All Fall Down (comics)

All Fall Down
Cover of All Fall Down
Publication information
Publisher	Arcana Studios
Format	graphic novel (serialized)
Publication date	2011
Main character(s)	Sophie Mitchell The Pantheon
Creative team
Written by	Casey Jones (author)
Artist(s)	Barnaby Bagenda Al Jerek Torrias
Letterer(s)	Andrew Diroll-Black
Collected editions
All Fall Down	ISBN 1926914236

All Fall Down is a 2011 six-issue American comic book written by Casey Jones, edited by William Marks, and illustrated by a host of artists including Jason Reeves, Gian Fernando, Brian Brinlee, Anvit Randeria, Cirque Studios, and Pericles Junior. It is published by Arcana Studios. The comic explores what happens to superheroes and supervillains who irrevocably lose their powers, and deals with the notions of death and loss.

Synopsis

13 year old Sophie Mitchell just accidentally stole every superpower known to man. She can't turn them off or give them back. The world must now make due without their most powerful heroes, a team known as The Pantheon, and the heroes themselves must come to terms with their changing identities, helplessness, and a looming threat that suddenly appears.

Characters

• Sophie Mitchell: A 13 year old who has just accidentally stolen every single superpower in the world. She's thrust into becoming the world's last superhero-- Siphon-- and dealing with the fallout of ending the careers of every superhero in the world.
• Paradigm: Formerly a charter member of the superhero team, The Pantheon, Paradigm now faces a life without heroics.
• Portia: Once the leader of The Pantheon, Portia has lost her once infamous strength and faced a devastating personal blow. Her pride and anger are her biggest obstacle to finding closure.
• Pronto: Formerly the world's fastest man, Pronto has been reduced to a broken man in a wheelchair.
• Plymouth: The Pantheon's strongest member, Plymouth finds himself in the delicate spot of having to train the girl who stole his (and everyone else's) powers.
• Phylum: Resident shape-shifter of the Pantheon, he is permanently trapped in the form of a chimpanzee... with vocal cords that cannot form speech.
• IQ: Dethroned, de-powered former evil genius. Consumed with bitterness, IQ now rots in a seedy retirement home.
• IQ Squared: Son of a supervillain, this ex-genius has made billions selling his flawless hardware and software to any governments that could afford them. If only he could understand any of it...
• The Ghoul: A grim superhero vigilante who appears to be dead, and the ONLY hero whom The Fall does not affect. He has no powers to lose.
• Grace: Sophie's best friend and confidante. Wise beyond her years.

Background

Early in it's production, the book was partially funded through crowd-sourced fundraising site Kickstarter.

Themes

The comic deals with the themes of grief and loss as seen experienced by the various members of The Pantheon. Each member of the teams is struck down by the loss of their powers (and to a greater extent, by the loss of their very identities) in a different way. Some characters relish in their newly found lack of responsibility, while others languish with the same powerlessness that normal human beings in the world have always had to endure.

Two key figures, Pronto and Phylum, have suffered horribly disfiguring injuries as a result of the sudden loss of their powers, while another character, Portia, must deal with her helplessness in after narrowly escaping a potential sexual assault. Through their plight the book explorers the nature of heroism and self-interest.

External links

• Shelfari Page
• Amazon Page