National Superhero Day 2023

"And there came a day unlike any other..."

Today is National Superhero Day.  Created by Marvel Comics in 1995, it has become a day to celebrate our favorite heroes, both real and imagined.  As a life-long comic book fan, this makes today pretty special.

I still love superhero stories.  I love their power to convey simple and complex morality tales.  A place to retreat where we know that good will always triumph over evil.  No matter how dark it looks, no matter how much has been lost, right will prevail.

Superheroes are our modern myths.  They provide ideals that we aspire to and convey larger than life stories of struggle, triumph, perseverance, and hope.  Like any good science fiction, they are allegories through which the pressing issues of our times can be explored (Watergate in the original Secret Empire in Captain America, racism in Weird Fantasy #18 by EC Comics).

Plus, comics have an unlimited budget.  Movies are just now catching up, but comics can still beat them in terms of mind-blowing visuals.

And the end of the day, superheroes entertain me and inspire me.  I've read many bad ones, and I've read many excellent ones.  Those that have stuck with me throughout my life.  I've cut back on the number that I read and I am definitely enjoying being able to have them on a tablet (though I do miss the tactile feel of holding a comic book).  But I keep coming back and am so glad my kids are picking up that love.  The girl especially is a fan of Tiny Titans and graphic novels.

I love that pop culture is just now starting to catch up with these myths.  If you had told me at 13 that there would be a different comic book inspired superhero television show on nearly every night of the week, that Marvel would be on track to release 35 big budget tentpoles for which it had creative control, that Comiccon would be as big of a pop-culture event as it has morphed into, I wouldn't have believed you.  It's a great time to be a fan.

It's also a great time to recognize the heroes around us.  The first responders that put their lives on the line for us and those that have increasingly difficult jobs with the pandemic and the civil unrest that have emerged.  The people that we have relied on for strength just to get through these trying times.  

If you can say thank you to someone, it's time to do so.

So enjoy this superhero day.  Read a comic, watch a great superhero movie or show.  And thank someone who is being a hero each and every day.

Excelsior!

Batman Day 2021

 

Holy celebrations, today is Batman Day!  

This is the seventh annual celebration of Batman Day, now commemorated on the second or third Saturday in September.  The celebration initially started in 2014 to mark the 75th anniversary of the first appearance of Batman.  It is now a yearly event, with DC even providing free Batman comics for comic shops to distribute.

This year is DC Comics is celebrating 82 years of Batman.  The character, created in 1939 in Detective Comics #27 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, has proved one of the most durable characters in pop culture.  He's gone from pulp to camp to science fiction to crime and everything in between.  He has been a television, film, and radio star.  He's the star of fiction and comic books.  The number one selling comic character in fact.  A video game icon.  He even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year.

This Batman Day is headlined by two breakthrough releases, Batman: The Audio Adventures and Batman: The World, as DC, Warner Bros. and fans around the globe will celebrate the iconic character’s longevity and impact across comics, film, television, and more!

Until next year, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.

National Superhero Day

I couldn't pass this one up.

Today is National Superhero Day.  Created by Marvel Comics in 1995, it has become a day to celebrate our favorite heroes, both real and imagined.  As a life-long comic book fan, this makes today pretty special.

I still love superhero stories.  I love their power to convey simple and complex morality tales.  A place to retreat where we know that good will always triumph over evil.  No matter how dark it looks, no matter how much has been lost, right will prevail.

Superheroes are our modern myths.  They provide ideals that we aspire to and convey larger than life stories of struggle, triumph, perseverance, and hope.  Like any good science fiction, they are allegories through which the pressing issues of our times can be explored (Watergate in the original Secret Empire in Captain America, racism in Weird Fantasy #18 by EC Comics).

Plus, comics have an unlimited budget.  Movies are just now catching up, but comics can still beat them in terms of mind-blowing visuals.

And the end of the day, superheroes entertain me and inspire me.  I've read many bad ones, and I've read many excellent ones.  Those that have stuck with me throughout my life.  I've cut back on the number that I read and I am definitely enjoying being able to have them on a tablet (though I do miss the tactile feel of holding a comic book).  But I keep coming back and am looking forward to passing that love on.

I love that pop culture is just now starting to catch up with these myths.  If you had told me at 13 that there would be a different comic book inspired superhero television show on nearly every night of the week, that Marvel would be on track to release 35 big budget tentpoles for which it had creative control, that Comiccon would be as big of a pop-culture event as it has morphed into, I wouldn't have believed you.  It's a great time to be a fan.

It's also a great time to recognize the heroes around us.  The first responders that put their lives on the line for us and those that have increasingly difficult jobs with the pandemic and the civil unrest that have emerged.  The people that we have relied on for strength just to get through these trying times.  

If you can say thank you to someone, it's time to do so.

So enjoy this superhero day.  Read a comic, watch a great superhero movie or show.  And thank someone who is being a hero each and every day.

Excelsior!

Chadwick Boseman

Actor Chadwick Boseman passed away yesterday, Friday, August 28, 2020, from a four year long battle with colon cancer.   He was only 43.

Boseman had made a career out of playing icons of Black history and culture.  Jackie Robinson in 42.  Thurgood Marshall in Marshall.  James Brown in Get on Up.  King T'Challa in Black Panther.  His range was incredible.  Watch 42, then Get on Up, then Black Panther to see how fully he can create and embody a character.  Particularly those that are so varied and complex.

Boseman was also one of those superhero actors that seemed to transcend the role and become a superhero themself.  Like Christopher Reeve, Chris Evans, and Gal Gadot before him, he recognized the power and impact that he had as the Black Panther and used it to greatly impact those around him.  To know that most of his time spent in the role was spent during his battle with colon cancer, makes it even more heroic.

This one hits a little too close to home.  At 43, Boseman's death is a reminder of many things.  That we do not know how much time we will be granted on this earth, so let the important people in your life know how much they mean to you.  How much you love them.  And for the same reason, we should seek to do good to everyone around us.

It reminds us to not take our health for granted.  To get checked out by a doctor, to start colonoscopies and other routine checks when prescribed.  

His life over the past four years during his cancer diagnosis reminds us that we do not know what other people are struggling with.   What battles they are facing.  The general public knew nothing of his battle; from his presence on screen, you would think nothing was wrong.  Even in physically demanding roles like the Marvel movies.  That we could all face out battles with such resolve and grace.

In a time in this world in which we need superheroes more than ever, we have lost a bright shining example.  May we rise to the occasion.

Rest in Power, Chadwick Boseman.

Top 10 Comic Characters I Would Like To Write

For Top 10 lists a suggestion was made to list my top 10 favorite superheroes.  Right now that list is a little too daunting for me to tackle, as like many things, it becomes a "favorite at the moment" list and requires whittling down from a very long containing more than ten entries.  So I'm taking a different approach.  Instead I'm going to focus on my favorite characters that I would love to write.  That I have a specific idea for a story or story element that I would love to see implemented.  This is a much easier list to get to ten.

It's largely Marvel as I have been primarily a Marvel Zombie for most of my life, but there are a few key DC superheroes I'd love a crack at.

• Elektra - Elektra represents probably the most pressing idea that I have.  While she is a fascinating character, and has been the subject of key exemplary stories, I feel she's largely been under served through her continued existence.  Most writers focus on her ninja background and connection to the Hand.  I think that is the least interesting aspect of her character.  There is a wealth of story potential there and in particular, a way to craft a Marvel story that has not been done before.
• Wonder Woman - Wonder Woman is one where I would love to do a lot of synthesis.  It would likely have to be an Elseworlds tale, but I would love to be able to give Wonder Woman something she's always been missing in comparison to Superman and Batman - a fictional city that is as much a character as anyone else in the book and a cool headquarters/personal retreat.  Batman and Superman each have a fictional city that reflects their character with several specific known set pieces that can be visited with their own set of supporting characters.  For Batman, Gotham City with the GCPD (rooftop in particular), the Batcave, Wayne Manor, and Wayne Enterprises.  You can add in things like Leslie Thompkin's Clinic, Crime Alley, and even new additions like the Belfry for variety.  With Superman, you have Metropolis, with the Daily Planet, LexCorp, Bibbo's, Smallville and the Kent Farm, and the Fortress of Solitude.  If you combine pieces of Wonder Woman's history, I think you can create a very interesting similar set up for the character and would like to develop it.
• Daredevil - Daredevil represents one of my true favorite characters that I would actually love to write (perhaps number one favorite character of all time).  I love the contradictions of the character and would love to do a big Hush style arc on the character touching all the major points and characters in his periphery.  Particular interest for the overlap of my law background and comics interest.
• Batman - I think it goes every writer has a Batman story in them and I think I have just one.  Would not be interested in a longer run, but have one idea for a psychology based story that would be fun to explore.  Plus  it would be great fun to use a couple of the lesser known villains like the Charlatan. 
• Moon Knight - Moon Knight is another character where the primary topic people focus on (here the dissociative identity disorder) is one of the least interesting aspects of the character.  From my reading of the early issues, it never seemed like there were supposed to be separate identities, but just aliases used (as Batman does with Matches Malone).  I would love to explore, though, the Egyptian-Jewish connection.  The son of a rabbi serving as the avatar of an Egyptian God.  That's rich for conflict and story potential.  Plus, I think there is great potential for a Times Past-style story regarding previous incarnations of Moon Knight.
• Hawkman - The recent developments in Hawkman's character open up so much story potential.  A continual warrior who reincarnates across time and space.  Everything is on the table and can be explored.  I love the Indiana Jones aspect of the characters background and the set up in the New Orleans of the DCU, St. Roch.  Add in a His Girl Friday style relationship with Hawkgirl and it's one interesting series.
• The Fantastic Four - It would just be exciting to write a big story about a happy family exploring the Marvel multiverse.  And I would want it all in.  The Future Foundation with the backup Fantastic Force.  Naming Puppy.  Wyatt Wingfoot, Alicia Masters, Willie and Billie Lumpkin.  Franklin and Valeria's new nanny (protector?).  Aunt Tara.  Crazy Uncle Doom who is sometimes supporting, sometimes antagonizing.  It really is the World's Greatest Comic Magazine.
• Black Panther - Black Panther would just be so much fun to world build.  To further define the Crocodile Tribe, the Hyena Tribe, the Rhinoceros Tribe (in addition to the established Panther Tribe and White Gorilla Tribe).  To explore the neighbors to Wakanda and to flesh out Panther's rogues gallery.  Given my affection for the Priest run, I'd have to bring back Everett K. Ross, king of the whiteboys, but to be able to do grand super-heroics and Game of Thrones style political intrigue would be so much fun.
• Shazam! - This is an idea that has been brewing since Geoff Johns introduced the Rock of Finality in opposition to the Rock of Eternity.  I stumbled across something that would make a great story regarding who sits on the Rock of Finality and how that would impact Captain Marvel and crew.  Plus,it lead to a series name that I think is particularly clever. (And no matter what they are doing now, though the book needs to be Shazam! for copyright and recognition, the character is and shall always be Captain Marvel).
• Gambit - I may be one of the few people who like Gambit out of the X-men.  I like the Tithe Collector and the pact between the Thieves and Assassins Guilds.  I like Gambit as a solo star in New Orleans and the bayous of Louisiana.  As much as I'm enjoying the Mr. and Mrs. X series with him and Rogue, my preference would be a solo Gambit nearly completely divorced from the X-men universe, getting up to a little good, a little bad, and a lot of trouble on his own.  Love-hate relationship with his ex, Belladonna, and complicated relationship with his father.  Something Southern Gothic.

That's my list, eclectic, but with some overlapping themes.  What characters most interest you and fill your fan fiction?