit stores across California today with ‘Kung-fury: comic’ issue #4.

And about 10 seconds later, they finally found the book on display at Kitten’s Comic Book Store, and emptied their wallets to buy it.

“Now I can get a sneak peek of what’s to come!”

Bill shouted, unable to hide his excitement.

***

Late at night.

Doofy Kingston was reading a novel while enduring unbearable pain.

Just as a monk would control all his troubles with the words of the Bible, he concentrated his mind and read the parts of the novel where the ‘Star Chaser’ appears over and over again.

He was America’s representative superhero.

The world’s strongest man, wrapped tightly in a costume of white, red, and blue, representing the colors of the American flag. The star pattern engraved on his chest was a symbol of world peace that the United States pursues.

Star Chaser is the only man in this world who works as a superhero with the sole purpose of saving citizens.

But inside him, there was a worry that no one knew about.

The fact that he was black.

That’s a pretty ‘successful’ black person too.

He worked as a competent newspaper reporter, wore glasses and always wore a suit, and struggled with his identity as being somewhere between black and white.

He lives alone in a black neighborhood, but the people he works with are white.

That’s why I couldn’t get along well anywhere and was just wandering around.

His black friends in the area treated him well on the outside because of his tall, muscular body, but called him nicknames like “Fake-ass-nigga” behind his back.

Of course, the words were censored and erased appropriately in the novel, but Doofy Kingston quickly realized what was written there.

Because he was also a ‘fake-ass-nigga’.

Or, or ‘Oreo’.

A sarcastic nickname meaning that the outside is black but the inside is white.

It was also a nickname that followed me around all through elementary and middle school.

His father, who ran a toy company, was a “non-black” success story.

In his typical reality, black people lived in poor neighborhoods, grew up without fathers, and often ended up selling drugs, joining gangs, or pursuing music.

But the scalp didn’t fit into either of those categories.

He grew up in a wealthy neighborhood where there were no black people, and as a result, he was unable to socialize with white friends and spent his childhood alone. His friends in the poor black neighborhood just outside the neighborhood did not accept the boy with the bow tie as their friend and made fun of him.

The place he chose, where blacks and whites could not mix, was ‘Central City Value High School’.

And there, Doofi had a powerful experience that would change his life.

The meeting between God, Alexa, and Jiwoo.

Through my friends, I received affirmation and learned how to make peace with myself and get along well.

But, having fulfilled his state-mandated education hours and being separated from them, the boy Doofi began to think that he wanted to move forward a little more to become an adult.

I’m trying to push myself to make excuses about my heart problems and to transform into a healthier person.

But the problem was the timing.

‘You always make excuses.’

And I thought maybe this was my last chance.

The new novel ‘Kung-fury’ from Shin left a strong impression on Doofy Kingston throughout his reading.

How did they manage to capture the conflicting emotions between black and white so well?

However, Star Chaser was a character who could never choose to be an ‘ordinary black person’.

Because that’s what the American society in this novel wanted.

The best superheroes should be white.

Superman, Batman, Captain America, Spiderman. I didn’t deny them. Rather, when I thought about how they were forced to become black, I felt disgusted just thinking about it. I thought they were just blindfolded and pretending not to know. I never accepted their character traits just because of their skin color.

But the appearance of a superhero with a similar situation to his own gave courage to Doofy Kingston.

In the fictional world of the work ‘Kung-fury’, most superheroes act only according to the logic of capital and honor.

That is why the existence of this star chaser shines even brighter.

As a character who shows Kung-Fury the true value and meaning of being a superhero, their meeting is quite coincidental.

“This is my first time seeing you. Are you a newbie?”

Kung-Fury nodded at the man’s question.

After officially registering as a superhero with the help of the government, he taught kung fu at a dojo during the day and operated as Kung-Fury at night.

Being a government employee was extremely advantageous. You were given a dedicated communication device to send and receive requests from the police, you could process receipts for taxis (a much better benefit than I expected), and they even made several superhero costumes for you.

And the superhero who received the same communication, went to the same place, and met them by chance at the scene, was floating in the air for a while, then came down to the ground and slowly approached them.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Star Chaser.”

“It’s Kung Fury.”

Star Chaser, a superhero with the ability to fly faster than the speed of sound.

He was a powerful and symbolic hero who could truly be classified as America’s representative superhero, and just like his hero name, he was a great being who reached for the stars.

‘You’re crazy.’

The strongest superhero in this world who can fly freely in the sky.

Doofy smiled as he recalled the setting of Star Chaser, who had not yet properly appeared in the comics.

And I thought.

‘Haha, if I keep losing weight like this, I might be able to fly.’

He had reached a point where he could barely think at a human level because he didn’t know how to properly diet and was just starving himself.